Problem with tatakal reservations

Hotlanta · Oct 31st, 2009, 15:12

Long time lurker here. Anyhow, I've been trying to book a tatcal (sp?) ticket on either Rajdhani (2952 & 2954) train from DEL to BOM since regular tickets just aren't available until the middle of next month. However, it seems there's a bit of an issue. If I've understood the rules correctly, the online reservation system kicks off at 8 in the morning for tatakal booking. However, for the past couple of days, everytime I try to access the web site right on the dot, it keeps timing out or displays a message along the lines of "Service unavailable. Try again.", a glaring problem which I can only attribute to poor capacity planning on part of the system designers. Anyhow, I did manage to get to the penultimate reservation page at 8.05 but by then, there were 58 people on the wait list already which sounds a bit crazy really. How in the world did 128+58 people manage to book their tickets inside 5 minutes? Is there a secret trick in the book that I'm not aware of? Do I stand a better chance of getting a ticket via the old fashioned route of standing in line at the reservation center? I need to get out of here before the 7th. Obviously, catching an airplane would be quite easy but I'd like to experience one last trip on a train before heading back to the US.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

jyotirmoy · Oct 31st, 2009, 15:28

I am sure our rail experts will come to your help.
Why don't you check out other trains tahn the Rajdhani? There are foreign traveller's quota in these trains.
New Delhi station has a floor dedicated to the needs of foreign travellers. Go there straight and don't fall prey to any touts.

Hotlanta · Oct 31st, 2009, 15:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyotirmoy

I am sure our rail experts will come to your help.
Why don't you check out other trains tahn the Rajdhani? There are foreign traveller's quota in these trains.
New Delhi station has a floor dedicated to the needs of foreign travellers. Go there straight and don't fall prey to any touts.

If I'm not mistaken, the Gareeb Rath is not a full service train (like a low cost carrier) which'd mean I'd have to take all sorts of food on-board. Plus, I'd have to get off at Bandra in BOM which is quite far from downtown.
The other major option, the Golden Temple Express takes bloody ages to get to BOM. I traveled in that once and while it was quite comfortable, it got (a bit) claustrophobic in there since I'm really not accustomed to sitting in a closed box for almost 24 hours.
To compound my woes, it seems that all seasonal Rajdhani trains have been canceled.

Oct 31st, 2009, 15:12	#1
Hotlanta Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: ATL, BHX, DXB, DEL Posts: 2	Problem with tatakal reservations Long time lurker here. Anyhow, I've been trying to book a tatcal (sp?) ticket on either Rajdhani (2952 & 2954) train from DEL to BOM since regular tickets just aren't available until the middle of next month. However, it seems there's a bit of an issue. If I've understood the rules correctly, the online reservation system kicks off at 8 in the morning for tatakal booking. However, for the past couple of days, everytime I try to access the web site right on the dot, it keeps timing out or displays a message along the lines of "Service unavailable. Try again.", a glaring problem which I can only attribute to poor capacity planning on part of the system designers. Anyhow, I did manage to get to the penultimate reservation page at 8.05 but by then, there were 58 people on the wait list already which sounds a bit crazy really. How in the world did 128+58 people manage to book their tickets inside 5 minutes? Is there a secret trick in the book that I'm not aware of? Do I stand a better chance of getting a ticket via the old fashioned route of standing in line at the reservation center? I need to get out of here before the 7th. Obviously, catching an airplane would be quite easy but I'd like to experience one last trip on a train before heading back to the US. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

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Oct 31st, 2009, 15:28	#2
jyotirmoy Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: India Posts: 5,222	I am sure our rail experts will come to your help. Why don't you check out other trains tahn the Rajdhani? There are foreign traveller's quota in these trains. New Delhi station has a floor dedicated to the needs of foreign travellers. Go there straight and don't fall prey to any touts.