[chathuri]

on IR (CRIS) web page i saw some of the trains leaving today are showing booking status as available. If i happened to be at the station can i book a seat then and there and get in? From which counter i can do this?

[SHIMLA]

Originally Posted by chathuri

on IR (CRIS) web page i saw some of the trains leaving today are showing booking status as available. If i happened to be at the station can i book a seat then and there and get in? From which counter i can do this?

Reservations for a train can be done upto 2 hours in advance of the scheduled departure of the train.

If you reach the station within two hours of a train's scheduled departure, then you have to buy a "current ticket"; ie. a journey ticket without reservation at the "current tickets" counter. Buy a second class ticket and board the train. You can get the ticket converted to a reserved ticket of the same class or higher class if room is available; on the train itself; by paying the difference to the TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner) and getting a valid paper ticket from him for the difference.

[chathuri]

small question.
Is it possible to book a ticket from Station A to Station B from
another station which in neither A nor B ( Say C).
What i want find out is whetehr i can book a train that runs from Jhansi to Gorakpur from Warangal Station.

[steven_ber]

Contact the following company immediately, they are (or used to be) General Sales Agents for Indian Railways and are able to give Indrail tickets.

Indian Airlines Ltd.
No. 4,Briston Complex, Bton Street,
Columbo.

Phone No. 00941323136
Fax No. 00941445534


A 2-day Indrail pass would cost US$30 in Sleeper class.

They will also do reservations, though these will be waitlisted as there are no berths available at the moment.

I am doing another reply...

[chathuri]

thanks steve
but it is tha place i went yeterday and found out they no longet do the bookings...and i was direcetd to the private agent, who asked me 100% commision. Do you think they are playing some dirty trick?

[steven_ber]

SORRY, I have just noticed that you have already tried the Indian airlines office.

You have got to find someone or some travel agent in Hyderabad who will immediately book your tickets/reservations or you will be travelling unreserved.

You may have to consider accepting the offer from the Sri Lankan travel agent, it may seem expensive, but unless you can get someone in Hyderabad to get the reservations today, you will have no chance (other than a large bribe to the travelling ticket examiner (still no guarantee)

on IR (CRIS) web page i saw some of the trains leaving today are showing booking status as available. If i happened to be at the station can i book a seat then and there and get in?

We have already established that there are no available berths.

Yes you can buy a ticket & book a reservation in city 'A' for travel between City 'B' & city 'C'.

[chathuri]

he steve,
if i get an Indrail pas, would i be able to do the booking my self over the internet? (I can not go to Delli to collect the ticket and i don't have a India address)That agent has still did not confirm even my return ticket(which is going RAC now).

[steven_ber]

if i get an Indrail pas, would i be able to do the booking my self over the internet?

I am getting very confused here.......

You can only get an Indrail pass from an authorised General Sales Agents for Indian Railways.

An authorised General Sales Agents for Indian Railways would not charge you a courier fee.

If the private agent is selling you an Indrail pass, it is illegal in some way, don't buy it.

Only an authorised General Sales Agent can sell you an Indrail pass, they have the Indrail pass and write out the reservation details on the pass in front of you, there is no need for a courier.

An authorised General Sales Agents for Indian Railways would be able to immediately reserve berths (when available) or get you a waitlisted reservation.

I do not think there is a way to book reservations on the Internet when you already have an Indrail pass (how would they charge you the Rs25 reservation charge), but in your case, if you were buying an Indrail pass from an authorised General Sales Agents, you would want them to make the reservations immediately.

BTW. Why it's a strange route, Sri Lanka - Hyderabad - Kathmandu, especially as I can't find any direct flights from Sri Lanka to Hyderabad.

[chathuri]

it seems i might have to go unreserved after all! ( or take a bus )
Steve, please tell me, if the train is full, would they issue 2nd class tickets? Is there an unreserved compartment where any body with a valid ticket can go ?

If only It's possible to collect tickets from stations other than Delli..through some other main cities based on userd choice (Chennai,Hyderabat..) It would have been easeir for the travellers comeing from the South . If any body happened to know the Minister of Railway please pass the message!

[steven_ber]

I have scanned page of 'Authorised rail travel service agents' in the Hyderabad area.

You could try calling them and asking if they can book your tickets for you, or if you can book the tickets on the internet and have them delivered to their office in Hyderabad.

They are supposed to only charge a maximum of Rs25 for each ticket, but it would be worth it for you to pay a little more.

If you get them to book your tickets, get them to book a single from Warangal to Gorakpur (via Jhansi or Bhopal), and get them to get reservations for both sections.

This way you would save quite a bit on the fare.

You cannot do this yourself if you book on the Internet.

Good luck.

Steve, please tell me, if the train is full, would they issue 2nd class tickets? Is there an unreserved compartment where any body with a valid ticket can go ?

If the train is full, you can still buy a ticket for 2nd. class unreserved and board one of those carriages, though beware, Rajdhani expresses dont have 2nd unreserved carriages.

It's easy to find the 2nd class unreserved carriages, there normally at the very front and very back of a train, just walk along looking at all the carriages, next to the carriage doors you will see a marking, a 2nd class carriage would have l l next to the door.

Imagine a world record attempt, the most people possible to play a game of twister in a confined space, thats what the inside of the carriage will look like.
.

[steven_ber]

Bellow is a (fully updated) timetable I done for my last trip, a member has requested train info for this region.

Any questions, just ask.

(The area is Southern Assam.)

[neddy]

Fabulous Steve! A great help in planning. How come you know more than India Rail or Northern Frontier railway?. Do you know anything about a train Southeast from Silchar into Mizoram? I have found a map that says the line now reachs Bhairabi sp? Would appear to pass through Katakhal Jn and Lalabazar. Maybe they just have the rails and no trains....anyway much thanks eternaly greatful.
Neddy

[steven_ber]

How come I know more? easy, I bought the timetable.

The trains are on the timetables above, but they don't pass through Silchar, I'll list the full timetable for the 2 trains.

Train 867

Badarpur Jn 07:40
Badarpur Ghat 07:45
Panchgram 07:55
Katakhal Jn 08:10
Algapur 08:35
Hailakandi 09:05
Monacherra 09:23
Lalabazar 09:44
Manipurbagan 10:38
Jamira 11:10
Bhairabi 12:10

Train 868

Bhairabi 13:15
Jamira 14:03
Manipurbagan 14:34
Lalabazar 15:37
Monacherra 15:55
Hailakandi 16:25
Algapur 16:43
Katakhal Jn 17:37
Panchgram 17:49
Badarpur Ghat 17:56
Badarpur Jn 18:15

Both trains are daily and have only 2nd class unreserved.

A map you may find useful for the area is: -

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/india/250k.html

Especially ng46_14

I'm not sure about the permit situation at the moment, but you probably need to be in a group of 4 to get a permit to visit Nagaland, Manipur or Mizoram.

Check out the latest permit requirements closer to your travel dates; also check out the safety situation in Tripura, you may only be able to travel to/from Agartala in a convoy.

I had planned on going south from Silchar, I was hoping to get to get off the train at Jamira then cycle west to Dharmanagar then go to Agartala, however, time was not on my side (neither was the weather) and I only got as far south as Silchar.

One good thing about the trains in this region, you can do this.

[neddy]

Monster map comrade! A little old though..I have forwarded the URL to a geography graduate in Shillong who is into mapping the area.

I found RAP application for Nagaland on Naga Tourist site. Filled it out and sent it to the Indian Embassy in Canberra.

Back the visa came today "Entry to Nagaland permitted for 10 days" was written down the bottom. no mention of tour group of four etc. Of course whether the Gendarmes at Dimipur believe it or not is another matter.

As to Mizoram no mention but after several emails I get the impression that it is a case of turning up at prescribed office (Mizoram House etc.) filling out the form and Bobs your Uncle. Makes forward planning very difficult. And if a tour group is needed I find there are no Tour operators in Aizawl with any Internet presence or email address.

I asked them if I would get incarcerated if I caught the train to Bhairabi and then turned around and caught the first train out...as yet no response.

[veronique]

[quote=steven_ber]Goa - Hampi

Goa - Chennai

This train will not run via Hospet.

T... 7312 (Th) Vasco 14:45, Madgaon 15:20, Bangalore (Yesvantpur) 05:45 (06:00), Chennai Central 13:10.

T... 7311 (F) Chennai Central 14:00, Bangalore (Yesvantpur) 21:00 (21:30), Madgaon 11:38, Vasco 12:45.

Distance 1046 km.

2A = Rs 1493
3A = Rs 953
SL = Rs 349

could you tell me more about this route?
how many departures per week?
is it daily?
A 24 hrs journey in a train how do you put up with that?
that s lot
what about the scenery is it nice?
the food on the train?
will it be possible to let my legs hang out at door just like for the konkan R?
is it a crowdy packed train/
which class is the best as for comfort?
have you travelled by this route?
I know trains is cheaper but 24 hrs in a train ,,goshhhhhh
cheers
hope you had a nice night out vero