Train Travel

armoury

Hi, need help, please:

Two of us are going to India in the NY. I was informed that if I reserved/purchased a ticket for a coupe (that is 1AC 2 berth) on a Rajdahni Exp and board it mid-way on its route, I may not get it even though I have paid for it. Someone else may be occupying it and I cannot do anything about it. Is this true??

I will have paid for the coupe from the originating station (Delhi) and boarding at Madgaon, Goa. Please help me with this query.

Is it also true that if you reserved all 4 berths in a 1AC and you only occupy 2 berths, the ticket inspector on board will sell the 2 berths you don't occupy to someone else even though you have paid for them. Please advise.

Tks to all who reply.

armoury

Come on you guys.....can anyone help me here????? What's up? Does anyone know what I am talking about???

soma1972

Sorry,I'm not too sure myself.I can see why you're bothered about it but don't get too stressed out.Regarding getting 4 berths ,why worry about sharing?It's always cool to meet new folks!
Hope you get the info you need soon
Kenny

soma1972

Also don't think 1ac is used too often anyway

armoury

Thanks for responding, Soma.
Think me weird if you will but I cannot sleep with strangers in close proximity. I don't mind sharing during daytime but not night-time. What do you mean when you say 1AC is not used often? Why not?
I've heard that many people are bumped up to Class 1AC if they have government contacts, etc. etc.

I'm just going to have to take a chance and hope for the best.

Armoury

Architect

Yes its true that if u book 4 berths and occupy only two, the other two will be given to someone else, irrespective of you paying for it.
I am not sure of this but try asking for a Coupe in 1st AC.
That section is only for two people.

In case you want to board station on midway in the route, while booking mention on the ticket the boarding station. In that case your birth is secured.

Layman

Armoury,
1. If you do not board the train at the appropriate station, the TTE (train ticket examiner) will assume you have dropped out, and may allocate your seat to another traveller, who is listed as RAC (Reserved Against Cancellation) or on a Wait List. It is unlikely that for ticketless travellers to board an 1stAC compartment and occupy your seat, though it can happen in second class compartments.
Solution to your problem: while booking your ticket, specify that you are boarding at such and such place (and not at Delhi). Your ticket will then show a "boarding at x place" line, the "boarding at" tag will also show up on the TTE's list of valid travellers and also on the travellers list pasted outside the compartment. This will tell the TTE that you are boarding at a later station and he will not allocate your seat to someone else.
"Boarding at" is very common in India, esp if you are boarding from a station one or two stops after the one from which you have paid your ticket for. Eg: Boarding at Kalyan for trains starting at Mumbai, or boarding at Bangalore Cantonment or Bangalore East or Yeshwantpur for trains starting at Bangalore City. I have not come across someone who would board so far away "Goa" from the station where for which you have paid the ticket, but its your money :-)

2. Regarding booking of four seats for two people, I see the following issues:
- Are you going to give your name twice at the time of booking? The booking clerk might find it funny / may disallow. You need to mention a name for tickets booked.
- Even if you could book four seats for two people, please ensure that they are four consecutive seats and are within the same 'box'. It is possible to have two seats in one box and two more in another - you might not want that to happen.

Your options:
- Book a coupe (two seater closed box). But coupes are not available on all trains and I dont know if it is available on the one you mention.
- Book four seats under four different names. When the TTE comes, give the impression that the other two fellows are in the toilet or are visiting friends in another compartment or are boarding later etc. Draw the curtains or close the door to your box, depending on the train, so people walking past will not realise that there are two empty seats.
It is also possible that the train on which you are travelling is not crowded and there are lots of empty berths anyway!

Layman

Regarding bumping people to 1st AC, railway employees and family are entitled for free travel on their railway passes (even after retirement). First class or second class depends on their job designation, of course. If first class seats are empty, the TTE may, as a courtesy, 'bump' these folks up, though it is against railway rules, afaik.
Similar case with elected politicians and other ***** who travel free on public money.

armoury

Layman, thanks for a very insightful dissertation. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge on this topic. However, another problem has just cropt up:

We are assured of secured berths in Class 1AC, and my travel agent has requested a Coupe, BUT what alarms me besides the other factors, is that now I find out that the ticketing agent cannot allocate berth numbers right away. So now we don't know if we can get two berths in the same "box"?? Although I have reserved 2 berths for my hubby and me, I still don't know if we can have a coupe or even two berths together? Why is this? Our train journey is scheduled for Jan 28 2003. One would think that this is more than sufficient time to allocate berth numbers at the time of reserving the berths. We are holding our breaths (till we're blue in the face).

Laman, can you shed some light on this? What is IR's policy for allocating berths at the time of reservation??

This is so exasperating. Is this only in India? I have traveled on trains in many countries, 3rd world and other, but never have I come across such palava(sp?) in reserving seats?

Just for your info, no I don't have money to throw away but wanted to make a point when I said "if one were to pay from an originating station (Delhi) and board mid-way....etc".

Let's hope I'm traveling in a slow period then I won't have to deal with any of the above.

Thanks, again.
armoury

Layman

Armoury, I have not travelled by Rajdhani so far, but have travelled on Shatabdi and the regular trains. I have never come across a case where the Indian Railways issues a ticket for a 'confirmed seat' (as opposed to RAC or WaitList) without mentioning the train compartment and berth numbers.
Please re-check with your travel agent.
Here's something else you could do - get on to the Indian Railways web site at http://www.indianrailways.com
On the website, Click on Passenger Status. It will ask you to enter your PNR number. You can find out your seat numbers here. If you are on RAC or Waitlist, you can find out improvements to your position on the waitlist here. If you have your ticket on hand, you will note a unique PNR number (10 digits) in the format xxx-xxxxxxx on the ticket.
The only possibility I can think of is that you have not been given a confirmed ticket, but an RAC - Reserved Against Cancellation ticket. An RAC ticket assures that you can board the train and have a seat (as opposed to a berth where you can lie down) - on second class ordinary and second class AC, an RAC seat gets you an uncomfortable seat on the 'side', where the length is not long enough. No idea what RAC gets you on a Rajdhani. But with an RAC, your RAC seat and train compartment are known only closer to the travel date. If confirmed ticket holders cancel their tickets, you move up the RAC list (you would have an RAC number such as RAC 25) and if you are RAC 1, then when the next confirmed holder cancels his ticket, you are allocated a confirmed berth.
Two problems:
1. There is no guarantee that you will move from RAC to a confirmed seat, esp in 1st AC where the available number of seats is low. However, travel agents based on past experience are able to 'predict' whether you will get a confirmed seat or not, based on your RAC number. I have purchased 2nd class RAC or wait list tickets many times and have managed to get confirmed berths at the time of travel, as generally there are many cancellations in second class.
2. Even if both of you move from RAC to confirmed berths, there is no guarantee that they will be adjacent - as you will be allocated the berth of whichever guy has cancelled his ticket. As for a box with four seats, what are the odds?
My suggestion:
1. Check if your ticket shows RAC or confirmed berths.
If confirmed it should have berth numbers. If RAC or WaitList, keep checking on the IR website for your status, giving the PNR number.
2. Check for seat availability on your train.
Click on trains between important stations, mention the source and destination stations and select the class. You will see the list of relevant trains. Choose the appropriate Rajdhani train, specify 28th Jan as the date and check for availability, fare etc. If it says seats are available, then you MUST be having a ticket with berth mentioned.
Finally, it is difficult to know whether the four seats (even if consecutively numbered) are in the same 'box', unless you know the seating in Rajdhani trains. In case you find your seats are not in the same 'box', you could request your fellow passengers to 'exchange' seats with you. Most people will co-operate and the TTE will not say anything - this is very common in India.
Sorry for the rambling post.

Layman

"This is so exasperating. Is this only in India? I have traveled on trains in many countries, 3rd world and other, but never have I come across such palava(sp?) in reserving seats?" he he, isn't that part of the Indian experience :-) I can understand how you feel, but once you figure out the system, you will see that Indian Railways is quite logically and well organised. The latest IR timetable book is a masterpiece.
One other thing for the curious - Rajdhani means Capital in Hindi and several other Indian languages. All Rajdhani trains start or end in New Delhi (the capital).

steven_ber

"We are assured of secured berths in Class 1AC, and my travel agent has requested a Coupe, BUT what alarms me besides the other factors, is that now I find out that the ticketing agent cannot allocate berth numbers right away"


dont worry, this is india.

you will find on your ticket instead of your coach and berth numbers there will be the word "confirmed" alongside class of travel, this is standard practice for first class and first class AC.

i have booked tickets in first class many times and always got what a asked for.

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How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions.


Train information.


RAC & Waitlists explained.

Architect

The website to check passenger status, availability of seats/berths etc can be obtained at

http://www.indianrail.gov.in

vistet

Only in India - a website to check births on rails , online...
Are you charged extra during delivery ?

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paan wallah

i was born on an indian train