Travel by 1AC

Travelmonk

Hi all,

We are a couple with two kids. One a 7 year old and another 1 year old.

I would like to travel in the First 1AC compartment and hence would like to know if i can book two adult tickets and one child ticket on the Konkan Kanya Express to Madgoan from Mumbai ?

Will the child ticket be at half rate ? and what will be the fare ?
Never travelled in the 1AC compartment and hence would like to know if the 1st AC compartment is big enough for all of us or should i book 4 tickets in the 2nd AC ? which will be a better option ?

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rav.9999

Children under 5 travel free and those between 5 & 12 on half ticket.1AC is any day better than 2AC. You will get three berths(sleepers). !AC cooupes are either four or two seaters.
Check Railways website http://www.irctc.co.in/

brishti

yes.

please check the costs ----> here

1AC has 4 berths to a 'cabin' - with a sliding door which ensures privacy and security.
the loo/s are that much cleaner - since there're less people using it.
noise of passenger chitter-chatter and disturbance by pantry personnel selling their wares - nearly null and void.
all in all - epitomises comfort on the indian railways

2AC - 4 berths on the inside, with 2 berths on the aisle
a curtain acts as a flimsy partition when requiring privacy
lots of chitter-chatter [lot less than the 3AC], vendors, folks constantly moving up and down the aisle.
sharing the loos with that many more passengers.
i dont think you need to book all 4 berths here - 3 should be very comfortable.

so it all comes down to your requirements of travel.
comfort and convenience wise - 1AC, with 2AC a close second
both are good - but i'd go with the 1AC since this is your first time AND the fact that you have an infant.




:brishti

namaste_cat

My husband I have traveled w/ 2 small kids in 1AC, and found it plenty roomy. And comfortable. I'd to 1AC if I were you.

palerider

if you can afford it, go for your life. It's a real step up from 2AC or 3AC.
Not as much "life", much more sedate.
Depends how much you want snacks and chai, a lot less sellers go that end of the train.

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Indizen

Perhaps you can reserve two tickets for the two adults, and buy one un-reserved half ticket for the older kid. If you specify one upper and one lower berth, you'll have an independent coupe for the family. Its a bit smaller, but you don't have to share with a stranger, and you can enjoy the total privacy of traveling in this class. Just a thought!

arunganpath

Indizen,

Two issues.

1. As machadinha had pointed out earlier, you are not guaranteed an independant coupe if you mention one upper and one lower berth. I came to your rescue then saying it cannot be guaranteed, but again now, you have indicated as it they would get a coupe if they mention upper and lower. I strongly suggest you indicate in your future posts that the chances are higher only as new travellers would take it as granted that they would get coupe.

2. You are asking the OP to buy an unreserved ticket and take his elder child in the first AC. Do you know that the TTE can charge them for getting into AC and ask them to pay the differential fare ? Have you warned the OP - what if the TTE makes an issue out of this - though we know the rules, it would be difficult for a first time traveller to argue with him. If the TTE is money minded, he can make a fuss of this situation too.

Please refrain from offering some solutions which would put another member in trouble later on.

Travelmonk, you can book 3 tickets - the elder child would be charged at half rate. Even if you are to share it with a stranger, believe me, if a person is to travel in 1AC, he or she would not behave like a street guy.

Indizen

From my personal experience, it always works, simply because there is a choice saying - do not book the ticket if the choice of berths is met with. We've always managed to travel in a separate coupe as a couple. It makes no sense to me that the logic fed into the computers would assign different compartments to two people traveling together on the same ticket.

arunganpath

Is there such an option - the following are the options when I try to book a 1AC ticket in irctc portal.

If no option is selcted the berths will be alloted based on the system logic, depending on availability at that point of time.

None

Book my ticket only if all the above passengers are allotted berths in the same coach.

You would have been lucky as you would be the only couple who would have booked tickets. What happens if three guys have booked with your own style of selecting one lower and one upper when there is only one coupe.

Chances cannot be taken as a rule..

VSP may please comment on this.

brishti

3 things that're wrong about travelling in a 1AC coupe in this present scenario:

1. a coupe is ideal for a couple - snug as a bug... [or, for the desired situation that steven was in - have no clue in which thread]
however - a coupe is a cooped up space - not much room for the 7 year old to move about in -
for how long can the lil one keep colouring and/or reading - s/he needs room to move... i'm guessing.

2. 2 adults + 2 kids = each adult bunking in with a kid in the same berth.
top berth is not conducive for sharing - huge possibility of a roll-smack-down whilst trying to turn over in your sleep.
floor space is cramped for child + adult if wanting to sleep on the carpet.

in the 4-berth compartment - [you already have 3 berths reserved in that compartment]
you may get 2 lower berths and/or request a change of berths with the 4th passenger, when its time to zzzz.
[if 4th passenger has knee problems and/or is aged... then - hmm, there's the carpet on the floor, a tad more carpet area]


3. if the above 2 points dont make sense then its...
2 kids in tow - arrive at the station - no guarantee of a coupe.



hmm
:brishti

steven_ber

I've heard of the 2 reserved + 1 unreserved solution a few times, and it seems like TTE's are happy with this, I'd go one step further (not sure if this has been mentioned earlier) and indicate that a 1 year old is travelling, this should almost guarantee a coupe.

It's really strange, there's actually far more room per person in a 2 berth coupe than in a 4 berth cabin, this is because both have the same floor space, yet strangely, the coupe seems more cramped, I think this is because you're staring at a blank wall and the space just seems to end abruptly, I still prefer the coupe though, mainly because I find other 1A passengers less sociable than those in other classes. (though it's maybe also me feeling less sociable.)

I agree, but it does still happen sometimes.

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