Indian Railways ,Pnr status, Railway Reservation Guide

One hundred and forty eight years ago, on Saturday 16t April 1853, three stream locomotives named Sultan, Sindh and Sahib, hauled fourteen railway carriages from Mumbai to Thane, taking an hour and fifteen minutes for the 34-kilometre journey. On board were four hundred distinguished guests who naturally did not have to pay their first class fare-a princely sum of rupees two and ten annas (65 paise).

The train bought them bake to Mumbai later that very evening. To mark the occasion the government declared a holiday for all the public offices in Mumbai. Rail travel had arrived in India.

Today the Indian Railways is the largest rail system in the world under a single management. With a network of more than 630000 kilometers, it runs more than 14000passenger and goods trains everyday and transports nearly 11 million passengers daily between thousands of stations across the country.

A wooden structure acted as a terminus when the first train was flagged off at Boribunder, Mumbai. In its place today is one of the most magnificent stations in the world, Victoria terminus or VT, now named Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus. Many other railway stations which were built before India gained her freedom, such as those at Delhi, Chennai and Lucknow, reflect their imposing colonial heritage. Sadly some of them are now dwarfed by modern concrete structures built nearby.

The invention of the railways has made life comfortable for people of all caste, creed and status. We can now move or transport things quickly, moreover it has reduced the time taken to travel long distances. Today with the invention of the wheels and discovery of new machineries and fuel and constant upgraded quality services offered by the officials traveling is quick, easy and comfortable.

The Deccan Odyssey is stated to be a super deluxe train and has been launched by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation in association with Indian railways. The Deccan Odyssey train in comparison to the luxury trains in the Eastern Europe and the Oriental of South East Asia is considered to be far better.

The ride ion the luxurious train is the reflection of the Indian royalty in the past. The commuter’s journey turns memorable in the plush interiors offered by the Indian railways on the Deccan Odyssey. The primary motive of the Deccan Odyssey is to showcase the serene assets of Maharashtra like the enchanting beauty of the Konkan coast.

The Deccan Odyssey is a luxurious train glides its guests on one of the best luxury trains of India which has a facility of magnificent coaches, presidential suite cars, conference car, dining car, spa car, luggage cars, bar cars, library, business center, sauna, generator cars and a small workout room etc.

The train has other added facilities on board which include T.V, cable connections, cell phones, channel music, foreign exchange facilities etc. Finest quality of Indian and Continental cuisine is served on board in the two restaurant cars that take care of the on board passengers with their high end service which is delivered by the Taj hotel group.

The Deccan Odyssey trails its commuters on an unforgettable route to the exotic tourist destinations which involves the land of the legendary and the mighty Marathas, magnificent forts and palaces and numerous other destinations such as Goa, Ganapatiphule, Ratnagiri, Pune, Sawantwadi,Ajanta Nasik to name a few.

Deccan Odyssey undoubtedly provided one of the finest journey experiences which is much more than a mere luxury train cruise. So get going soon to board the luxurious

Deccan Odyssey train to explore the unforgettable tour for a lifetime.

Tatkaal service is a scheme offered by the Indian railways which serves to be very useful to avail reservations in case of any emergencies. This facility provides the customer the privilege of just booking the tickets just 2- days in advance, excluding the date on which the travel wants to travel. E.g. if the date of the journey is 6^th November, then the tatkaal ticket can be booked on 4^th of November from 8: oo am for the travel journey.

In case of cancellation within 24 hrs before the departure of the train, 25% of the total fare excluding the Tatkaal fare is refunded. Full refund of payment in tickets booked is a rare phenomenon in cases where in the train gets delayed for more than 3 hours at the originating point of journey.

Full refund is also possible if the traveler himself plans not to travel, or if the train route gets diverted due to some unavoidable circumstances and also if in case the boarding or the destination stations of the traveler is not in the diverted route.

The time frame for the refund of the amount of the travel is the same as that of other normal ticket bookings. Tatkaal charges are the same throughout the year and the optimum use of the tatkaal service is made in the months of April to September, which happens to be a holiday season for mostly all schools and colleges.

Tatkaal service is favored by many passengers because of instant and immediate service that gets provided to them, even though it involves paying a certain premium amount to get the service.

Indian Railway services and schemes are constantly on the move with innovative ideas and quality services for its passengers. Tatkaal booking is surely one. Let’s wait and see what more and user friendly service does it provide further on.

The government and the railway officials are working in tangent to make commuting in train by passengers as a completely hygienic and healthy experience. Currently there are no rules laid against the offence of spitting by the Indian railway Act.

The metro and Mono rail which are in the process of starting early next year want to be saved from the ordeal of purple red stains. The government and the railway official’s are taking utmost care to address the act of spitting by commuters of Indian railways.

It has been stressed by Mumbai Vikas Rail Corporation and other concerned railway authorities to take stringent actions against the offender found guilty of spitting in the railway train compartments or stations premises.

The Railways officials are taking utmost care to maintain the rail coaches and have put forward the idea of changing the colour scheme for the coaches changed from purple to red so that the visible patches of red stains get hidden under the red coloured coaches. The above idea has however been already been dropped by the concerned officials as already a huge some is being spent on the Indian railways colour scheme. Moreover the new purple coloured scheme has been widely accepted and appreciated by the commuters.

Since there is no law against the offence of spitting, the Indian railways is booking offenders under the Indian Railway Act for damaging Railway property and for causing inconvenience to the general public.

Its high time, commuters realize the ill-effects of spitting in public places and the unhygienic conditions involved with it. We should learn to respect the privileged quick and cheap mode of transportation that has been made available to us by the Indian railways. Check your act and act responsibly.

Shatabdi express is a series of very efficient and comfortable set of trains which is a super fast passenger train being functional and operated by the Indian Railways. Shatabdi Express is a super fast- inter-city, air conditioned train which provides region wise connection between major cities which do not involve overnight journeys.

It serves as a connection between metro cities and certain business centers within the cities. They are super fast prestigious trains provided by the Indian railways which runs short distances and returns to its station of origin the very same day. This is mostly helpful and useful for the business class.

During the early stages of its evolution in Indian in the year 1988 it was criticized heavily for the luxury it provided in a poor country. However with the passage of time people learned about its usage and importance in terms of its luxury and speed.

Shatabdi express is a fully air-conditioned train and has set reasonably high standards in terms of its service and luxury compared to most other Indian rail coaches. The passengers have to wait only at a selected few stations and the ordeal off waiting at consecutively every next station is saved.

Passengers in the Shatabdi express are all provided with a one-litre bottle by the railways owned subsidiary Railway Neer, a literal translation of the word water. Apart from this the travelers are even provided with snacks, breakfast/ meals, coffee- tea etc.

Due to its growing popularity and requirement Indian railway operates 12 pairs of Shatabdi express out of which eight originate from New Delhi itself to places like Bhopal, lucknow, Ajmer, Dehradun, Amritsar and kalkaji. Two of them cruise from Chennai to Banglore and Mysore and one each from Calcutta to Ranchi and lastly from Mumbai to Ahemdabad.

In a nutshell, Shatabdi express is not only super fast- with all amenities but they are above all ideal for quick and comfortable daytime travel.

Samjhauta Express is a train that runs twice a week and is a proof of mark of understanding between the two counties of the world. Samjahauta whose literal meaning is compromise is a train that runs efficiently between India and Pakistan. The Samjhauta express is also termed as Friendship Express as it stands for growing friendship between India and Pakistan.It cruises generally on two days generally being Fridays or Tuesdays.

Lahore and Delhi serve as the terminus for Samjhauta Express. The train embarks its journey from Delhi on line for Attari, then moves further to Wagah and cruises at Lahore in Pakistan. Originally the train when started its expedition had a daily service but then later it was in the year 19994 that it finally was decided to turn it in to a bi-weekly service.

All the formalities related to the migration happen in Attari in India and Wagah in Pakistan. But later due to some differences in Punjab and for added safety reasons, Indian Railways discontinued its services at Attari of dealing with custom a and migration formalities and clearances.

Indian Railways in its bid to revive the friendship between two neighboring nations has made it possible for passengers to make tickets obtainable fifteen days in advance as against the earlier customary practice of reserving tickets on the date of traveling itself.

Indian railways has selected counters at places such as Allahabad, Kanpur and Amritsar for facilating trade of tickets for the Samjhauta express. The tickets when reserved the traveler gets two tickets for the trip- first being for Attari on the Indian Boundary and the other for the rest of the journey for places in Pakistan, together with Lahore.

Samjahuta express is undoubtedly is a mark of thoughtfulness by the Indian railways. Keep up the good work.

In today’s world of over population Trains are undoubtedly proved as the fastest mode of transportation. However the ride earlier which was pleasurable as well as enjoyable is no longer the same. People tend to use it to reach to their workplaces quickly on a routine basis.

The western and the central zones are the two zones of the Indian Railways which carry millions of passengers to their workplaces to earn their livelihood on a routine basis. The problem of over-crowding in Indian Railways is severe. People get overcrowded filled in each rake like tiny matchboxes. Yet it is impossible to avoid traveling by train as it is the cheapest and the fastest mode of commuting.

One can clearly observe the stress when the train is about to arrive at the platform as each commuter wants to find its way in the cramped compartments inside the train. People learn to master the art with practice and it’s with continued practice and dedication that you can achieve a place to stand in a corner in the compartment if not to sit.

The other problem that surfaces while traveling in these local trains is that it is clearly mentioned not to hang from the gateways of the compartments as it is indeed risky and can prove fatal to the life of the commuter. It is dangerous and has often risked lives in the past but commuters even though aware dangle on the gateways due to lack of sitting space and tend to ignore the risk involved in dangling on the doors.

Simply it has become a habit of few to dangle on the gateways of the train for lack of proper breeze inside the compartments. It is high time that the concerned officials take notice of the horrendous experience that the commuter has to go through each day to reach their destinations.

A proper railway system with a few basic amenities to take care of the prestigious commuters is a must. Let’s hope for a more efficient service for the passengers soon.

Palace on wheels is a royal train journey with all the sophisticated amenities of which Rajasthan Tourism as well as Indian railways can feel proud of. Palace on wheels has achieved prominent position amongst the top ten lavish trains of the world.

The palace on wheels is an air- conditioned luxury train run by the Indian Railways in collaboration with the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation and the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd. Respectively.

Palace on wheel offers an extremely royal facility and feel of traveling like a “maharaja” to the travelers on board in this train. Traveling in this train is a very generous hospitality offered by the palace on wheels which is not offered by any other trains in India.

The trains take you from the Delhi Cantonment station to some of the most exciting destination in these states, traveling through the night and stopping each morning at a new destination.

Palace on wheels is one of the most luxurious trains of the world and traveling in it is like a destination reached. It gives an opportunity to the travelers to explore the palaces and the forts of colorful Rajasthan, Delhi and Agra. You can visit the incredible places of India like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and many more place of serene beauty from this train

It is a one week excursion with this train where you can avail all the high class modernized facilities inside this luxury train. The facilities provided are incomparable with any of the trains in India and actually make you feel like a “maharaja”.

One can witness fascinating glimpses of ancient monuments and forts that reveals India’s glory and culture in every walk of life. It’s like a dream come true and worth every penny saved in past to enjoy a ride on this luxurious train. Wish you a very Happy Journey.

If you are planning to travel on Indian Railways you are required to make reservations for all classes of accommodation on long distance trains except if you plan to travel by second class. For this a user friendly online booking service has been launched by Indian Railways to make reservations quick and easy for the travelers.

The online reservation facility has been started so that the passenger does not have to stand in long queues on reservation counters on a few prominent stations. These queues are huge and can take as long as two hours to reserve your tickets. Where as the online reservation system started by Indian railways is user-friendly and has made it possible to book the tickets from anywhere around the world.

For reservations you need to log in to the Indian Railways passenger reservation inquiry website and find the name and the no of the train you want to travel on. Under the option of “Services” you will need to click on the option of “Train berth availability”. An online time-table to view the list of all Indian Railway trains in a glance will appear to assist you.

You will need to enter the details of the station you want to depart from and your place of destination. You will need to mention all details such as your journey date, destination you want to travel to and even your class of Accommodation. You can check all the class for accommodations since some class book more easily than the others.

If there is no availability of the trains between the stations you have selected you will get an error message and then you will need to try some different train names and numbers along with different stations.

If at all there are no reservations available on particular train, the availability will show as under the category of (RAC), which means if at all there are any cancellations the tickets would be made available to you. Waiting list tickets when booked means there is no seat available in the trains and waitlist passengers won’t be allowed to board the train unless there are enough cancellations.

Once you have found train to travel on take a print copy of the same as that is the only witness of you booking the ticket online when on board.

Online booking facilities have changed the facet of the Indian railways. The official website www.irctc.co.in is great and worth appreciating. Initially we all had to go to book our tickets standing in the huge queues at railway stations booking tickets for our journey.

But now with the concept of online booking its possible just a click away. It’s possible for the consumer to book i-tickets online where in they would be receiving the tickets by post which looks very much like initially found regular train tickets. Incase of any cancellations in e-tickets the money gets directly gets credited into your respected accounts.

Another privileged service offered by Indian railways website is e-ticket booking, where in the commuter just needs to carry a printout of the online booking conformation. (ERS) is enough. The website is providing improved convenient services to its commuters through its easy and user-friendly service to make online bookings.

The customer care taken into consideration by Indian railways online booking service is decent. You just need to login to the website, mention the mention the originating and destination stations of the journey along with the date and class of travel. The website will quickly show the list of trains and the route map on that route. Check the ticket availability and pay the mentioned fare online through Credit or Debit card and book your tickets for your journey in just a click away.

The significant growth of online bookings is a smart move taken by the Indian railways. Numerous pay options available to book your tickets online and check the status of your booked tickets is a real convenient and passenger friendly move by Indian railways. We appreciate your move Indian railways and look forward to more added value based services for us passengers on board too.