A loyalty program called as SOFT (Scheme for frequent travelers) and also known as the Shubh yatra Scheme entitles frequent Ac class Travelers to loyalty points each time a ticket is booked through IRCTC online. Once you area proud owner of accumulated 500 points in your account loyalty points can be redeemed for free or concessions can be attained for the same.

Under this scheme, if the travel dates fall between April 1 to July 14 and September 16 to January 14, you will earn 4 points on every 100 rupees you have spent for the train ticket. If at all your travel dates fall on January 15 to March 31^st and from July 15 to September 15, you are entitled for 10 points for every 100 rupees that you spent to buy a train ticket.

However there are a few conditions involved to earn loyalty points to redeem them against free or concessional Indian Railways train tickets.

Firstly, you strictly need to book your tickets only at www.irctc.co.in . You need to get yourself registered at IRCTC to apply for Shubh Yatra. Tickets have to be booked only in AC class, except 3-tier AC coaches. Initial membership fee and renewal fee has to be paid to avail the Shubh Yatra facility.

You have to be a traveling member to avail the facility of Shubh Yatra and you can redeem Railway points for your individual fare only Your points get credited to your account after a period of 5 days provided you have not cancelled your tickets.

The loyalty points on your card are valid for a period of 3 yrs from the date of your registration with IRCTC. However, if you fail to renew your membership you lose out on the loyalty points you had collected till date.

Of course the millions of people of all income strata from middle-class backgrounds to the hungry- labour agricultural belt have no alternative other than the Indian railways to organize their annual trips back home.

By far the most luxurious way to travel on the main routes on the regular trains is in the privacy of the 2/4 berth air-conditioned (AC) First class, ordinary first class coaches (non AC), though spacious and comfortable do not keep the dust and noise out.

The second-class two tier sleeper is cheaper and also available on many more trains. It has four berth open cubicles facing a common corridor. So it provides the comforts of AC travel as well as the opportunity of getting to meet many other passengers during a long journey.

The super fast fully air- conditioned Rajdhani Express deluxe trains provide the opportunity of experiencing Indian Railways at their very best. More than 16 such trains connect New Delhi, the capital or the “Rajdhani” to all the major cities in the country.

Another quality efficient and comfortable set of trains is the Shatabdi Express. These superfast inter-cities air- conditioned trains provide region wise connection between major cities which do not involve overnight journeys. So they are ideal for quick and comfortable daytime travel.

Till date Indian railways has been have retained their past heritage. Much improvement has also been brought about by continual efforts through growth of technology and education. Indian railways pioneering growth in enhancing economic and socio-economic strata is undeniable. Indian railway tourism industry is growing leaps and bounds.

The structure of the Victoria Terminus is a mixture of two cultures less under one roof- the English Victorian Gothic Revival blends with the traditional Indian culture and is a unique atmospheric structure created at Victoria terminus and not elsewhere. Victoria terminus was made in a matter of 10yrs to play homage to Queen Victoria and then opened to all.

Victoria Terminus was built in the year 1888 and was built by the Government of India. Victoria Terminus station is one of the most populous stations in the city of Mumbai

and trains cruise from here to witness some of the awesome travel destinations in India.

It was in the year 1996, that it came to be renamed by the State Government of Mahatashtra as Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, a famous Maratha king of the 17^th century.

Victoria Terminus is popularly known by its short form VT. Victoria terminus is the headquarters of the Central railways in India from where suburban-harbour as well as long distance trains are operational.

There is a huge structure of Queen Victoria at the dome of the station. A visit to the Victoria Terminus station is an enchanting architectural splendorous experience, which has created a new style of Architecture in Mumbai.

Victoria Terminus has witnessed the most horrendous Terrorist attack in the year 2008.Now with added safety measures 2.5 million commuters still throng the place to commute by electric locomotives, which is the pulse of the throbbing city.

If you want to travel by the passenger train you very much would begin by wanting to know the seats availability and also the train fare for your choice of destination. To check the Indian railways seat availability information you need to go to the Indian Railways Passenger Reservation inquiry page to check the availability of the seats in the train you wish to travel on particular date.

You will need to enter the first few characters of the originating station against the option of Source Station Name. When you have added information about the choice of originating station you will need to enter the class details in which you wish to travel. You can check the seat availability for all classes for your choice of destination and date of travel.

You have an easy option to browse the calendar icon to check the correct day and date of travel and departure before actually making your bookings. Lastly when you are actually through with all the cross-checking on the calendar you will need to enter the journey date in the first column and month in the second column.

You will need to click on the icon stating give details. You will find all the list of trains to make selection of your choice on it. As per your preferences click the train for which you want to check the seat availability and click get availability icon.

You will finally get the seat availability information for the train and date you have inquired for along with its fare.

A handy guide, Trains at a Glance has been designed by Indian Railways every year to help you know the timings of all the mail/ express trains which are operated by the Indian railways.

However the book fails to mention all details about the stoppages of the train, only main station stoppages have been indicated. All the stations appearing from the journey by a particular train are mentioned in a neat alphabetical order.

Important stations that have various destination stations are listed under them. The table numbers of all the trains are mentioned alongside the destination stations. The trains which connect these stations are also mentioned for your reference along with their nos.

If at all the destination stations are not mentioned under it, the train number too is mentioned against the originating station itself. We should then go to the most relevant table and choose the most convenient train.

Another method is, if you are aware of the train number of the train you intend to travel using the Train No Index you can easily locate your train no and go to the mentioned table no given alongside for further convenience.

If you are aware of the train name then to it is easy to locate your train No and go to the table no given alongside. Passengers who are traveling can easily locate your starting station and the route further on towards your point of destination. The numbers along the routes indicate the no of the train.

Indian Railways has been making efforts to show accurate services schedule in this time table but at times they can be randomly changed without any prior notice to its travelers.

Indian railways can qualify for an easy mover of goods and parcels but definitely they need to work harder to provide sociably pleasing passenger service. Due to laid back attitude by commuters as well as Indian railways concerned official’s, journey by Indian Railways train is an unpleasant experience though convenient as it is the cheapest mode of transportation.

The unattended urinals, mounts of garbage, tobacco stained coaches, stray animals on platforms and beggars are in access and need quick corrective action to be taken on account of Railways.

There have no doubt been sudden developmental changes like introduction of new trains; new routes etc which have largely helped commuters of Indian railways but mostly due to all these developments the core problem of Hygiene and maintenance of trains’ has remained unattended.

Millions of passengers commute by Indian Railways, the sheer volume of the amount of users also makes it difficult for the concerned administration to manage the mounting challenge. To help in such as situation individual commuter should take corrective responsibility of his or her actions, at least then there would be hope rather than respite of being able to get dignified rail travel.

Ironically the concerned promising leaders have gained laurels for being able to generate revenue through this mode of transportation. But in due course the same promising leaders have failed to provide a dignified hygienic service to its commuters.

We do not want to be treated like herd of cattle. We just want more quality hygiene prone services.

Toy trains are mostly today a part of amusement gardens and places of entertainment for kids. A toy train gives a child the opportunity to enjoy ride in this gigantic wheel on tracks.

Hill stations too provide an excitement of their own. This tiny narrow gauge “Toy Trains” are in service Kalka and Shimla in Himachal Pradesh and Ooty in Tamil Nadu, New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in West Bengal and Neral and Matheran in Maharashtra.. There is nothing compared to quite match this experience not only for kids but even for elders when the trains chugs past terraced fields and tiny hamlets nestling in the hills, going through the tunnels, gazing down step cliffs, going across gorges, getting the first scent of pine as the train rides higher, and feel the cool bracing air lift up your spirits as you leave the hot dusty plains behind.

Trains have a soothing and mesmerizing affect on the child and kids love it when the train is in motion. Children love to be on the go and you as well as the child can gain immense entertainment and pleasure in the joy ride of Toy trains. The realistic sounds of the whistles and movement in these toy trains make a child’s imagination to run free. The kids absolutely love the ride and it is this love affair with trains that sets the love for train travel a continued passion at all age –groups.

The trains like Shatabdi Express and Rajdhani express too lack basic facilities of having decent toilets for use by the passengers. The open disposal system of disposing the waste down the holes of the pots adds to the poor sanitation conditions that already exist in the Indian Railways.

The disposed sewage when gets thrown out of the trains when the trains are in motion add to the atmospheric pollution. Moreover when the trains are not in motion and the toilets are being used by commuters the stink and the foul smell left behind on the tracks when the train moves adds to the plight of the commuters waiting for their respective trains on the platform.

The open disposal system has made the hygienic conditions pitiful. Most of all the filth gets washed away with the rains in to the nearby villages, rivers and lakes adding to the environmental problems.

As a commuter, we ourselves should maintain quality standards while using the urinals in long distance trains or else we alone would be the sufferers of the ongoing continuous plight of the depleted condition of the urinals in these long-distance trains.

The existing problem of open air disposal is a grave reason of concern for all living as well as non-living organisms. Railways have toiled hard to give its commuters good transportation facility. But neglecting the issue of environmental degradation and hygiene facilities is a reason of concern for the commuters of Indian railways.

The concerned authorities should look in for options for better eco-friendly technologies to be made available to the commuters of these long distance trains.

Indian railways in a bid to provide accommodation to waitlisted passengers have come out with an innovative scheme to make optimum use of all the accommodation available in the train.

Under this scheme a wait listed passenger who has paid a full fare will be provided accommodation without levying any extra charges if vacant accommodation is available even in higher class coaches of the train. Upgrading can be done from one class to the next higher class only (i.e.) from second class to three tier Ac and from 3 tier Ac to first class and so on.

To avail this facility while booking tickets the traveler needs to feel “yes” in the application form, which makes clear your desire to get upgrade if in case possible. While the charts are being prepared the travelers who had filled “yes” for the possibility to get upgraded get randomly selected by the system.

When your ticket gets upgrade to the next level a chart like the waiting list chart is displayed this indicates the old as well as the new status of the upgraded passengers. The original PNR no is retained even when your ticket is upgraded.

The tickets that have been booked in bulk by passengers are not eligible for up gradation. The tickets that have already been booked under the confessional rates and those tickets that partly consist of complete fare too are not eligible to be upgraded to the next level.

It’s worth trying your luck…May be you too get an opportunity to get upgraded on board. All the best and try your luck.

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