booking a train ticket in India

[pethadine82]

I have the option of flying from mumbai to Surat or taking the train.
The indian railway website is very confusing, anyone know where to start?

 

[ainsworth74]

The Man in Seat 61 has plenty of advice on offer for most countries in the world including India. The full page on India can be found here but you can find the specific section on buying tickets online here.

 

[swt class 450]

Its probably simpler and easier to just buy it at the ticket office at a railway station in India rather than booking online in advance.

India is an extremely cheap country so i doubt you will save much money by buying it online far in advance. It will probably still be cheap (especially compared to British trains) if you just buy on the day.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Its probably simpler and easier to just buy it at the ticket office at a railway station in India rather than booking online in advance.

India is an extremely cheap country so i doubt you will save much money by buying it online far in advance. It will probably still be cheap (especially compared to British trains) if you just buy on the day.

Indian trains book up months in advance in many cases, so this is not generally good advice. There are however sometimes "tourist quotas" which can be obtained nearer the date of travel.

It is well worth doing your research. Unless you want to go unreserved second class, which is not a comfortable experience at all, it's not like the UK where you can rock up and buy on the day.

 

[Chester1]

The Man in Seat 61 has plenty of advice on offer for most countries in the world including India. The full page on India can be found here but you can find the specific section on buying tickets online here.

I have used the guide to buy tickets in India. Its a pain to pay through IRTC because of banking laws. I managed it eventually.

Its probably simpler and easier to just buy it at the ticket office at a railway station in India rather than booking online in advance.

India is an extremely cheap country so i doubt you will save much money by buying it online far in advance. It will probably still be cheap (especially compared to British trains) if you just buy on the day.

That is terrible advice for anyone not wanting to use unairconditioned unreserved carriages.

Indian trains book up months in advance in many cases, so this is not generally good advice. There are however sometimes "tourist quotas" which can be obtained nearer the date of travel.

It is well worth doing your research. Unless you want to go unreserved second class, which is not a comfortable experience at all, it's not like the UK where you can rock up and buy on the day.

Agreed. I wouldn't rely on the tourist quotas although worth checking for short notice journeys.

For a journey like Mumbai to Surat there will be a mixture of regional seated services and sleeper trains. EE is 2+2 seating and CC 2+3. The loading gauge is slightly bigger than in the UK so its alright but EE is worth the extra cost for a 4 hour journey if you can book it. For sleeper services unless you are traveling as a couple or group of 4 I don't think AC1 is worth the extra cost because you are still sharing with strangers. For solo travel AC2 was my preference because its considerably more spacious and less crowded than AC3. The latter is fine if you can't get AC2 or on a tight budget. Second class seats and sleeper class are not airconditioned, unreserved and often extremely overcrowded.

 

[Glenmutchkin]

There have been changes in the last year or so that have made Foreign Tourist Quota tickets available via the IRCTC on line system.

Opening an on line account seems to be a bit of a lottery. I got one with relatively little difficulty a few years ago but others have reported that the system just will not accept their registration attempt.

Unless things have changed in the last year or so there is a Foreign Tourist counter at CST in Mumbai. From memory Mumbai Surat is about five hours and any class of reserved seat would be bearable and a great experience if you haven't done an Indian train.

This link should give you a list of trains between the two.

https://indiarailinfo.com/search/12293/0/65

 

[Bletchleyite]

Second class seats and sleeper class are not airconditioned, unreserved and often extremely overcrowded.

Point of order - Sleeper Class *is* reserved and is not overcrowded. It's only second class unreserved seating which has overcrowding that makes the Central Line at Bank on a Monday morning look empty.

 

[Chester1]

Point of order - Sleeper Class *is* reserved and is not overcrowded. It's only second class unreserved seating which has overcrowding that makes the Central Line at Bank on a Monday morning look empty.

Ah ok. It's not air conditioned which is essential most of the year. I think it's a fair bet that the passengers are less likely to speak English than those in AC1-3. AC2 or AC3 are best for a comfortable but authentic experience.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Ah ok. It's not air conditioned which is essential most of the year. I think it's a fair bet that the passengers are less likely to speak English than those in AC1-3. AC2 or AC3 are best for a comfortable but authentic experience.

English is very widely spoken in India, including in Sleeper Class and unreserved second class. I've done Bangalore to Agra in the former (about 48 hours and about £8) and Agra to Delhi in the latter (about 3 hours stood by the bog). They were both interesting and sociable experiences, though not exactly comfortable!

 

[Chester1]

English is very widely spoken in India, including in Sleeper Class and unreserved second class. I've done Bangalore to Agra in the former (about 48 hours and about £8) and Agra to Delhi in the latter (about 3 hours stood by the bog). They were both interesting and sociable experiences, though not exactly comfortable!

Its widely spoken but I found profiency varied greatly. The middle class Indians that use AC2 and AC3 are far more likely to speak English to a good conversational level. Personally I wouldn't use Sleeper or second class, I am not 18 and on a gap year!

 

[Glenmutchkin]

Its widely spoken but I found profiency varied greatly. The middle class Indians that use AC2 and AC3 are far more likely to speak English to a good conversational level. Personally I wouldn't use Sleeper or second class, I am not 18 and on a gap year!

My wife and I are both retired and have done around 50,000 km together on Indian Railways over the past nine years. We have travelled all of the available classes including a 19 hour trip overnight on a narrow gauge sleeper and several trips in Unreserved.

I wouldn't choose Sleeper for an overnight trip if there was something more upmarket available but for a shortish day trip it is the best way to see the countryside. We try to get a pair of side berths to give us both a window seat.

We've never had a problem finding people who speak English in Sleeper. They have usually come to find us. The range of vendors in Sleeper is usually much more entertaining than in AC coaches. The big plus in Sleeper is that you can open the windows. Sometimes you finish up with fogged up or filthy windows in AC which spoil the view a bit. Conversely if your ambition is to ride at the open door AC has less competition for the space.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Its widely spoken but I found profiency varied greatly. The middle class Indians that use AC2 and AC3 are far more likely to speak English to a good conversational level. Personally I wouldn't use Sleeper or second class, I am not 18 and on a gap year!

I used second class because getting off at Agra was unplanned, I hadn't realised the train stopped there, so when I saw it did I just grabbed my bag and jumped off - and needed a way onwards to Delhi after visiting the Taj and Red Fort. One question that was asked of me by the rather inquisitive people I found in there was why I (as a presumably rich Westerner) didn't just bribe the guard to get into a reserved coach.

Sleeper Class was planned, and it was the kind of adventure I was looking for for my £8.50...though I was a bit younger then, I was in my late 20s/early 30s, not 18! The heat (and it was hot, it was June) wasn't much of an issue as all the windows and doors were open so there was a pleasant breeze.