How to Book Train Ticket in India : A Guide from Practical Experience

Traveling in India will never be fulfilled if you do not have a train journey. As India is a big country so the long route train journeys are generally for 2 to 3 days or even longer. So, to cover this long distance plane and train are the only options. Bus and car journey is not possible to cover this long route. There is a saying by the local Indians that, if you really want see the real India travel through a train. And as a witness I believe, everyone traveling to India should travel by train at least for once because it will give you overview of the variety of nature, people and culture within a day which nothing else can give you.

Booking a Train Ticket:
In India, if you want to buy a train ticket for a long route you have to book it at least 1 days prior the journey date or you might end up in the waiting list which does not confirm your ticket. Most of the time I found myself with no tickets while booking one and half month before the journey. But it’s not same for the small route and the medium route. For 8 to 12 hour journey the tickets are available before 7 days. Like from ‘Bangalore to Goa’ I gave traveled by booking the ticket before 3 days of the journey and the return ticket I got just a day before. Actually it mostly depends on the peak and off peak season. But it’s always safe to book it as soon as possible. Moreover, for short route like 3 to 4 hour journey, the tickets are available just before an hour also. So, depending on the route and the season the ticket availability varies.

                                                       Train according to its class:

In India trains are the most demandable transport for the general public. It is affordable to every class of people and a safe port of travel. The tickets and the standard of the train is divided according to its class system. The First class is the most expensive coach of the train which comes up with maximum comfort and facilities with the maximum price range. Then second class which has facilities little less than first class, then 3^rd class and finally sleeper class.  Some train there is a coach called general which provides less facility than the sleeper.  Sleeper class and general coach do not have the A/C facility among all the classes. Most of the long route train does not have the first class and general coach in the train as it is less popular among all.

Approximate Pricing:

For a train ticket, the price varies according to the class. The first class ticket costs the maximum and it reduces according to the classes. Here a train pricing given below to have some idea about the train cost -

Price list for Train

Train Name:Karnataka Express

Train Route: Bangalore to Delhi train  

Journey Time: 3 Days max ( appx 48 hours)

Class	Pricing
First Class	5,405 rs
Second Class	3,125 rs
Third Class	2,205 rs
Sleeper	815 rs

Booking System:

Online booking:  Indian Railway has made the train booking service online. You can book your ticket online and choose your berth (upper, middle or lower) according to the availability. Even you can pay by using net banking system if you are a national of India. In online booking you can see the status of available ticket according to different class. For booking a ticket you can go to website ‘irctc.co.in’ and book your desired ticket.

 Booking from the station: It’s the general process of booking the ticket. If you don’t have any access to online or payment gateway, you can simply go to the train station and book your ticket. Generally the booking counter of a train station opens at 10:00 A.M. So, you can go anytime after that and get your ticket.

Emergency / Tatkal Booking: The emergency ticket is named Tatkal ticket in India. You can get the Tatkal ticket just one day before the journey. These tickets are for the emergency purpose. Every train has some coach reserved for the emergency purpose. For getting a Tatkal ticket you have to be in the station as early as possible. May be from morning 5 you have to stay in a line till 10 or more as the office opens for Tatkal at 10 a.m. The Tatkal tickets are being sold on the first come first serve basis. So whoever will be on the first on the line will get the ticket first. It can finish anytime soon. Generally first 10-15 people in the line gets the tickets confirmed. But it can be changed anyway. For getting a Tatkal ticket you have to carry an ID card or passport copy with you. You have to fill a form and submit your id copy along with that while purchasing the ticket. Anyways Tatkal ticket costs more than the original ticket pricing. You might have to pay 100 or 200 more for each ticket.

Booking through the Agent: This is generally applicable for the tourists who do not have much idea of the train ticket. If you don’t have the ticket, but you want to travel urgent then there are agents to find a ticket for you. They generally book the Tatkal ticket by standing on the line for hours in the morning which will save your time and effort to get you a ticket by standing in the line. For booking a ticket through Agent you have to pay more. For getting the Tatkal ticket you have to pay some extra amount along with the ticket price and add some more amounts for the agent according to their requirement.

Booking Train Ticket from Abroad: 
If you want to book an Indian train ticket just click the link below. It will Provide you some necessary information.

http://www.indiamike.com/india-articles/booking-indian-rail-tickets-from-abroad 

Canceling a Ticket:

If you have already booked a ticket but want to cancel the ticket, then you can cancel the ticket before a day of the journey date. But a certain amount will be cut for cancelling the ticket. The amount varies according to different class and the date of your cancelling. Like if you cancel before 10 days of the journey then the amount will be lesser than if you cut it before a day.

Most of the times we plan to travel India without any plan and without knowing any procedure. So, maximum time we fall in the problem of booking a train ticket. Though we want to travel by train but not having any proper guideline it is always troublesome to book a ticket from one place to another. So, this is a guide which aims to help you for traveling in India. Hope it gives you enough Idea while traveling.

By Debesree Saha