My Travel Blog

Indian IR Travel Rules

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:40:01 +0000

Below are general rules for travel on IR as specified in many zonal timetables and displayed in statiions, etc. The text consists of extracts from the Indian Railways Acts. The rules below are provided only as an indication of the general rules that are applicable, and should not be considered to be complete, accurate, or authoritative.

Extracts from The Indian Railways Act – of Importance and Interest to a Passenger

Every person desirous of travelling on a Railway shall, upon payment of his fare be supplied with a ticket specifying the class of carriage for which, and the place from and the place to which, the fare has been paid.
A person to whom a ticket has been issued and for whom there is not room available in the train for which the ticket was issued shall, on returning the ticket within three hours after the departure of the train, entitled to have his fare refunded.
A person for whom there is not room available in the class of carriage for which he has purchased a ticket and who is obliged to travel in a carriage of a lower class shall be entitled on delivering up his ticket to a refund of the difference between the fare paid by him and the fare payable for the class of carriage in which he travelled.
No person, shall without the permission of Railway Servant, enter (or remain in) any carriage on a Railway for the purpose of travelling therein as a passenger unless he has with him a proper, pass or ticket.
If a passenger, having entered a compartment which is reserved by the Railway Administration for the use of another passenger, or which already contains the maximum number of passengers exhibited therein or thereon refuses to leave it when required to do so by any Railway servant, he shall be punished with fine according to existing rules of the Railway.
If a passenger resists the lawful entry of another passenger into a compartment not reserved by the Railway administration for the use of the passenger resisting or not already containing the maximum number of passenger exhibited therein or thereon, he shall be punished with the fine according to existing rules of the Railway.
If a person without consent of his fellow passengers, if any in the same compartment, smokes in any compartment except a compartment specially provided for the purpose, he shall be punished with fine according to the existing rules of the Railways.
If any person persists in smoking after being warned by any Railway servant to desist. he may in addition to incurring the liability, be removed by any Railway Servant from the carriage in which he is travelling.
If a person suffering from an infectious or contagious disorder enters or travels upon a Railway, he and any person having charge of him upon the Railway when he so entered or travelled thereon, shalt be punished with fine according to existing rules of the Railways, in addition to the forfeiture of any fare which either of them may have paid, and of any pass or ticket which either of them may have obtained or purchased, and may be removed from the Railway by any Railway servant.
If a male person, knowing a carriage, compartment, room or other place to be reserved by a Railway administration for the exclusive use of females, enters the place without lawful excuse, or having entered it remains therein after having been desired by any Railway Servant to leave it, he shall be punished with fine according to existing rules of the Railways, in addition to the forfeiture of any fare which he may have paid and of any pass or ticket which he may have obtained or purchased, and may be removed from the Railway by any Railway servant.
If a person in any Railway carriage or upon any part of a Railway
- is in a state of intoxication, or
- commits any nuisance or act of indecency, or uses obscene or abusive language, or
- wilfully and without lawful excuse interferes with the comfort of any passenger or extinguishes any lamp,
he shall be punished with fine which may extend to fifty rupees, in addition to the forfeiture of any fare which he may have paid and of any pass or ticket which he may have obtained or purchased and may be removed from the Railway by any Railway servant.
If a person wilfully obstructs or impedes any Railway servant in the discharge of his duty, he shall be punished with fine according to existing rules of the Railway.
If a person unlawfully enters upon a railway, he shall be punished with fine according to existing rules of the Railways.
If a person upon entering refuses to leave the Railway on being requested to do so by any Railway servant or by any other person on behalf of the Railway Administration, he shall be punished with fine according to existing rules of the Railways, and may be removed from the railway by such servant or other persons.
If a passenger travels in a train without having a proper pass or a proper ticket with him, or being in or having alighted from a train, or refuses to present for examination or so deliver up his pass or ticket immediately on requisition being made therefor he shall be liable to pay, on the demand of any Railway servant appointed by the Railway Administration in this behalf, the excess charge hereinafter in this section mentioned. In addition to the ordinary single fare for the distance which he has travelled or where there is any doubt as to the station from which he started, the ordinary single fare from the station from which the train originally started, or, if the tickets of passengers travelling in the train have been examined since the original starting of the train, the ordinary single fare from the place where the tickets were examined, or in case of their having been examined more than once where last examined.
It a passenger travels or attempts to travel in or on a carriage, or by a train, of a higher class than that for which he has obtained a pass or purchased a ticket, or travels in or on a carriage beyond the place authorised by his pass or ticket, he shall be liable to pay, on the demand of any Railway servant appointed by the Railway Administration in this behalf, the excess charge hereinafter in this section mentioned, in addition to any difference between any fare paid by him and the fare payable in respect of such journey as he has made.
if a passenger liable to pay the excess charge and fare mentioned above or the excess charge and any difference of fare mentioned fails or refuses to pay the same on demand being made, any Railway Servant appointed by the Railway Administration in this behalf may apply to any Presidency Magistrate or Magistrate of the first or second class for the recovery of the sum payable as if it were the fine and the Magistrate if satisfied that the sum is payable shall order it to be so recovered, and may order that the person liable for the payment shall in default of payment suffer imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one month. Any sum recovered under this subsection shall, as it is recovered, be paid to the Railway Administration.
Any person who, without having obtained the permission of a Railway servant, travels or attempts to travel in a carriage without having a proper pass or ticket with him; or in a carriage of a higher class than that for which he has obtained a pass or purchased a ticket, or in a carriage beyond the place authorised by his pass or ticket or being in a carriage fails or refuses to present for examination or to deliver up his pass or tickets immediately on requisition may be removed from the carriage by any Railway servant authorised by the Railway Administration in this behalf or by any other person whom such Railway servant may call to his aid unless he then and there pays the fare and the excess charge which he is liable to pay.

Provided that nothing in this section shall be deemed to preclude a person removed from carriage of a higher class from continuing his journey in a carriage of a class for which he holds a pass or ticket;

Provided further that women and children if unaccompanied by male passengers shall not be so removed except either at the station at which they first enter the train or at a Junction or Terminal station or station at the headquarters of a civil district and only between the hours of 6am, and 6pm.

Travelling by train in India

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:59:30 +0000

eneral Information on travelling by IR

“Every person desirous of travelling on a Railway shall, upon payment of his fare be supplied with ticket specifying the class of carriage for which, and the place from and the place to which, the fare has been paid.” (from the Indian Railways Act)

Royston Ellis’s book India by Rail is highly recommended. Details on this book are available in the section on books.

Familiarize yourself with the different classes of service that IR provides. Basically, you have a choice of second class, which is pretty basic but adequate (and relatively cheap, hence popular), first class which is more plush, and various air-conditioned classes which provide protection from heat and dust but may be downright chilly at night. (Railfans should note that the view is often not very good through the windows of the air-conditioned coaches which cannot be opened.)

Sleeper class variants of all these exist (2-tier and 3-tier refer to how many levels of bunk beds the coach has). Not all trains provide accommodation in all classes. Reservations are usually necessary (in addition to purchasing the tickets) for almost all long-distance or overnight travel; there are extra charges for sleeping accommodations.

The Rajdhanis, Shatabdis, Jan Shatabdis, and Super Deluxe Expresses have only reserved accommodations, as do the various luxury tourist trains. In addition, a few trains such as the Deccan Queen, Pragati Exp., Indrayani Exp. (all between Mumbai and Pune) and the Hazrat Nizamuddin – Gwalior Taj Express are also [6/04] fully reserved. Recently [1/05], however, IR has recently been allowing unticketed passengers (or those with just platform tickets), or those without reservations to board these trains at intermediate stations depending on seat availability and the discretion of the TTE; a penalty fare of twice the normal fare has to be paid and the passenger is not assured of a seat nor has access to any of the on-board catering and other services.

Travel without reservations (in the few unreserved coaches that most trains have) is not for the faint of heart, except for shorter day trips. (Note that some trains have only reserved coaches.) Day trains do have reservations, although the number of reserved seats may be small (except for the Shatabdis, Jan Shatabdis and others where all the accommodation is reserved), and for short-distance trains you cannot reserve seats more than 4 days in advance.

For Shatabdis and other medium-distance day trains with sitting accommodation only, the advance reservation period is 10 or 15 days (this has varied: some trains had 3, 7, or 10-day reservation periods). For most long-distance trains with sleeper accommodation, the advance reservation period is 60 days (some trains may have 45 days — the periods have varied in the past).

Class Codes : The various classes of accommodation are referred to using abbreviations in many places. A list is given below. Note that these codes are used solely with reference to accommodation and reservations or ticketing. They are not the codes used to refer to the coaches based on their structural features. For a list of coach types, see the section on coaching stock.

1A : First class air-conditioned (Executive class in Shatabdi Exp. is treated as equivalent to this for fare purposes). Berths for sleeping at night, seats by day.
2A : Air-conditioned 2-tier sleeper. Berths for sleeping at night, seats by day.
FC : First class. Berths for sleeping at night, and seats by day. The number of seats is greater than the number of berths.
3A : Air-conditioned 3-tier sleeper. Berths for sleeping at night, seats by day. The number of seats is greater than the number of berths.
3H : High-capacity air-conditioned 3-tier sleeper. Berths for sleeping at night, seats by day. The number of seats is greater than the number of berths.
CC : Air-conditioned chair-car. Only sitting accommodation (individual chairs). Occasionally (especially on SR and SWR) these are referred to as Second Class AC Chair Cars, to distinguish them from the Executive Chair Car.
CH : High-capacity version of the air-conditioned chair-car class. Only sitting accommodation (individual chairs).
EC : Executive Class, or First Class Air-conditioned chair-car. Only sitting accommodation (individual chairs).
SL : Sleeper class. Berths for sleeping at night, seats by day. The number of seats is greater than the number of berths.
SH : High-capacity (81 berths) sleeper class. Berths for sleeping at night, seats by day. The number of seats is greater than the number of berths.
2S : Second class Sitting. Only sitting accommodation with bench style seats.
ACC : (OLD – no longer in use) First class Air-conditioned sleeper, with coupes of 2 and 4 berths each.

Some trains have different fare schedules, e.g., the Garib Rath category of trains have a lower fare for accommodations that are very similar to the AC-3T coaches normally found in other trains.

Coach designations: Coaches in a train are marked externally according to the class of accommodation. These designations were changed in April 2007. These are also the designations used in the seating charts pasted to the outside of the coaches and available on the ticketing information web sites of IR.

Old Coach Designations

S-1, S-2, etc., are usually the sleeper coaches on overnight trains, but can also indicate sitting-only coaches in day trains on SER, ECoR, NR, ER, some SR.
SC-1, SC-2, etc., are second-class sitting-only coaches (WR, CR, etc.).
A-1, A-2, etc., are the AC 2-tier coaches.
H-1, H-2, etc., are the AC first class coaches.
HA-1, HA-2, etc., are the composite 1AC/2AC coaches.
AS-1, AS-2, etc., are the AC 3-tier coaches (except Garib Rath).
FC (sometimes just F) is used for first-class
G is used for the Garib Rath AC 3-tier coaches.
GC-1, etc. is used for coachs of Garib Rath chair cars
FS-1 is the rare first-class / sleeper composite seen on the Brahmaputra Mail
CC (less common) and C are used for chair car coaches. AC Chair car coaches are most often marked C-1, C-2, etc.
EC is used for executive chair car coaches.
(OLD) SS-1, SS-2, etc., were used for second-class sitting coaches.
(OLD?) SL-1, SL-2, etc., were used for sleeper coaches.
GS and sometimes (rarely) GEN are used for unreserved second-class accommodation.
UR-1, UR-2, etc., are also used for unreserved second-class accommodation.
ES-1, ES-2, …, are sometimes occasionally seen for what seem to be ordinary sleeper coaches — probably stands for ‘Extra’ sleeper coaches provided to accommodate rush travel periods.
SL : Sleeper class. Berths for sleeping at night, seats by day. The number of seats is greater than the number of berths.
EX-1 : Also sometimes used for extra coaches attached to trains to clear rush traffic.

New Coach Designations (2007)

Sleeper coaches’ designations are unchanged: S-1, S-2, etc.
1st AC coaches’ designations are unchanged: H-1, H-2, etc.
AC 2-tier coaches’ designations are unchanged: A-1, A-2, etc.
First class coaches’ designations unchanged: FC or F.
AC Chair Car coaches’ designations unchanged: C-1, C-2, etc.
B-1, B-2, etc. : AC 3-tier (formerly AS-1, etc.)
D-1, etc. : Second-class sitting (formerly S-1, or SC-1, etc.)
E-1, etc. : Executive class (formerly EC-1, etc.).
J-1, etc. : Garib Rath chair car (formerly GC-1, etc.), also Yuva Express AC chair car coaches.
Garib Rath AC 3-tier coaches’ designation is unchanged (G-1, etc.).
Composite coaches combine letters for the constituent classes, e.g., HA for 1st AC cum 2nd AC, AB for AC 2-tier cum AC 3-tier
L-1, L-2, etc., are sometimes used for high-capacity 3AC coaches. This is intended to be an internal code for ticketing and passenger information, but is sometimes used for seat charts.
M-1, M-2, etc., are sometimes used for high-capacity chair-car coaches. This is intended to be an internal code for ticketing and passenger information, but is sometimes used for seat charts.
N-1, N-2, etc., are sometimes used for high-capacity (81 berths) sleeper coaches. This is intended to be an internal code for ticketing and passenger information, but is sometimes used for seat charts.

Some other codes exist, e.g., ‘PC’ for the pantry car although these do not play a role in reservations and ticketing.

An ‘R’ prefix may be seen sometimes on the passenger information systems for RAC tickets. E.g., ‘RB1′ indicates an RAC ticket for the B1 coach.

Tickets can be purchased for journeys from the station where you are buying the tickets, for round-trips (return journeys), for journeys to the station (reverse journeys), or for journeys from other stations (usually intermediate points on train routes from the station where you are buying tickets, but in areas where different stations’ ticketing systems are linked by computer networks, a wider choice is available).

If you have a reservation, you probably also have to look at the reservation charts either pasted on the outside of the coaches, or on boards in the station, to find out which coach and seats/sleepers are yours. (The information on the printed reservation slip you get at the time you make the reservation is not always correct.) Starting in 1999, reservation status can also be checked from special information kiosks (I-ASK) and touch-screen computer terminals at select locations, as well as over the phone in some cities.

Train status information is available over the phone (in some cities), at railway stations, and at information kiosks.

Reservation Against Cancellation (‘RAC’) refers to a ticket status where you have requested a reservation for a berth but do not actually have a reservation for a berth until some berth becomes available through the cancellation of some other reserved ticket. RAC ticket holders can board the reserved coach for the overnight journey, but are only assured of reserved sitting accommodation on the seats at the side of the coach (not in the compartments). If no berths become available, two RAC ticket holders have to share the seats on the side without converting it to a berth by laying down the bunk over them. A third RAC ticket holder gets to use the upper side berth. The side berths are shorter than the berths in the main compartments.

Tickets on the Wait List (‘WL’) are not even guaranteed such sitting accommodation, and are entirely unconfirmed at the time of issue. Seating or sleeping accommodation will be available only if enough other persons with reservations cancel their tickets. On some popular routes, high wait-list numbers in the hundreds are not unusual, and holders of such tickets may still end up with reserved accommodation by the day of the journey since there is a lot of flux as people cancel and re-arrange their trips.

For many trains it is not unusual to see high numbers for the waitlist positions, such as in the 300s. For some trains, this is still reasonable because the trains typically see a lot of cancellation and re-booking activity in the days just before the journey. For some other trains, the high numbers on the wait list indicating that such requests for reservations are still being accepted may simply mean that the zonal railway is planning to run an additional trains as specials to clear the rush later. When the maximum wait list number defined for a train is reached for a particular day’s journey, the reservation system refuses to accept any more requests for that day. In such cases, this is shown as ‘REGRET’ in the reservation status.

The reservation status for a train is shown online in a format such as 24-4-2005 WL 273 / WL 189. This indicates that earlier the position was a wait list of 273, and now the wait list has shrunk to 189; i.e., if you were to try to book a ticket now, you would get a wait list position higher than 189. A notation such as 24-4-2005 REGRET / WL 215 indicates that earlier no reservations were being accepted even on the wait list, and now the wait list position is at 215.

Most waitlisted tickets are issued by the originating station of a route. Stations close to the originating station may also share the same wait list (e.g., Chennai Egmore, Mambalam, Tambaram, Chengalput all share wait lists and reservation quotas with Chennai Central). This waitlist is the General Waiting List or simply Waiting List (WL).

The number of tickets that can be issued in total for travel from the originating station, issued by booking offices of the originating station and other nearby stations is known as the General Quota (somewhat unintuitively abbreviated ‘GN’). Smaller intermediate stations that do not participate in the networked computerized reservation system issue tickets from specific quotas, known as Remote Location Quotas (‘RLQ’) and Road Side Quotas (‘RS’), and these quotas can themselves have wait lists.

Indian Food During Travel

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:27:04 +0000

You should take care of the foods you eat while traveling, otherwise you may end up suffering from constipation or dehydration, which may mar rest of your vacation.

Avoid alcohol during journey as you may tend to drink more especially if it is free. For long flights take more water with you and drink 8-12oz per hour.

Bananas, apples, fruits are great as they contain potassium and keep salt level in control. Children can go for a mix of chocolate chips and raisins for they are both healthy and delicious to eat.

Take oatmeal instead of plane meal as they are available in many flavors like brown sugar, apples, cinnamon, maple and others. You need a hot cup of water for oatmeal which is available on flight and eat it out. Weight control freaks can eat the banana bread oatmeal that is simply delicious traveling in India.

Pack some sandwiches, another essential travel food, apart from fruits, water and oatmeal you are traveling in india.

Bus Travel Tips

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:21:22 +0000

While traveling in bus you must ensure safe and trouble free travel, as traveling on wheels can often be hectic and tiresome. Enquire about the vehicle before traveling and check out if there is enough room to move around, because sometimes you may feel suffocated in congested area. Watch out if the windows are big enough to get natural outside view, leg space is comfortable or not, and going in or out of the vehicle is easier or not.

Avoid a passenger van as they are unsafe and uncomfortable than a bus. Passageway is often narrow and overweight passengers may find it difficult to move in a van. A minibus or larger bus is best suited for your ride.

While booking a bus ticket, go into the best possible deals. Discounts are available for children, students, senior or military personnel. Grab tickets in advance as it may cost you less than last minute booking. With companion fares you can easily avail discount on one fare with the main fare.

Travel bags and luggage should be kept on the top rack or below the seat. Special arrangements are there for bicycles and skis, so you must consult to the bus driver before boarding.

India Travel Vaccinations

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:16:08 +0000

To know about the major diseases and vaccinations for India travelers, read the following paragraphs:

Vaccinations for Indian Travel

Before embarking on your India vacations, you must make yourself familiar with different diseases that are common in Indian climatic conditions. In addition to that you should also consult your physician before going for any vaccination or medicine. Here is a comprehensive list of all the diseases that are common to India and vaccinations for them.

Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A vaccination is recommended for all travelers to India.

Typhoid
All travelers are recommended to take Typhoid vaccination.

Polio
In case of Polio, one-time booster is recommended for any adult traveler who completed the childhood series but never had polio vaccine as an adult.

Yellow Fever
Vaccination for yellow fever is required only for travelers arriving from or transiting through any yellow-fever-infected area like Africa.

Japanese Encephalitis
This vaccine is recommended for travelers staying for more than 1 month and traveling to rural areas or travelers engaging in extensive unprotected outdoor activities in rural areas, especially after dusk.

Hepatitis B
Travelers who may have intimate contact with local residents should take this vaccination, especially if their period of stay is more than 6 months.

Rabies
Any traveler who may have direct contact with animals should take sthis vaccination.

Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
If any person born after 1956 has not previously taken this vaccination, he/she should take two doses of the same.

Tetanus-Diphtheria
You need to take this revaccination every 10 years.

Major Diseases in India
Planning a trip to India and worried about common diseases in India? To make your India visit truly memorable, we are highlighting some of the major diseases that occur in India.

Diarrhea
The most common ailment of travelers is diarrhea. The main cause of it is unclean food and water. It is advised to carry an antibiotic and an anti diarrhea drug if significant diarrhea occurs. In case of diarrhea, good amount of fluid intake is required. However, if diarrhea gets severe you should immediately call a doctor.

Malaria
Prophylaxis with mefloquine (Lariam), atovaquone/proguanil (Malarone) or doxycycline is recommended throughout India (including Delhi and Bombay), except at places located at high altitudes (2000 m/6561 ft).Long-term travelers coming to India may not have access to medical care all the time; they should bring along medications for emergency self-treatment in case they develop symptoms indicative of malaria, such as fever, headaches, chills and muscle aches. It is importhant to note that symptoms of malaria sometimes may not occur for months or even years after exposure.

Altitude Sickness
Altitude sickness may occur in travelers ascending altitudes greater than 2500m. This specifically includes the mountain areas of northern India. Those with a history of heart disease, lung disease, or sickle cell disease are advised to avoid high altitudes.