Indian railways through the eyes of a Russian traveler. Trains in India - and how we rode them
In this article we will consider an extreme type of tourism. I'll tell you how we traveled around India by train. My acquaintance with the Indian train took place in Thivim (Goa). We had just started our trip to India and decided to leave Goa for Karnataka. Friends were waiting for us in Gokarna and we headed there. Things are complicated and confusing with the schedule and tickets there, so we decided not to buy tickets and just waited for the train and got on it. The train whistled and started moving, we were all in a good mood. We drove for about an hour and then started talking with fellow travelers from India.
Where are you going?
Gokarna, and you?
Mumbai
But something in the look of our fellow traveler was alarming and we thought: Are we going there at all? We started asking everyone where the train was going and it turned out that karma was punishing us for tickets that we had not bought. The train that was going to Mumbai was rushing in the opposite direction.
It is not so easy to communicate with some Indians, even if you know English well. We asked our new Indian friends how we could get to Gokarna. To which we were told: get out and take the train in the other direction. This is quite logical, but what happened next amused us greatly. We get out with our things, by the way there were 9 of us, the train is leaving, and there is nothing on the side where the station should be. Just a forest. We got off at a station where few people stop.
However, we were lucky; there were Indian policemen at the station. They agreed with a minibus which, not free of course, but inexpensive, took us to the starting point of our journey to Thivim. We decided to get to Gokarna no longer by train.
Purity
Having learned our lesson, we took tickets next time. And I would like to touch on the issue of cleanliness on trains. When I remembered, I shuddered, because for some time we walked around India barefoot. And in Indian trains there is terrible unsanitary conditions. Before eating, sometimes you have to shake a cockroach off the table, and sometimes a rat can crash into your leg. But Indians treat all living things with loving reverence and even feed the inhabitants of the trains.
How long have we been standing?
As I already said, something unimaginable is happening with the train schedule in India. Once we heard that the stop would take a decent amount of time, we decided to move to another carriage to take more comfortable seats. But as we walked along the platform, the train started moving and began to rapidly pick up speed. Many were still trying to squeeze into the doors of the moving carriages, so we ran to other doors. With all our things.
I carried my backpack and the girl's bag. He ran to the door and threw in his bag and quickly climbed the steps. I have never seen a train move so quickly. It was unclear where the driver was hurrying; he didn’t care at all that not everyone had boarded. The girl ran with a child in her arms. I reached out, took the child and fell on the people in the vestibule. The train picked up such speed that the girl no longer had time to run. But the outstretched hands of the Indians grabbed her and dragged her into the carriage. It’s unlikely to be possible to convey in words what I felt then. We thoroughly tickled our nerves and only a smoked bidi helped us calm down a little.
Like sprat in a jar
And I also remember the moment when we needed to get to Rishikesh. The train was free or something like that. But it took 24 hours to travel. It was hot and we decided to spin charas in the vestibule. The doors did not close and a refreshing breeze blew.
The Indians persistently told us to take our seats. At the next station we realized why. There were more people on the platform than in the subway. Everyone came in and sat down on the floor, on the door, without hesitation. In general, people were everywhere and pressed tightly against each other. But they didn’t sweat it and sang songs. By the way, they sang very beautifully. The train whistled all night because there are no level crossings in India.
The Indians asked me:
- Is it iPhone? How much?
- “I don`t no,” I answered, “It`s present.”
Realizing that if I say “a thousand bucks,” I might not get to the next station. Near the end of the train ki, space was freed up on the top shelf for things and I was able to lie down there and rest.
Attention
Although India has an atmosphere of relaxation and tranquility, sometimes you need to be extremely careful. So, at the railway station in Varanasi, our friend’s bag was stolen, containing a camera worth about 150 thousand rubles (she worked as a photographer), money and a passport.
No tickets
Sometimes large festivals are held in India, which attract pilgrims from all over the country and from abroad. At such moments, if you are not “local”, they will not sell you a ticket. So one of our trips almost fell through, but we met a kind man who helped us get to the right place.
Conclusion
These are roughly my impressions of traveling by train in India. And of course, despite everything, all this was interesting and exciting, but if you like comfort, then trains are not your transport. Although, if you really love comfort, then India is probably not the country you should go to.
Thanks to the increased flow of accessible information about India in recent years, you can learn more about its history, cities and resort areas. Get information on how to get to this country and where to relax. How to travel along it?
Traditionally, the most convenient mode of transport for traveling around a large country is considered to be the railway. It is much cheaper than faster aviation, but much more comfortable than traveling by bus. In India, the system in this sense is similar to the Russian one, only certain features of the country’s railways must be taken into account.
general information
Indian Railways is an absolute monopoly of the state. The total length of railway tracks is approaching 70 thousand km, second only to three countries - the USA, Russia and China. Every day 30 million people travel by rail. The number of workers employed in the railway industry is 2 million people. The country's largest train stations serve millions of passengers every day. For example, Mumbai Railway Station provides services to 3 million people every day.
Train schedule
It is quite convenient to plan your trip around India by rail using the official website of the Indian Railways: indianrail.gov.in. In addition to the general train schedule, there is an interactive map of local railways. The search program allows you not only to plan fairly convenient transfers, but even takes into account possible transfers.
However, you need to take note that the specified schedule is not used clearly. Because of this, trains are not only late in arriving at the station, but even depart out of schedule. It follows from this that this service can only be used as preparation for the upcoming trip.
The most accurate information is available from agencies that sell tickets, websites that book them, station ticket offices and free information desks located under the “MAY I HELP YOU” signs.
How to buy a train ticket in India
There are different ways to purchase travel tickets. They are offered by special offices, station ticket offices. They also booked on websites and are ordered in hotels. When purchasing them, a mandatory registration procedure is carried out, where the personal data of each passenger, the number and name of the required train, and the class of the required carriage are indicated in a special form. In agencies, employees will fill out this form themselves; in all other cases, the future passenger does this personally. When purchasing an electronic version, the required data is sent to the website of the corresponding service.
It is possible to purchase a ticket through an intermediary, but then you need to agree with him on the amount of the commission, which will then be reflected on the ticket. But you need to be careful with them. Taking advantage of the poor awareness of foreigners, Indians can sell a ticket for many times more than its face value.
Ticket booking option via the website indianrail.gov.in is not relevant for foreign tourists, because... This can be done if you have an Indian bank card. But there is an alternative - these are intermediaries. For example, sites makemytrip.com or cleartrip.com. They are the most convenient, reliable and inexpensive among the mass of similar assistants.
It is advisable to book a ticket using the General quota. On the official website of the railways, it is possible to check the availability of a reservation using an electronic copy with the PNR number indicated there.
Top: the cheapest General Class ticket; bottom: the most expensive First class Air-Conditioned ticket.
In the worst case scenario, you can use "wait list" service, under which travel tickets are sold without seat and carriage numbers. However, thanks to them, the passenger can board the train he needs in the appropriate class. While already in the carriage, the passenger can contact the conductor and with his help get a suitable seat.
By the way, it is advisable to quickly exchange a ticket purchased through the World Wide Web at the station ticket office for a regular paper one, otherwise you risk being left without a seat at all, even after paying for it. This is the reality of Indian Railways.
The help of “voluntary assistants” should be categorically rejected from among the individuals wandering near the station. All conversations can only be conducted with official station employees in uniform and with a badge, or with police officers. All the rest are most likely scammers who want to make extra money.
You should also know that at the train stations of large cities there are special offices serving foreign citizens - foreign traveler office. It is clean, calm and you can always buy tickets in the right direction.
The task of these International Tourist Bureaus is to provide foreigners with tickets, however, if you are friendly, open and smiling, you can get additional privileges: leave your things for a while, relax on a sofa, get advice, find out the cost of a taxi.
Such bureaus operate only at train stations in the country's 15 largest cities. You should only find out about their whereabouts from official station employees or police officers.
Cars
With all the diversity of the Indian railways' wagon fleet, two types more or less fit the usual standards: SLIPPER CLASS And AC 3.
An Indian family settled in the vestibule of the carriage.
Cars below level type Second Class General Compartment correspond to general carriages. Tickets for them are extremely cheap, but they have virtually no amenities. The Internet is replete with videos of cars of this class. It is enough to see this once to refuse to save money. The only plus is that with a ticket General Class it is possible to climb into any carriage and, after talking with the conductor and paying extra accordingly, move to a more comfortable carriage. Approximate cost of the trip: 1 dollar - 500 km.
Second Class Sleeper assumes carriages approaching the comfort of the usual reserved seat cars, however, with some reservations. One compartment has 8 beds (2 beds on three shelves). You can't sleep on the lower bunks, as you have to share them with other passengers. It is advisable not to take tickets at the beginning and end of the carriage due to the proximity of the toilets, of which there are 4. There are no conductors here, and no one provides bed linen. Approximate cost of the trip: $5 - 1000 km.
AC 2 Tier is as close as possible to a reserved seat in terms of comfort, but is much more expensive than previous classes. The four-seater compartment is separated from the passage by a regular curtain. Approximate cost of the trip: 20 dollars - 1000 km.
First class Air-Conditioned is a 1st class carriage, approaching the comfort of a compartment carriage. Due to the high cost of tickets, they are included only in long-distance trains. Approximate cost of the trip: 30 dollars - 1000 km.
The main supervisor on the train is the conductor or TTI. He checks tickets, considers complaints and requests from passengers, and speaks decent English. For a small reward, he will “resolve” a difficult situation in the right direction. At your request, he officially will change a General Class ticket for a certain surcharge to a seat in a more comfortable carriage.
There are more than 20. From Russia they most often fly to Delhi and Dabolim.
Read about the tourist's first journey, how he got to Goa. The review is located.
This may sound strange, but traveling by rail in India is easy and convenient, despite the difficult Indian realities. Try not to immediately reject the standards that are familiar to local residents, try to understand them, and your trip to India will be filled with joy and knowledge of the unusual. In addition, you need to be sociable, friendly, smile more often, and then you can avoid problems and unpleasant surprises along the way, find the most convenient travel option and save money.
Short Video, Sleeper Class carriage
The most expensive way to travel by rail in India is to buy a Class 1A ticket. Air conditioning, velor sofas, curtains and other paraphernalia. Despite the high cost of tickets, the compartment does not close; the only thing that helps you gain privacy is to use a curtain to keep others away.
The cost of a First Class AC ticket is comparable to an air ticket and, all things being equal, is clearly inferior to an airplane in speed. I believe that buying First Class AC tickets makes sense in the most desperate situations.
First Class AC cars are not available on all trains; they are not popular among the local population due to their high cost.
AC 2-tier sleeper (Code:2A)
Cars of this type are analogous to our reserved seat, except that the shelves are separated from the aisle by a screen. Sometimes there is some decoration and decoration in the form of individual sconces and tablecloths on the tables, otherwise a typical reserved seat.
The cost is significantly cheaper than First Class AC carriages.
First class (Code:FC)
If your trip lasts several hours, then this class of carriages will be perfect for such short trips. The compartments are sold with seats for six people in the main compartment + two people in the side compartments.
AC 3 Tier (Code:3A)
The most popular type of carriage among foreign tourists and the local middle class of Indians. Anyone who has traveled in a domestic reserved seat will immediately see the similarities.
Among the amenities, there is air conditioning, it is possible to purchase a bed, they serve food with the utensils familiar to a European. As for air conditioning, it is difficult to say whether it is needed if your trip takes place in winter and whether it is worth paying extra for it when purchasing a ticket for an AC 3 Tier carriage.
The main population of such carriages is the Indian middle class and tourists; if you are lucky, the trip can be very interesting.
AC chair Car (Code:CC)
Cars of this class are mainly found on daytime trains as a premium class, seating cabin with airplane seats. AC chair Car is similar to First class (Code:FC) and is more comfortable, but there is not much space for luggage.
Sleeper Class (Code:SL)
So we are approaching the most Indian carriages in every sense of the word. Ideal for moving in the hot season; in winter it can be quite cold due to the lack of window glazing. Sleeper Class (Code:SL) is also called Second Class Sleeper, which is the same thing.
The compartment has three sleeping bunks, and the ticket price is comparable to the cost of a bus, but the trip will be more comfortable. There is never a dull moment in the slipper, and through the barred windows you can see and feel the real India.
In the slipper, you can go out into the vestibule, open the door yourself while the train is moving, and spend hours of fun on the trip. The population of the slipper will communicate with interest, take pictures of you with their simple phones, and you can take pictures of them, they will only be happy.
The main disadvantage of such trips is the loss of things. When leaving your compartment, ask your neighbors to keep an eye on your belongings. There are no conductors in the slipper; anyone can enter the carriage at the stations. During the entire trip, drinks (tea and coffee, water), food (rice, biryani, curry, etc.), and pies (samosas, etc.) are served throughout the carriages. Food is prepared on the same train in a special kitchen car.
Second Sitting (Code:2S)
This is a common carriage and that says it all, unlike our common carriage in India everything is much more interesting.
The fare here is affordable for the majority of the Indian population, the population of such carriages is maximum, and tickets for them are sold without indicating seats, without registering passengers, without specifying the train. The validity period of tickets depends on the distance of travel. With such a ticket, you can board any train going in the desired direction and change from one train to another as many times as you like.
The Second Sitting carriage does not have sleeping places, but at least you can board the general carriage without a ticket, and no one will check it for you.
In a shared carriage, watch your belongings very carefully. As is the rule, the poorest residents of India travel in general carriages; they do not understand English here.
!
For 365 days, multi!
For citizens of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the full cost with all fees = 8200 rub..
For citizens of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia = 6900 rub.
Trains in India have one constant feature - they are always late. This must be taken into account. Especially if you have a plane connection, allow an extra few hours for it.
It’s also a good idea to take these points into account. Indians love to turn on air conditioners and fans at full blast, always and everywhere - in train cars, buses, hotels. This craving for cold sometimes goes beyond all reasonable limits - they sit wrapped in scarves, cough, sneeze, but the power does not decrease. They like it that way 🙂 That’s why our people often take tape with them on the train - ordinary wide tape to cover the air conditioner, especially if you got a ticket to the top bunk. And don’t forget a woolen hat, even if you are traveling to the south of India, but there are air-conditioned carriages waiting for you along the route. And if you plan to travel in a sleeper car (SL), then a sleeping bag will not hurt, because... there will either be no glass (and no real refrigerator at night), or the fans will work at full power. And during the day you can go out to the stations to warm up :)
Read also:
Background information about car classes and other features of the Indian Railways
About the old English narrow gauge railway in northern India
The doors of the carriages are not locked while moving, and you can stand in the vestibule in front of the open door the whole way.
How we ran after the train
At the Hospet railway station, everything is very simple: all passenger trains arrive on the first track, freight trains stand on the others. Along the entire platform there are electronic boards on which the train number and the car number light up. Our waiting chairs are right here on the platform. And they announce a hundred times which train is arriving. It couldn’t be simpler, it’s impossible to miss your train.
Ours is No. 7603, from Calcutta. SL car No. 10. We listen to what trains are announced and look at the board. Ours isn't here, he's late. We are waiting further. He's already two hours late. Some express arrived, but not from Calcutta at all, and - most importantly - the number was completely different. Not ours again. We are waiting further. We still have to ask when ours will be. But I must say that there are no conductors in each car, like we have. Here stands some respectable guy, and dull-witted passengers poke their tickets at him, and he waves his hand - showing where their carriage is. We approach it with our ticket (we have one ticket for 2 people). He looked and waved his hand somewhere back, to where the trains come from.
- What, our train will be next?
- This train. This is your train, the 10th car at the end of the train.
We show him the ticket again. The number is different!
- This train.
Not understanding anything, we ran to the tail of the train, where he waved his hand. They passed one carriage, another, a third... Nadyukha shouted: “We can’t be there! These are general, and then luggage.” And suddenly he started moving.
- Nadyushka, jump!
- This is not our carriage!
- Jump faster! Who cares!
She jumped, I followed her, grabbed the inside handrail with my hand, it picked up speed, I almost dislocated my arm. Thank God we jumped at least somewhere in time! It turned out to be a general carriage for ladies. Consists of only two compartments with a vestibule. Some women and two boys looked at us, smiled, and saw us jumping up and down as we walked. We stand with our backpacks like fools, we don’t know what to do next. But I must say that here there is no communication between the cars; you can’t get to your car by train. Just in case, I pulled some kind of door, it turned out to be a toilet. That's it, there are no more doors. Well, then, let's go here to the nearest station.
The women are so pleasant, in bright, beautiful saris, with many bright bracelets, they smile at us, move over, and free up space. I was even glad that we were brought here. I started taking pictures of everyone. They, as always, laugh joyfully when they see the result on the screen. Middle-aged Indian women are a miracle, always so friendly, smiling, in their colorful saris. Your mouth naturally blurs when you communicate with them.
We smiled at each other, took pictures: earrings, bracelets, mehendi - patterns on the hands.
I really enjoyed traveling with them, I would have continued traveling here, but I bought a ticket for a sleeper car with the expectation that I would be able to lie down. So, at the next station we’ll run to look for our carriage. We arranged a meeting: we showed these kind women our ticket and asked where our 10 SL might be. They consulted and decided that he couldn’t be at the back of the train, he had to run to the head. Nadyushka was delighted: “Yes, we rushed to the wrong place. The guy on the platform told us wrong.” Well, the guy was too personable, and he waved his hand too confidently. Maybe our car is some kind of trailer? After all, the train is not from Calcutta. And the train number is not ours at all...
Okay, let's go to the head. I didn’t really care where to go, I would have looked at all the carriages with pleasure, after all, it was my first acquaintance with an Indian train. And it’s generally great with these women.
— How many minutes does the train wait at the next station?
- Three minutes.
Wow! You'll have to run very quickly.
In 3 minutes we managed to reach the 5th SL car. They jumped on the move again, and it was already clear that the 10th was not in their heads.
The next station was a large one - the city of Hubli, parking for 15 minutes. Well, in 15 minutes we managed to reach our 10 SL. He ended up at the back of the train, just as that respectable guy in Hospet told us. Our seats turned out to be occupied; two student girls from Hyderabad were traveling in them. We went on vacation to Goa by the sea. There was a dispute with tickets. The woman on the top shelf also became worried when we began to put our backpacks down: “This place is occupied, my husband is coming here.” We had to show our ticket to this woman, then to my husband, then to the ticket inspector.
In general, more tickets were sold than actual seats. So we still didn’t manage to lie down, but we managed to run with our backpacks behind the train, jump on the move and sit in different cars. 🙂 But I even had fun with this story. Especially in the very first one - a cheap women's carriage. There are slightly different women in the sleeper car. They don't wear bright saris made from cheap artificial fabrics, they don't wear 20 shiny bangles on each hand, their jewelry is more stylish, they wear Punjabi, and the girls - their daughters - wear shorts and T-shirts. Their husbands are riding next to them. But their smiles are just as joyful and white-toothed.
Much later, it became clear why the train had the wrong number and the wrong departure station. It turns out that in India there are such mysterious trains - with two numbers. More precisely, these are two different trains that depart from two different stations A and B, each with its own number, and at some mythical station C they are combined into one. One of the numbers (in this case, ours) is discarded. So we could sit and wait for a long time for the non-existent train No. 7603 from Kolkata :)
About the general class of the Indian train
From Gwalior we had to get to Datia. The road is not long, so it didn’t matter to us which car we were going in – a seated car, a lying-down car, or something else. We came to the ticket office at the train station.
-There are no tickets.
-What, not at all?
-No tickets. There is only general class. Will you take it?
- Of course we will, what's the difference!
We, naive ones, didn’t know yet what a general class was :)
We bought tickets and, while waiting for the train, sat down on some large soft bales piled on the platform exactly opposite armed men in uniform.
If you are afraid of missing your train, or don’t know which platform it will go to, or if you just want to practice your English, or if you have a high level of anxiety, or some other problem, then the surest way is to come with your ticket either to such a person in uniform, or to fall into the office of some station worker with a wide smile, where they will patiently explain everything to you - how late your train is, when it is expected, on which track it is arriving, and where your car will stop.
That’s what we did - we turned with our tickets to these armed men in uniform.
“Wait here,” they said, and we happily relaxed on these bales.
...Time passed, trains came and went, armed people went about their business and seemed to have forgotten about us. We approached them again.
- Don't worry, ma'am, your train is late. We'll tell you.
We sat on these bales for a long time...
But finally they waved their hands at us, we jumped up, grabbed our things, and,
accompanied by a man in uniform, we reached the place where our general-class carriage was supposed to stop.
There were a suspiciously large number of people there and a lot of all sorts of bales, bags, baskets... We suspected something was wrong.
But in the depths of my soul there was still a glimmer of hope that maybe these people were not all in our carriage... maybe they would somehow dissolve... maybe they needed some other train... in the end, maybe they were just here for a walk came...
And then he appeared. And all these people (all!) moved, stirred, picked up their bales, bags, baskets and rushed to our general class carriage. At first we also rushed to him. But when he came closer... we were horrified to see that it was already full!!
-I won’t go there with things! – my friend shouts.
-I won’t go there even without things! - I shout.
We are at a loss - what to do? The next train is not soon...
And suddenly a painfully familiar man in uniform appeared in this crowd. He looked at us, understood everything, with a gesture he pulled us out of the crowd, with a gesture he ordered us to follow him. We, dumbfounded, obediently followed him with our things along the train. He took us to the SL carriage and led us into the carriage. And there were quite a few people here too, there were no empty seats, people were even sitting on the floor in the aisles. In the nearest compartment, he motioned for the people sitting on the bunk to move, and we somehow miraculously fit in – sitting! - in this compartment, they squeezed their things between someone’s trunks, and before they had time to thank their savior, he disappeared and the train started moving...
But we have not yet said a word about almost the most important and popular form of transport - trains. I think with a high degree of probability we can say that in our area there has long been a stereotype that the average Indian train necessarily looks like a densely stuffed sausage. In principle, this is not surprising, given that India is second only to China in population, and the Indian railway is one of the longest in the world (about 7 thousand stations on more than 60 thousand km of tracks). By the way, the state-owned Indian Railways transports on average about 30 million passengers and 2.5 million tons of cargo per day (about a billion tons per year).
In theory, an Indian train should look something like this:
In fact, such exotica does not occur often in India, or rather, it practically does not occur, except on the days of some major holidays, when demand significantly exceeds supply.
In real life it looks something like this:
And landing at such peak hours is an even more interesting process. In order to have time to take at least some place in the carriage and not risk their lives on the roof or in the doorway, people enter and jump into the carriages before the train stops:
To our great regret, we never saw anything like this, and our trips on Indian trains were exclusively cultural, refined and therefore boring.
Alleppey railway station. There is always a clock on each platform; waiting areas for first, sleeper and other classes are separated, in the best traditions of segregation.
The town, by Indian standards, is small, so there are relatively few people here.
If you feel hungry on the road, numerous food outlets and friendly food vendors will help you cope with it. So, after drinking tea, we got into a conversation with one of the sellers, who explained to us some of the intricacies of using IZD.
It turned out that we bought a ticket for a general carriage (without class) and we don’t have to wait for a specific train, but board any one, the main thing is that the direction suits us.
Indian conductors, unlike ours, are very hospitable people and do not close the doors after the train starts moving, so if you are a little late, you don’t need to shout or show the stop valve with your hands, just jump into the nearest door. Actually, that’s what we did, catching up with our first train.
Kollam (our destination) was not that far away, so we decided to go extreme and bought the cheapest ticket. But, unfortunately, this time there was no trial, having intercepted us on approach to the general carriage, caring Indians tried in every possible way to intimidate us with an overabundance of “exotics”, simultaneously dragging us towards more expensive carriages. Even the conductor thought that it was quite dangerous for gentle white gentlemen to travel in a general carriage and, after checking the ticket, he simply smiled.
This is what a ticket for a general carriage looks like - no seat, no time of departure of the train; on the day you buy the ticket, you can board any train in the desired direction.
It turned out that we were in a sleeping (so-called sleeper class) non-air-conditioned carriage:
In principle, it resembles our reserved seat, only on the third shelf instead of things there are additional neighbors:
There are bars on the windows, and fans instead of air conditioners.
Our next opportunity to ride a train was in the city of Tuticorin. The screen at the station started working immediately after the train arrived:
The staff is very friendly, as is the case all over India, but unfortunately their English is poor, so practice your acting skills.
This time we immediately bought the most expensive ticket. This is first class with air conditioning. It looks like this:
Comparison with a general carriage ticket:
Rich people are not very free to manage their own time, so the ticket clearly indicates the departure date and train number. The time is not indicated on the ticket; you will have to find it out yourself when purchasing a ticket or look it up in a directory (by train number).
While the train is parked, a special employee pastes sheets of names on the cars; you will need to find yours and remember the “generated” seat number.
The seat is “generated” based on the gender and age data of all passengers traveling in this class.
When purchasing a ticket, you can, of course, indicate that you want a lower berth or choose a compartment if you are traveling with a group. But no one will be interested in this, because a respectable Indian who compiles lists will never allow an unmarried young girl to travel in the company of young guys and vice versa. When purchasing a ticket, you fill out a form in which you must indicate everything - gender, age, sexual preferences, etc. This is what the coupe team lineups look like:
First class is no different from our compartment cars, except that there are more different toggle switches/switches and the air conditioning is more powerful.
The bed is always made by the conductor.
First class is a great place to meet cool Indian businessmen. One advanced Indian told us that this is far from the best option for the money spent. It's hard to imagine what could be better on an Indian train, although it could be some kind of business carriage or ultra-first class.
This is what a first-class toilet looks like, legends whisper that it’s no worse in other classes:
From the windows of Indian trains you can see real, beautiful India:
To summarize this article and make it at least somewhat useful for travelers, we have collected some useful information and tried to structure it.
Consider the classes of cars and their differences:
Classless general carriage / Second Sitting, General Class (Code: 2S)- the cheapest, rather dangerous and least comfortable way to travel by Indian trains. The tickets do not have the train number or departure time stamped on them; you can leave on any train you choose. You can place your bodies mainly on wooden shelves, 3 in a compartment and 2 on the side; either a very lucky person or a very strong person can find a free place. If you manage to take the top seats, you can spend time in relative solitude, but at the bottom you will have to sleep in an embrace with other neighbors.
Approximate cost of travel: 1 dollar per 500 km.
Sleeping car / Sleeper Class (Code: SL)- very similar to our reserved seat, but the compartment has not four, but six shelves (three tiers). You will be able to take a horizontal position only if you have managed to nest on the upper shelves; you will have to take your luggage with you. Quite a lot of not so nimble people are seated below. The middle shelves are detached only at night. Linen is not provided. A large number of beggars. There are no air conditioners, only fans. Windows without glass, with bars.
Approximate cost of travel: $5 per 1000 km.
Third class with air conditioning / AC 3 Tier (Code: 3A)— almost the same sleeping room, six shelves in the compartment (three tiers) and two on the side. Tightly sealed windows and constantly running air conditioning. The conductor is responsible for face control, so there is always room here. Sellers of everything under the sun and compartment cleaners begging for small coins for their labor do not count. Free linen, a blanket is required, due to the constantly running air conditioning it is quite cool here.
Approximate cost of travel: $10 per 1000 km.
Second class with air conditioning / AC 2 Tier (Code: 2A)— has a higher price, four shelves in a compartment (two tiers), almost complete similarity with our reserved seat. All compartments are separated from the passage by long curtains.
Approximate cost of travel: $20 per 1000 km.
First class Air-Conditioned (Code: 1A)— an analogue of our coupe, but with air conditioning. One of the most expensive options. This type of carriage is not included on all trains, as a rule, only on long-distance trains.
Approximate cost of travel: $30 per 1000 km.
If you were unable to buy a train ticket, you can use a service such as “wait list”.
According to the waitlist, tickets are sold without a pre-designated seat or even a carriage number, but they give you the right to travel in the appropriate train and class (depending on the cost of the ticket) to a specific destination. Already in the carriage, you can try to find a seat for yourself, for free or for a small tip to the conductor.
And finally, where can you buy tickets online?
Official website of Indian Railways:
Two more sites for purchasing tickets:
If possible, we recommend purchasing tickets directly at the box office. If you buy a ticket via the Internet, then it is better to change it to a paper version as quickly as possible, otherwise, “thanks to” Indian carelessness, you may end up on the whitelist.