Indian Railways train tickets reservation

Train ticket booking with Indian Railways

Indian Railways train ticket booking is the first step toward realizing your travel plan. At ixigo, you can easily search for trains to your destination. Just enter the station names or codes in the boxes, select your date of journey as well as the travel class, enter the number of passengers, and click on the search tab. On the next screen, you would get the list of all the trains heading toward your journey destination. You can further on check for seat status by clicking on check live availability. This is a simple way to find out about the current reservation status in different trains. Booking a reserved ticket on a train ensures that you get a confirmed berth for your journey with the Indian Railways.

At ixigo, you can not only search for seat availability on trains but also train and station information. Further, you can check for PNR status enquiry as well. For train info, you can enter the train name or number in the Search by Train Name/Number box. Similarly, for station code and other related information, you can type the name in Search by Station box. If you have a particular query on trains, you can always chat with ixibaba, which is a unique A.I. for all your travel related queries. You can also view train routes and train schedules at a single quick. Navigate through the webpage to access all these features in a seamless way.

The first thing to check out for booking tickets is to make train reservation enquiries. With live information of current seat availability as well as the respective classes and fares, you can easily see if you can get an accommodation in the train you need to travel on. As you search for seat availability and train reservation, you can also find the updates on your train status, look out for confirmation chances on waitlisted tickets, download the ixigo train app to equip yourself with many useful features such as station alert and platform number for boarding station and destination station. You can easily navigate to a number of other options for travel and check out holiday packages as well as travel itinerary. With ixigo, you can make your train journey easier and more fun. Whether you want to book a hotel as soon as you deboard the train or want to spot your train in real time, you can so it all at ixigo. Whether you need to book train tickets urgently or in advance, you can check the status of available seats in preferred classes, on the go. Before you book your tickets for particular dates, you can take a look around the whole portal to plan a nice itinerary and note down the best tourist points of attractions to check out at your destination city. Stay ahead when it comes to planning a trip and making train bookings by checking the information at ixigo anywhere, anytime. You can search for trains from your notebook, tablet, smartphone, or just use the app. In additional features, you can check for train coach position, train schedule and timings, cancelled trains, diverted trains, and other such info for your booked ticket instantly.

Indian Railways offers different types of travel classes for the passengers to ensure that they have a smooth and comfortable journey. Each travel class has its own features. The ticket fares vary according to the classes. Before you book train tickets between two stations, you need to select a particular travel class. You can choose between AC and non-AC coaches, the fare for which differ substantially. Under the AC coaches, you can book train tickets for AC 1 Tier, AC 2 Tier, or AC 3 Tier. Under non-AC coaches, you can book Sleeper class ticket. In some trains, there is an option of Chair Cars which is meant for sitting only. Chair Cars can be AC or non-AC and it is mentioned accordingly. For the complete comfort, which you can compare with business class flights, AC 1 tier is the best class to travel in. For budget travel, Sleeper classes are the most pocket-friendly coaches. Indian railway train journey is all about comfort and reasonable fares.

IRCTC ticket booking caters to millions of passengers for making train booking and rail reservation. In order to book train tickets on IRCTC, you need to register as a user on their website. After that you can book train tickets. You can also make tatkal tickets bookings, the window for which opens at 10 am to 11 am for AC class tickets and 11 am to 12 noon for non-AC class tickets. General train reservation fares are lower than tatkal tickets. Before you go through the drill fro ticket reservation, just check for train seat availability right here. You can immediately check for the status of available berths under all classes, be it the sleeper, the AC, or the chair car. The information includes train timings and fares. Once you have booked your ticket at IRCTC, you can always check your PNR status alert at ixigo by navigating to the PNR enquiry page. You can also set a PNR status update alert on your smartphone, so that you get to know the latest info as soon as the charts are prepared. Indian Railways sometimes upgrades the passenger to a different class if there is a vacancy in a higher travel class. So, the alert saves you many a hassle straight away.

Indian Railways has 115,000 km long network of tracks which cover a distance of 67,312 km on different routes. There are as many as 7,112 railway stations operating under Indian Railways as of now. More than 8 billion passengers travel by train in India. Further narrowing down the figure, about 23 million passengers travel from one place to another on train in a single day. This highlights the fact that Indian Railways is the lifeline for travellers when it comes to commuting between cities and states. The Indian railway network is also known as Bharatiya Rail which eventually has the tagline ‘Lifeline to the Nation’. Altogether, there are 16 railway zones under the Indian Railways. Indian Railways started operating in the middle of the 19th century. The first rail line was started in 1853 between Thane and Bombay (now Mumbai) and it was called the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta, which were the main port cities of that time, accounted for 14,500 km of railway lines by the year 1880. This widespread network of trains is expanding year by year. Indian Railways is becoming more sophisticated with time, offering better facilities and new features to ease the train journey experience for the passengers.

Besides classes, Indian Railways also runs different types of trains. Generally, long-distance passenger trains are Superfast and Express trains. There are double decker trains, long distance trains, all non-AC chair car trains, etc. Depending on the routes, many new trains are launched every year to provide berths and seats to more people. In the exclusive category, there are the Rajdhani, Duronto, and Shatabdi trains. These are premium trains which have shorter travel duration and better speed. The fares for these trains are slightly higher than the regular trains. These three trains are fully air-conditioned too. Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains are a favourite among the train travellers. Rajdhani trains connect the capital cities of two different states. For example, 12309 Rajdhani Express runs between Patna and New Delhi. There are Rajdhani trains operated by Indian Railways between many metro cities. Shatabdi trains are also faster than other trains. One specific feature of the train is that it makes the return trip on the same day. The average speed of this train is 100 km/h. Duronto trains were started in 2009. These are long distance non-stop trains. Other mentionable trains are Jan Shatabdi, Jan Sadharan, Yuva Express, Intercity Express, Fast Passenger, etc. Apart from these, there are seasonal trains run by Indian Railways, such as Suvidha. Such trains operate mostly during the festive seasons or summer vacation. Garib Rath is another category of train meant to facilitate air-conditioned coaches at economy fares on certain train routes. There are AC 3 tier and Chair Car coaches in the Garib Rath trains. Knowing the difference between these types helps you book train tickets as per your comfort and preferences.

To encourage more people to use the trains and to cut the journey time by a fair margin, Indian Railways has been launching newer and faster trains. Of late, Indian Railways has been keen on launching brand new and more sophisticated trains like Gatiman Express and Talgo. These new breed of trains equipped with better features and latest technology will shorten the journey time for passengers by a fair margin. Gatiman train is a semi high-speed train that runs at 160 km/hour between New Delhi and Agra. Trains with complete glass ceiling are also coming up quite sooner in Kashmir and parts of South India to begin with. With smart seating arrangement, modern luggage storage features, on-board hostesses and staff, round-the-clock catering and other goodies, these trains set the benchmark for a more enjoyable train journey on the Indian rail.

Indian Railways also has luxury and heritage trains on certain routes. The luxury trains are an experience of a lifetime since the journey on such trains is as lavish as boarding a cruise liner. Maharaja Express is considered one of the most luxurious trains in the world. Operated by IRCTC under the Indian Railways, Maharaja Express has everything you wish to see on a posh train tour. Cabins, restaurants, lounge bars, Suite rooms, and more. The train takes you on a heritage tour in a really royal way. It covers Udaipur, Varanasi, Ranthambore, Jodhpur, Khajuraho, Lucknow, and many other places. Palace on Wheels, Deccan Odyssey, Golden Chariot, etc. are other luxury trains run by the railways. Besides these trains that offer a heritage tour, there are others which offer culture and religion tourism. Mahaparinirvan Express, Bharat Darshan, Steam Express are among such trains. Palace on Wheels usually has an itinerary of 8 days and 7 nights. It starts with New Delhi and takes you through further to Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Chittaurgarh, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bharatpur, and Agra. Deccan Odyssey is meant for the luxury tour of popular tourist destinations of Goa and Maharashtra. The Golden Chariot is run on two tourism circuits known as Splendour of the South and Pride of the South. Mahaparinirvan Express is the train for Buddhist circuit tour. It covers Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Varanasi, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Lumbini, Sravasti, and Agra.

Besides these, there are some special trains like inter-nation Samjhauta Express and Thar Express, Lifeline Express which is Hospital-on-Wheels, Vivek Express from Dibrugarh to Kanyakumari, Jagriti Yatra trains, Kumbh Mela trains, etc. Religion tour is a prominent aspect of people travelling in India. A large number of pilgrims travel to religious places of different states on a sacred itinerary. Such trains are the best mode of transport for the pilgrims. The wonders and offering of the Indian Railways does not end here at all. After all these trains and routes, there are the famous toy trains as well. These type of trains are run by regional mountain railways. Some examples are Darjeeling Railways, Kangra Valley Railway, Kalka Shimla Railway, Matheran Light Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, etc. To see the hill stations and mountainous regions from the most panoramic perspectives, toy trains are the best transport available. A detour of the entire valley laden with rich flora and fauna, winding hilly routes, rising slopes, etc. give the passengers a great thrill and experience to remember for ages.