Dec 12, 2007 05:01 AM
2179 Views
My word, I was not expecting this to work! I am an NRI and recently my family went for a vacation to India and I had to keep slogging here :-(
They were planning some small trips nearby and I though it might be good to avoid aeroplanes especially for short trips like Delhi-Agra or Mumbai-Goa etc. Why not use the trains! A quick google search led me to this site. I was surprised that it is possible now to book Indian rail tickets online, The cynic that I am, I did not expect it to work. I did not have a Indian CC card and did not want to use my american ones, since they charge hefty foreign transaction charges. Luckily I have accounts with some of the banks (HDFC, ICICI etc) which allow payment on this website. Actually the choice of payment methods is amazing!
You can research the availability in depth, though I had to spend at least an hour getting used to all the technical jargon, station names and abbreviations, different classes of tickets available etc. There is really a need to streamline this. For example, when a dummy like me logs in, all he cares about is the starting station, destination station and the date. With just that information (without knowing that Delhi is coded NDLS, and Agra is AGC etc) I should be able to immediately find my best train options ordered in decreasing prices and availability. Generally, people booking e-tickets will only go for premium trains, so this should be straightforward to implement. Of course, if one really wants to get a PhD in Indian railway jargon and acronyms, they are welcome to peruse the entire contents.
The entire process of getting e-tickets and then emailing them to to family in India for printing at home worked like a charm. They could avoid going to the train stations to book tickets and saved lots of time and hassels with taking my daughter there.
One tip- if you are getting e tickets like I did, you need to give the details of one of the traveller's photo ID card. Instead of the passport, I gave the details of one of their's Indian voter's ID card. It is better to take that one along rather than the passport etc, for fear of loosing it on the train melee.
My little daughter liked travelling in Indian trains so much, she was mesmerized by all the going ons in the trains and the lively atmosphere. Even back home she still says..India train.. Chai chai chai chai chai!!! LOL
