Trains in India: classes of wagons, purchase of tickets, features

Trains in India are the most popular and cheapest way of traveling around the country. There is simply no alternative to this transport, so if you have planned an independent trip through India, you will obviously have to get acquainted with the peculiarities of the railways of this unusual and colorful country. And our article will give you all the necessary information in order to make this trip comfortable and memorable.

Indian trains: general information

Travel by train in India you will never forget, no matter which wagon you choose. In any case, the train will be crammed full of various people who want to communicate with the white tourist, and all Indians will be extremely friendly and active. If you avoid such communication, then you should buy tickets of the highest class to minimize the meeting with local residents. But keep in mind that on almost any train you will be the most important attraction that rivet universal views.

Unfortunately, the train crash in India is not that rare. Annually, the statistics of railroad crashes are replenished with about ten new cases, in which the number of victims is estimated in the hundreds. Most often, such incidents are caused by heavy wear of the railroad track and the human factor. Train drivers usually work for several days without changing, trying to earn more money, which eventually leads to terrible crashes.

But all the tourists who are in love with the country of tea plantations and elephants, definitely advise on their experience to find out how in India they go by trains. Otherwise, you will not be able to truly appreciate the local color. But after him many come to this country.

Travel by train: a comfortable tourist option

If you are not tempted by the prospect of shaking in a crowded car, and you want to see the whole country, you will find special tourist trains for these purposes in India. They are often called luxurious, and they offer travelers seven-day tours, during which you will see the most beautiful places in the country and will be able to immerse themselves in the amazing life of local residents.

At the moment, there are six such trains in India, each of which follows its own route. All cars in such convoys are equipped with air conditioning and belong to an increased class of comfort. During the week-long trip you will not experience any inconvenience, because the tour includes meals and several excursions.

It is worth considering that this trip is quite expensive - the price of the tour per person varies within three thousand dollars.

What does the Indian railway station look like?

The trains in India, the photos of which we have presented in our article, are paler compared to the local railway stations. They are a very special place, where the mentality of Indians is fully reflected. It is worth noting that the stations in the small towns look quite deserted and clean, here the people gather only when the train arrives. But the stations of large cities represent a very different picture - here the Indians are day and night.

Local people do not mind the flea market, stuffiness and complete unsanitary conditions - they are happy to spend the night at the station, settling down right on the floor. Quite often they do not even have a cloak or warm clothes, so they fit on a newspaper and spend thus more than one night. Usually the sleeping people are so numerous that in order to get to the desired place on the platform, it is necessary to step over people sleeping in the dump.

Each railway station has a cashier, but its employees do not speak English very much, so buying tickets is complicated by this fact. At some stations there is a special tourist cash desk, here it will be much easier to buy tickets. In addition, they are sold on a special quota, created for tourists. But we'll talk about this a little later.

Classes of trains in India: wagons

If you have never traveled by Indian trains, then it will be quite difficult for you to orient yourself in the variety of classes and types of wagons in train trains. We will try to clarify the situation and make it easier for you to choose the right car. So, classes of trains in India:

• GN;
• SL;
• 3A;
• 2A;
• CC;
• 1A.

We will describe each of them in more detail, but keep in mind that the Indian classification system presupposes the presence of wagons of different classes in one composition. As a rule, one car corresponds to a certain class.

Common car (GN): travel features

We can say that a common car is a real national train in India. With people you have to communicate every minute, because they will be even too much. In this car the tickets are sold without a seat, that's why people are packed not only into the car and the vestibule, but even to the toilet. All the way they will sing songs, talk and try to treat you to something.

The ticket to the common car costs by Indian standards a mere penny, there are no air conditioners and glasses. On the windows there are lattices, and on the ceiling there are fans, which, however, never work.

Controllers almost never check tickets in a common car, so here goes a lot of "rabbits". The ticket itself does not specify the departure time and train number, only the departure station and the final destination are printed here. Many travelers change during the journey from one train to another, the main thing is that they go in the given direction.

A reserved car (SL)

This wagon of frequencies is called sleeping, it has a lot of similarities with our habitual reserved seat. There are no air conditioners inside the car, the windows are barred and completely blown. There are numerous fans on the ceiling. Instead of the usual four shelves in this car, there are six of them, they are arranged in three rows. During the day, all the passengers ride sitting on the lower shelves. At night, it becomes possible to lie down. Lingerie in the reserved cars does not give, food is also not provided.

Air-conditioned reservation room (3A)

This car differs little from the previous one, it costs a little more expensive and has an air conditioner that never turns off. In this regard, the windows are inserted glass, and they are tightly closed. In this car there are practically no strangers and at night they give out linen with a blanket. During the trip, a guide will often come to you, which ensures the full safety of passengers.

Second seat air-conditioned room (2A)

Trains in India are rarely equipped with such cars. They have four shelves and are usually fenced off from the passage by curtains. The fare in the cars of this class is equivalent to about three dozen dollars.

The sitting car (SS)

This car looks like a bus. It is equipped with several rows of comfortable armchairs and air conditioning. Unfortunately, on the popular Indian routes this car is very rare.

The first class car (1A)

This trip will cost you extremely expensive, on average, it equates to the cost of air travel. But you will find yourself in a two-seater compartment with soft sofas and air conditioning. Before the departure of the train you will get bottled water, the reserves of which can be replenished for free at every major station. Please note that this water is the cleanest in the country.

If you want a snack, you can order food through the conductor. You are sure to bring everything in the shortest possible time. The only downside may be the orientation of this food to the tastes of Indians - it will definitely be acute.

Classification of Indian trains

In addition to classifying cars, trains in India are also divided into their categories. The most convenient is the express, it moves extremely fast for India and has an increased level of comfort. In addition, express trains are considered the most accurate trains, they are only a couple of hours late, which is quite normal for Indian railways.

Ordinary trains move very slowly, filled to capacity with people and are characterized by incredible anti-sanitation. In addition, they have a habit of being late for ten to twelve hours.

Quotas for travel

Indian railways have several options for ticket quotas. It depends on them how you will travel, that's why this information will be useful to you. So, the quotas are as follows:

• Confirmed (confirmed) - with this status you will get a specific place in the car, which will be yours throughout the journey;
• Half (RAC) - this abbreviation means that you have half the space that you will share with another passenger, if someone does not release the previously confirmed reservation;
• Without space (WL) - in this case you have all the chances to be out of place, if you do not get the turn (each ticket has a number that means the number of people in the place in front of you).

Tickets with a tourist quota are sold separately, they are confirmed, but are sold only in specialized places. You can apply to the cashier working for foreign tourists, or to a travel agency. But in the latter case, you will be taken with another percentage for the work of the employees of the travel company.

How to buy train tickets in India?

As in any other country in the world, in India you can buy train tickets at the railway ticket office and via the Internet. The purchase at the box office is very difficult, because no one speaks English at the station and there is no habit of hanging out the train schedule with the time of departure. But in this case you will get paper tickets for the train. India is a country where a routing receipt on a tablet or phone screen may not prove to be a weighty argument for boarding a train.

If you prefer to buy tickets only through the Internet, then be ready to overcome a number of difficulties. For example, you can pay the fare only with an Indian bank card. And the main site of the railways does not have a mobile version, which makes buying through the phone absolutely impossible. Help you various intermediary sites that are installed on any phone as an application and are ready for a small percentage to accept payment by your card. Please note that in India tickets for the train are sold three months before the trip. Therefore, by the time the train leaves, they almost completely disappear from the sale.

India is a bright and distinctive country, which can appear before travelers in an absolutely unusual foreshortening. To see all its beauty, it is worth taking a chance and buying a ticket for the train. We are sure that this will be your most unforgettable journey in life.