[cyberhippie]

In a new scheme from IR, waiting listed passengers can now also put themselves forward for inclusion in the fight for Tatkal Tickets (a quota of reservations on express train that holds back 10% per class (Mostly 1st class is excluded from this) until three days before departure.)

You can at least in some trains now ask for the extra fees that are incumbent on the Tatkal Quota, to be included in your request for a waiting listed ticket.

SO as well as waiting for people to drop out of reservations; for reasons known only to themselves
You;  having paid the premiums are now eligible to have your request confirmed on the Tatkal Quota!
A big plus for travelers

Here's the official version from IRCTC

Quote

To save the botheration of general waitlisted passenger to book again for tatkal booking on the opening day of tatkal quota, Railways have decided to have an option from the passenger opting �Yes�, in case he desires to be considered for allotment against 50% of Tatkal quota by certain trains.
In case the �Yes� option is opted by the passenger, the fare including Tatkal charges will be recovered.
An indication will be given against the name of such passenger that the �Tatkal Charges� have been collected.
On the opening day of �Tatkal Booking� for that particular date, such passenger will be allotted �Tatkal� accommodation as per priority who has opted �YES� for this scheme.
No concession in fare will be allowed against such tickets.
In case such passenger gets confirmed in general quota, he will be eligible for seeking refund of Tatkal charges by obtaining a Ticket Deposit Receipt within 30 days of departure of train. The case shall be processed with the Railways for refund on behalf of the I-ticket passengers and refund amount on receipt from the Railways shall be credited to customer�s account electronically,
In case the passenger wants to cancel the ticket before the �Advance Reservation Period� of Tatkal Scheme (5 days), normal refund rules will be applicable. In case the passenger is updated against �Tatkal Quota�, Tatkal refund rules will be applicable to such passengers.
In such trains there will be no restriction of booking under Tatkal scheme and tickets can be booked as are booked in general quota in the respective trains.

[kullukid]

Hi CH, could do with some help in the train dept. I've always bought my train tickets in India, a day or two before I want to travel. However this time i'll be travelling with her indoors,outdoors (Mrs KK)& i don't want any hiccup's, so I was going to try & book online before i leave for India.

We are wanting to get an early morning Shatabdi Express from New Delhi to Hardwar in 2nd class non A/C on 12th Aug. So what's the easiest way to go about it??

Sorry if I sound a bit dumb,but from what i've read on other forums it's a bit of a pain booking & paying online & apparently the rail booking site crashes a lot, or takes your money twice,hence the reason why I usually wait until I'm in India.

HELP!!! KK

[SHIMLA]

kullukid,

Just the day before yesterday I booked my E-tickets over the net for a Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai journey; and never had probems.

[cyberhippie]

KK it's a hit and miss affair, some people breeze through the system, others need to make numerous attempts before a successful booking, still others make a dent in their monitor and give up on the whole thing.

The booking times are from 0500 hrs to 2330 hrs Monday to Sunday, so early in the morning or late at night are the best times to try and deal with what is one of the worlds busiest sites.

Some other tips include making a master passenger list, containing you and her indoors, this avoids having to retype all the info after a failed attempt thereby speeding up the whole transaction as communication errors and time outs seem to be a problem.

Also when you register with IRCTC, there's still a bug, the electronic form insists of a Indian pin number, even when you state you are from another country, just make up any old 6 digit number and the system will swallow it.

Here's the link to register Online Booking

Recent reports suggest that when paying for your I ticket/E ticket the Citibank Payment Gateway seems to work the best for foreign cards but this info seems to change regularly, so let us know how you get on.

You have the choice of an I ticket which will be couriered to the hotel of your choice or an E ticket which you can print yourself,
Recently the system was changed so you can now purchase waiting listed E tickets (It used to be only I tickets)

You can book up to 10 tickets per month online and the reservation period is 90 days though you can only book from 8am (same time as the ticket office opens in the station) on the first day of the reservation period.

Some trains only have a 60 day reservation period others 30 days but these are very few and probably won't effect you.

Finding your train is easy enough you can use the official India Railways site but I find Erail to be far better and uses the railway server to interface the info.
It also has a few bugs but it gets better month by month.

Here's the link Erail you can find timetables, fares and availability in several different quotas on this site, including the foreign tourist quota.
For more detailed info check the All Stations radio button.

[iwanttogoback]

i think that i am going to award this thread 'most compelling thread title of the week.'

[dzibead]

The ability to print an "e" ticket now is a big plus.  The business of having to designate a hotel where the ticket would be sent was very nerve-wracking to me.  You had to contact the hotel and let them know the ticket was being delivered and then hope that whoever you spoke with remembered to tell whoever was going to be working the front desk or wherever the mail was delivered that the ticket would be coming or otherwise risk having the delivery "refused" as undeliverable and then worrying about where you ticket disappeared to (that happened to me once ).  Ugh!  It's too bad the website still has the bugs like demaning an Indian pin.  I sometimes feel that trying to negotiate the Indian Railways website is like playing one of those interactive computer games like Myst, where you click on some doorway or something and hope it will lead you to the right place instead of down a blind alley.

[kullukid]

dzibead, on Jul 28 2008, 12:15 AM, said:

I sometimes feel that trying to negotiate the Indian Railways website is like playing one of those interactive computer games like Myst, where you click on some doorway or something and hope it will lead you to the right place instead of down a blind alley.

Exactly, I always get the feeling on computers, that if I press the wrong thing me & the whole world will disappear down a black hole or something!!   Anyway cheer's CH, I'll get Mrs KK to give it a go,at least that way if it all goes pear shaped & we disappear down a black hole or something I can blame her   

Here's another slightly OT technophobic question. What about mobile phones? Again something I've never bothered taking to India, but this time Mrs KK wants to be able to stay in touch & text our daughter, who will be in Turkey while we are in India. My mobiles been unblocked so that it will work anywhere in the world,but it's very expensive to use abroad. How do I get around this? Can I but a Pay-As You-Go sim card to use on an Indian network which will work out much cheaper? & if so does this mean I will have a different mobile number?

HELP AGAIN!!!!

P.S. I have been to India before......Honest!!    KK

[iwanttogoback]

Quote

Can I but a Pay-As You-Go sim card to use on an Indian network which will work out much cheaper? & if so does this mean I will have a different mobile number?

yes and yes are the correct answers i believe.

i took my mobile and used it with global roaming when i went, never again, the cost was horrendous! checking with those who bought sim cards to use in their phones it seemed much cheaper.

[SHIMLA]

I agree with iwanttogoback.  Even buying a GSM handset and a pre-paid SIM card in India will be cheaper. The number will of course be a new one.

However, if I'm not mistaken, one has to pay some deposit if one wants STD and ISD facility on a pre-paid card. One also needs to provide proof of a local address in order to get a SIM in India.

[jyotirmoy]

If you buy tatkal tickets you will have to pay for travel from originating station to the final destination no matter where you board the train and where you get off.

Getting a local SIM card has become a bit difficult now. Proof of residence required. When one of our members came to Delhi I had to buy a SIM card myself giving proof of my residence in Delhi. The phone company guys came over to my residence to verify.

[iwanttogoback]

sounds like things have tightened considerably. i seem to remember that my friends had no difficulty buying sim cards in a number of cities.

[kullukid]

So far i'm failing miserably & i've only got as far as the e-rail timetable.

here's what it says;

11th Aug                     Dep           1A         2A       3A        CC       FC       SL        2S

2017 DDshtbdi            06.50          AV          x         x          x          x         x          x
2055 DDJanshtb          15.25           x           x         x         AV         x         x         AV

12th Aug                      Dep           1A         2A       3A        CC        FC       SL        2S

2017 DDshtbdi             06.50          AV         x          x          x          x         x           x
2055 DDJanshtb           15.25           x           x         x         AV         x         x          AV

Ideally I wanted to get the 06.50 on 12th but I definitely don't want to travel 1st class, I prefer to travel 2S.
So does this mean my best option would be to go on the 11th at 15.25?
I land at 3.30 am on 11th & I have a friend in Gurgaon who says he would collect me from the airport, so i could get my head down at his place for a few hours.
Help again!   It's so much easier booking once in India! KK

Edited by kullukid, 04 August 2008 - 04:07 PM.

[kullukid]

Sorry folks I was trying to show what the timetable was displaying, but it's bunched it all up together when I posted so now it looks like a loads of nonsense. KK

[SHIMLA]

kk,

If you prefer  2S then yes, you should travel by the 2055 Jan Shatabdi on the 11th. Tickets for this train are available for the 11th, so you may go ahead and book rightaway!

All the best for a successful e-ticket booking.

[kullukid]

SHIMLA, on Aug 4 2008, 06:39 PM, said:

kk,

If you prefer  2S then yes, you should travel by the 2055 Jan Shatabdi on the 11th. Tickets for this train are available for the 11th, so you may go ahead and book rightaway!

All the best for a successful e-ticket booking.

Cheers Shimla, we land at 3.30AM on 11th so i've decided that taking a train journey late that afternoon will be a bit much. Looks like we'll have to take an aircon chair early the following morn, which i don't like doing, it's like entering some strange world between England & India & sooooo boring. But I suppose it's a small sacrifice when Haridwar & Rishi await at the other end of the line. KK

[SHIMLA]

kullukid, on Aug 5 2008, 03:28 PM, said:

But I suppose it's a small sacrifice when Haridwar & Rishi await at the other end of the line. KK

I agree. Certainly a small sacrifice when your destination is Haridwar and Rishikesh.

[kullukid]

After spending all afternoon trying to book this with Mrs KK (who's not a technophobe like me) we've given it up as a bad job. I'll just try & book the tickets the day before,once we arrive in Delhi, failing that we'll walk to Rishi,   I'm sure it will be easier than trying to book a train ticket online:wacko: We seemed to get all the way through the system a number of times only to have ICCI reject our card payment at the end. I won't repeat what Mrs KK said!   KK

[iwanttogoback]

come on kk, life is suffering - jump on in!

seriously though, it sounds completely off putting. i wish you all the best in getting there. and i look forward to the photos.

[AlanD]

KK We've hardly ever booked trains in advance and from what you and others have said I don't think we should even try for our next trip. My wife is an excellent organiser but I think even she might end up very frustrated - card not accepted, tickets to be delivered etc

We've never had a problem in the past taking the Shatabdi to Rishikesh, though our first journey on our forthcoming visit will be Delhi to Pathankot. We will just go and see the very helpful people down at the Tourist Reservation Office at New Delhi RS (through the main entrance and turn right or left and then up the stairs, dodging the touts on the way) and hope something is available. With the generous discounts for senior citizens that are now available (30% for men and 50% for women) we should be able to buy tickets in some class.

[kullukid]

iwanttogoback, on Aug 6 2008, 05:00 AM, said:

come on kk, life is suffering - jump on in!

seriously though, it sounds completely off putting. i wish you all the best in getting there. and i look forward to the photos.

I don't mind the suffering,providing I get a result at the end of it.   Yes it's verreee off putting, I don't think i'll ever try this again. But it seems such a shame that people like CH & others go to such trouble posting clear, precise details on how to go through the trauma of booking, which i've followed to the letter only to be let down by one of the biggest organisations in India.

Quote

KK We've hardly ever booked trains in advance and from what you and others have said I don't think we should even try for our next trip. My wife is an excellent organiser but I think even she might end up very frustrated - card not accepted, tickets to be delivered etc

We've never had a problem in the past taking the Shatabdi to Rishikesh, though our first journey on our forthcoming visit will be Delhi to Pathankot.

Same here Alan, I always book once in situ & never had any prob's,but because i'm bringing Mrs KK this time i wanted to book in advance to avoid any hiccups, plus on another forum people were talking about hotels & rail tickets getting booked up fast around Independence Day which made me think i needed to get on with it. Actually now you mention Pathankot  i've just remembered I arrived in Delhi on the 14th Aug a few yrs back & easily booked a ticket to Amritsar for the day after Independence Day.

Anyway folks you'll be pleased to hear I contacted my hotel in Delhi & they are booking the tickets on my behalf for Rs100 fee.

Just the inland flight to sort out now. Yesterday we tried to book online with Air Deccan & had the same prob's with refusal to accept our payment. So this morning we rang them in Delhi,only to be told that they don't accept foriegn credit cards. At first i thought it was just me & the computers had a personal vendetta against  me cos they'd picked up my negative vibes towards them!
But it's ok i'm still calm, i'm taking deep breaths into a paper bag!!!!        KK