Earning Points on Indian Railways Tickets

Getting up to10% cash back on Indian Railways tickets as railway points can happen only with a subscription to Subh Yatra loyalty points. With the accumulated points, I even traveled for free! You will have to have at least 500 points to avail free Indian Railways tickets. Well railway points are valid only on 1st Class AC, 2nd Class AC, Executive Chair Car and AC Chair Car tickets booked at the IRCTC website.

It was while booking Indian Railways tickets at the Zoomtra.com page that I was navigated to the IRCTC page and that’s how I browsed through the loyalty program page and immediately subscribed for the same. Fees for a subscription are very cheap; it’s Rs. 500 for first year membership followed by annual renewal fee of Rs.300 excluding taxes and transaction charges. Do keep in mind that you can earn points on only full-fare Indian Railways tickets.

It has been a number of times that I didn’t get confirmed tickets. Of course PNR Status kept me updated about the status of my reservation. Yes, a couple of times, even the PNR status did not show a confirmation and we had to cancel the bookings. Advance bookings are a must!

IRCTC Official Website and Indian Railways

Do you guys know that the IRCTC official website has emerged as the largest and the fastest growing e-commerce portal not only in India but also in the Asia-Pacific region? Yes, all of you guys traveling by train often should be proud of this fact. No wonder with facilitation of buying of train tickets online at the IRCTC website, train travelers have sighed deep sighs of relief! No more waiting in long queues at Indian Railways counters to get train tickets! No matter where you are, all you need to do is log in to the IRCTC website and book your train tickets anytime between 00:30 Hrs to 23:30 Hrs.

Do you guys know that Indian Railways has 7,083 stations? And just imagine how many coaches it has? It is 60,000 coaches and 9,000 locomotives! And over 30 millions passengers travel by Indian Railways everyday! Distance in track covered is more than 64,215 kilometres. And it is broad gauge that is the predominant gauge used though metre gauges and narrow gauges are also used. What started in 1853 greatly expanded over the years. Broad gauge track covered by Indian railways is 96,851 km which accounts 86.8% of the entire track length encompassing all gauges.

Achievements of IRCTC of Indian Railways

If you do not know about the achievements of IRCTC of Indian Railways as a regular traveler by train, you are actually not an informed traveler in the true sense of the term. Besides being the largest and the fastest growing e-commerce website in the Asia-Pacific region with lakhs of registered users, it has won numerous awards. Indian Railways has only made ticketing simpler introducing online ticketing services with the formation of its subsidiary IRCTC. Few of the awards won by IRCTC worth mentioning are National Tourism Award of Excellence, National award for E-Governance, Retail Excellence Award, Mini Ratna Category-1, Genius of the Web Award, and more.

Booking of train tickets at the IRCTC website is easy. Just follow the steps and proceed. This facility was also available at the Indian Railways corporate site for some time but stopped for the time being. To buy train tickets at IRCTC, you have to get registered at its site. If you enter your mobile number, you can get SMS alerts related to your train tickets. You can also enjoy budget and luxury package tours covering the length and breadth of the country. Complete information about the tourism packages can be accessed at IRCTC site.

Online Reservation of Indian Railways Tickets

Want to receive SMS alerts related to your Indian Railways reservation? Update your mobile number in your profile registered at the IRCTC website. You will not only receive SMS alerts for your ticket booking but also get PNR status in case the booking is not confirmed. Besides, PNR Status can also be received if you send SMS to 139. You may alternatively dial the same number and get your PNR status. Of course the 10-digit PNR number has to be fed in to get the status.

It is not only at the IRCTC website that Indian Railways ticket booking is facilitated. You can also book it at travel portals like Zoomtra.com. For some time online ticketing was also facilitated at the Indian Railways corporate site but is stopped for the time being. You can either get e-tickets or i-tickets the only difference between the two is that the latter is received via post right at the doorsteps.

Well, do not take for granted that you will always get confirmed reservation any time you book tickets online at the IRCTC website or travel portals. Without advanced reservations there is no guarantee of confirmed seats! Even tatkal reservation may not turn in your favor.

Railways Booking and PNR Status

So many online platforms to do your railways booking – IRCTC website, Indian Railways site, travel portals not to mention over-the-counter tickets from agents and railway station ticket counters! It is but surprising that though newer trains have been added to the list yet the passenger count is only increasing by the day. You won’t get confirmed tickets if you do your railways booking in the eleventh hour or a couple of days ahead of your departure. In such a case, IRCTC and Indian Railways facilitate the guests find their PNR Status online. A dedicated railway phone is also run to facilitate guests get PNR status over the phone and even via SMS. The process of searching PNR status online is easy.

So, how do you go about doing your railways booking at the IRCTC website? Visit the ticket reservation page. As you proceed confirm the train name and the station names displayed. This is followed by entering of personal details such as names of passenger(s), age, sex and berth preference for each. IRCTC and Indian Railways provide 30% discount on railways booking to senior citizens. Do note that in tatkal reservation no discounts are offered even to senior citizens; additional charges are levied.

Trains List and PNR Status

When booking railway tickets online at the IRCTC or Indian Railways website, you will certainly have a look at the trains list, especially if you do not know which trains cover your chosen destination. At the IRCTC website it is during the booking process that list of trains covering your destination gets displayed. At the Indian Railways site, trains list can be viewed as per availability. For example, you can view the availability for top 100 booking stations with just a click of the mouse by clicking on the related link. Similarly tatkal trains list of 100 booking stations as per availability can also be viewed.

Those who are budget travelers and want to go on an India tour can opt for Bharat Darshan package offered by IRCTC. With just Rs. 500 per person everyday, you avail a whole lot of facilities during your trip.

Not yet got a confirmation of your train ticket? Visit the IRCTC site or Indian Railways site to check your PNR status. You won’t get a confirmation until it is a day or two away from the travel date. PNR status with confirmed coach and berth can be viewed a couple of hours before the train’s departure.

Tatkal Train Tickets

Do you know that travel portals like Zoomtra.com have tied up with Indian Railways and IRCTC to facilitate travelers buy train tickets online? Of course, you can also buy train tickets directly from the Indian Railways or IRCTC website. If you have not booked tickets in advance there is no assurance that you will easily get confirmed reservation. In such a situation, you can go for the tatkal reservation scheme offered by Indian Railways. This facility is also available at the IRCTC site.

How do you buy train tickets via tatkal? The booking counter opens at 8 AM; you can book a ticket two days in advance of the actual date of journey. You will have to pay extra for the tickets; it varies from class to class. For example, a maximum of Rs. 15 for second (sitting), Rs. 150 for sleeper/AC chair car, and Rs. 300 for AC 3 tier/2 tier/executive is charged. Yes there is no guarantee that you get a confirmation provided the waiting list is not too long. So, it will be wise on your part to book your train tickets several days ahead. Before booking, you can check seat availability at IRCTC and Indian Railways site.

Indian Railways, IRCTC, and PNR status

How often do you guys travel by Indian Railways? It is good news for all regular travelers by train because tickets can be booked online at both the Indian Railways and IRCTC corporate sites. If you visit the IRCTC website and browse through the pages, you will be thankful to yourself for exploring information. Yes, you can avail travel packages on the various tourist destinations across the length and breadth of the country at attractive prices. IRCTC also runs luxury trains facilitating sophisticated travelers take a tour of the tourist spots in luxury trains. This subsidiary of Indian Railways also provides schemes to frequent travelers; one is Shubh Yatra. With a subscription to this scheme, you earn points every time you buy tickets from the IRCTC website.

If you don’t have access to the Internet, do not worry about getting your PNR status. For unconfirmed bookings and to let passengers know about their PNR status, Indian Railways runs a dedicated telephone number. You can even know your PNR status by sending an SMS. Yes the single number for dialing and for sending SMS to get PNR status is 139. Do remember that you will have to dial from a BSNL or MTNL phone only.

PNR Status and IRCTC

When you don’t get a confirmed reservation, you often check the PNR status by entering the 10 digit number at the related search column at the IRCTC or Indian Railways website. Is there any alternative method to find PNR status, i.e. without visiting IRCTC or other online platforms like Zoomtra.com? Yes, you can check it via SMS or by dialing the railway phone number. SMS your 10 Digit Ticket number to 139 (for example if your ticket number is 1312787680 just send SMS to 139 as PRN 1312787680); you will soon get your PNR status. To get the PNR Status by phone, dial 139 from BSNL or MTNL phone and then enter your ticket number; you will immediately get the status.

In case you are shown a confirmation of your PNR status at the IRCTC website, do take a print out of the same. Though the list gets displayed and you do get your allotted berth yet by chance to avoid last minute hassles and nuisance, the printed copy will turn out to be useful.

If you have any plans of holidaying by train, why not travel by the luxury trains. Visit the IRCTC website to know about the same.

Railway Booking and IRCTC

Do you think railway booking can be done online only at the Indian Railways and IRCTC official websites? Today railway booking can also be done at travel portals like Zoomtra.com. This is the travel portal where I not only get flights tickets, get hotel bookings, Railway Booking but also get information on all the tourist destinations. It was IRCTC that first facilitated online railway booking. Today, you can choose any of the aforesaid platforms to get train tickets.

It is not only e-tickets but also I-tickets that you can get from the IRCTC website. I-tickets are regular tickets the only difference being that that they are booked online and delivered by post. At the Indian Railways website and at IRCTC, you can get a whole lot of information right from trains list, PNR status to special package deals, and more.

If you are all geared up for vacationing in any of the Indian destinations, opt budget or deluxe package tours offered by IRCTC. Bharat Darshan is a popular tourism package for budget tourists; the package covers important tourist destination across India. You may otherwise opt for luxury tourism packages; Deccan Odyssey, Royal Orient Express, Palace on Wheels, etc. are the trains operated.

Comprehensive and quality work done by this body has ensured that it becomes one of the largest and the fastest growing e-commerce website in the Asia-Pacific region, with about six Lakh registered users till 2003.

Zoomtra.com – One Stop Travel Site

Which of the Indian destinations have you planned to visit? So, you have planned to travel by train. Visit a India tourist guide page and go through information about the top cities and towns. You must have well heard about most cities that are worth visiting and must have even seen photographs shown by neighbors, friends and relatives who have visited places. For example, if you want to visit Chennai and adjoining areas in the south, you can have access to comprehensive information including information about Railway Booking at a India tourist guide page.

Zoomtra.com is one of the most visited India tourist guide pages. Here at the same platform, you can view and read information on not only Chennai and its adjoining areas but also all other cities and towns of the country. And you can also get your railway booking done. You need not visit any other page nor meet a travel agent for your railway booking.

At this platform, checking of PNR Status is facilitated by a user-friendly online tool. You can also check PNR status at the IRCTC website in case your booking is not confirmed. If you already get confirmed seats, there’s no need to check PNR status.

Getting I-Tickets and E-Tickets from Indian Railways

Indian Railways reservation is such an easy process now. Instead of going to the counter, standing in queue to get a ticket you can now get it right from the comfort of your space. Indian Railways facilitates passengers to get e-tickets and i-tickets online. You can also get your Indian Railways reservation done at travel portals like Zoomtra.com.

How do you get your i-ticket? For that you will have to register as an individual at the IRCTC website, which is an offshoot of Indian Railways. Registration is free. Now as a registered member, log in by entering your user name and password. You will be navigated to the ‘plan my travel’ page. Enter all requisite details like departure and arrival station, date, and then select the i-ticket option. Then select the type of ‘quota’ and then proceed clicking on ‘Find trains’. For newer results for your Indian Railways reservation, you can click on ‘reset’.

How do you get your e-ticket from the Indian Railways site or the IRCTC site? It is the same process as aforementioned except choosing e-ticket instead of i-ticket in the ‘ticket type’ column. Payment gateways for your online Indian Railways reservation are safe; it can be via credit/debit/cash card.

The Boggling Indian Railways

Indian Railways is one of the finest organizations of the world. It has made traveling very convenient. Generating employment for more than 1.6 million people and covering colossal track length of 64,215 km, Indian Railways network has become the 4th biggest in the world! With the computerized system of ticketing, getting Indian Railways reservation done has turned out to be pleasure.

Online Indian Railways Reservation system helps a passenger book tickets without following any cumbersome procedure. Trains list can be found on its official website and various other websites. It’s an informative list which enlightens details like train number, source and the destination point. Trains list is comprehensive and also elaborates specifications like arrival and departure time from specified locations all over the country.

Had there been no online facility to check PNR status, Indian railways reservation of unconfirmed seats would have been a hassle-oriented affair. The PNR status at the railways website gets updated at regular intervals. So if your seat is in waiting list number 100 today, tomorrow, you will find it at 80 and the number further descends. The exact seat number or RAC or non-confirmation gets displayed in the PNR Status a few hours before the scheduled train’s departure.

IRCTC - Railway Booking Made Easy

IRCTC or Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation is a government of India enterprise which manages online ticketing, tourism and catering operations of Indian Railways. This division has changed the face of ticketing in India with the introduction of e-ticketing. Whether it’s about online railway booking, canceling the ticket or modifying it or even checking the PNR status, IRCTC official website is the platform. Here you can also come across holiday packages, list of hotels with their star rating, flight details, etc.

Indian Railways form the 4th largest rail network in the world carrying about 25 million passengers daily. The organization was founded in 1857; today it has grown into 17 zones. Divided into four gauges, divisions of the track sections rating for speed vary from 75 to 160 km/hr. Indian Railways form an exorbitant network whereby there are 10 subdivisions of the classes’ viz., 1A, 2A, 3E, EC, 2S, and more.

Railway booking is now a child’s play online! You can get it done at the IRCTC website or travel portals like Zoomtra.com. Today, you can get railway booking done while on the move from mobile via GPRS or SMS. So, plan out a beautiful vacation hassle-free with the advanced Indian railway network.

Facilities Offered by IRCTC

IRCTC is well known for bringing significant changes in the face of Indian railway tourism system including ticketing and catering. It offers the services of rail ticket booking through Internet on its website, in addition to mobile phones via GPRS or SMS to the advantage of the passengers. Besides this, online cancellation or modification is also made available. The daily travelers of Mumbai's suburban railway can also enjoy benefits of booking the season tickets from IRCTC website. IRCTC has newly started a program called "Shubh Yatra" for the passengers who travel on regular basis. IRCTC also arranges budget and plush package tours for domestic and foreign tourists.

Online PNR status and seat availability queries can be fetched from the computerized reservation applications on the IRCTC website itself. However, Indian Railways department has launched a new phone number for PNR status enquiry, which is an absolutely toll-free service that works all over India including small villages and towns. You just need to call '139' from your BSNL/MTNL landlines or from any mobile telecom operator enabled phones, follow the instructions and within no time, you get to know the required PNR Status or other information. Isn’t railway ticket booking an easy affair?

Explore India - Myriad of Diversity

With so many websites as India tourist guide, one can choose the kind of holiday he/she wants i.e., leisure tourism, wildlife tourism, etc. It’ll guide you with all aspects of a vacation be it in North India or Southern part of India. India tourist guide helps a tourist to plan out his vacation without any bedlam. A tourist can book hotel rooms and even get the railway booking done without putting in any toil! Whether it is enquiring about shopping destinations or restaurants, from climate to history, get a complete know-how about the destination within seconds. Zoomtra.com is one online India Tourist Guide that you can bank upon for complete information on many aspects.

Getting a railway booking done is has turned simple today. Various websites and also the official website of railways enable us to get the railway booking done online.

No more you have to visit the station or make phone calls holding on in the perpetual waiting list to check the PNR status. Just enter your unique 10 digit PNR number displayed on your ticket at the related page and get your PNR status instantly. PNR Status can even be received through SMS with a subscription for the same.

E-Tickets at IRCTC Website and PNR Status

How do you buy e-tickets from the IRCTC website? You will have to be a registered member and registration at IRCTC website is completely free. Now that you are registered, log in entering your user name and password. You will then come across the ‘Plan my travel’ page. Once you select the departing and arriving station in the route of your desired train select e-ticket option followed by type of quota. Before you go for the e-ticket it will be wise on your part to take a glimpse at the trains list, displayed at the IRCTC website.

There is no assurance that tickets for your desired train are easily available. If you think you can get confirmed tickets at the railway counter or from a travel agent if not at the IRCTC website, you are wrong. It depends on the waiting list whether you get a confirmed seat or not if not at the time of booking. You can check the PNR Status to know if the seats are confirmed or not. The PNR number is available on the top left corner of the ticket. Enter this number at the related page and you will instantly get your PNR status.

On Indian Railways Reservation and Trains List

When going for Indian Railways reservation under the tatkal scheme, you no longer need to worry about the high extra charges levied. As per Railway Budget 2009-10, tatkal charges have been reduced to 10% of basic fare for second class and 30% of basic fare for all other classes. I have come across budget conscious railway travelers who do not opt for tatkal Indian Railways reservation because of extra charges. Now paying Rs. 15 for second sitting, Rs. 150 for sleeper, Rs. 150 for AC chair car, and Rs. 300 for all other AC classes at the maximum will hardly affect your budget. Visit IRCTC website or Zoomtra.com for your Indian Railways reservation.

The trains list is available in many a tourist guide. To get the trains list from the Indian Railways website, enter the source station code, destination station code, class, and journey date (link for station code information is available in the same page) in the related column. Once you click on the search button, you will be immediately transported to the desired ‘trains list’ page.

To know the PNR Status, visit the related link. Again, once you enter the information and click the button, you will know your PNR status instantly.

About Chennai Tidbits

It is not only natural splendor or glimpses of urban influence that tourists are attracted towards a city; the monuments and historical significance also hold equal importance. When we speak About Chennai, the above statement holds true. The city has gone through a remarkable change and is developing swiftly. Like any other metro city, the commonest feature about Chennai is it being a hub of numerous industries ranging from healthcare, automobile, technology to hardware manufacturing, and more. Visit Zoomtra.com to know about Chennai in detail such as centres of shopping, nightlife, places of interest, etc.

For Shopping in Chennai, do consider spending at least two days if you want to buy some memorable stuff. Government Emporiums are the best places for shopping in Chennai – especially for conventional items and handicrafts. Central Cottage Industries Emporium, Victoria Technical Institute, SIPA'S Craftlink, Cane'n'Bamboo, Auroville are few of the places where shopping in Chennai is best served.

Nightlife in Chennai is fun-oriented and safe. Most of the nightclubs like discotheques and pubs shutdown by mid-night except few that manage to stay open till wee hours. Few centres of nightlife in Chennai worth mentioning are Platinum Dance bar, Flame Le Club, Sparks dance pub, and more.

The Beginnings of Indian Railways

Had there been no Indian Railways, the development witnessed over time and easy transportation to the remotest of towns and villages would have been a far-fetched affair. And getting a railway booking done online at present is all possible with the launch of IRCTC years ago. Prior to the launch of IRCTC and travel portals, railway booking for Indian Railways happened in ticket counters only or via agents. You can get e-tickets or i-tickets from the IRCTC website. For a confirmed railway booking, advanced reservation is a must. Even tatkal railway booking won’t serve your purpose.

The beginnings of Indian Railways – the world’s fourth largest rail network are noteworthy. It all started with tracks laid over a stretch of 21 miles from Bombay to Thane on 16th April 1853. This is followed by the first passenger train steaming out of Howrah station covering a distance of 24 miles to Hooghly on 15th August 1854. Indian Railways in the south started functioning on 1st July, 1856, covering a distance of 63 miles from Vyasarpadi Jeeva Nilayam (Veyasarpandy) to Walajah Road (Arcot). On 3rd March 1859, the north saw Indian Railways laying tracks covering a length of 119 miles from Allahabad to Kanpur.

India Tourist Guide and Traveling by Train

Buddies, Zoomtra.com serves as the best India tourist guide. There are countless sections starting from flights booking, railway booking, hotel reservation, car booking, city information to information on restaurants, nightclubs, shopping centres, and more. I did come across other platforms that do serve as India Tourist Guide but this is a one stop platform where you can have access to all travel information and book tickets. This indeed always saves my time in conducting search elsewhere. Moreover, the discounts offered for flights tickets and hotels are unmatched. And discounts in railway booking are facilitated for certain packages.

Every time I went out of station, I always booked flights to airport destinations and railway booking for non-airport destinations here. The booking process is very easy; it runs a user-friendly online tool to help one find the cheapest train tickets. You can be navigated from the same platform to the Indian Railways website to find PNR Status. To get confirmed railway booking so that you need not check the PNR status, you should go for advanced bookings. At times even tatkal railway booking doesn’t help getting a confirmed seat. For last minute bookings, there is no guarantee that your PNR status page will display confirmed seats.

Indian Railways is exceptional

Indian Railways is sanguinely the transportation support system of the country with its commendable presence ever since the last 150 years. It boasts of running on of the world’s largest rail network covering a distance of more than 64,215 track kilometers. The rolling stock fleet of Indian Railways includes over 230,000 (freight) wagons, 60,000 coaches and 9,000 locomotives. Trains run on three categories of tracks - Broad Gauge, Meter gauge and Narrow Gauge. Among these three kinds of gauges, the Broad Gauge is the most prevailing type of track. It is 1,676 mm (5.6 ft) wide and about 96,851 km of track under the Indian Railways network runs on this type of track. In some locations where Broad Gauge in not practicable, Meter Gauge is being used.

However, that covers only very less length of the railway network. Narrow Gauge is present at very few routes, especially in hilly terrains. It covers around 2,500 route-km with ‘Kalka-Shimla Railway’, ‘Nilgiri Mountain Railway’, and ‘Darjeeling Himalayan Railway’ as the most notable hill lines. Plan a trip to the hills and get the Indian Railways Reservation for any of the aforesaid trains.

To get the Indian railways reservation done, visit its corporate site or a travel portal like Zoomtra.com.

Online Presence of Indian Railways

Purchasing Indian Railways tickets online is the simplest possible way to evade unconfirmed reservations. Just check the trains list to find out what trains are accessible on that route on that precise day on the IRCTC website. Ellipsis of Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation, IRCTC is an auxiliary wing of Indian Railways that handles online ticket bookings. When reserving a ticket on the Indian Railways website, you can either prefer to book an E-ticket or I-Ticket. While an E-ticket can be printed at home and fetched at the time of travel, I-tickets are delivered at your doorstep and the price includes courier charges.

As millions of people prefer to travel with Indian Railways every day, an unconfirmed reservation or being put on the waiting list is reasonably common. Even at the last moment Indian Railways sees a hastiness of passengers who want to know the PNR Status of their ticket. The PNR (Passenger Name Record) number is imperative because it aids in keeping track of the travel record of the passenger scheduled to travel. With facilities from IRCTC, you can effortlessly find out all about PNR status, information on trains, train timings, reservations and railway tour bookings, and more.

Indian Railways and Online Reservation

In 90% of the rural areas, Indian Railways has a big pie of share in transportation. Whether it is passenger traveling, or cargo, luggage shipping and moving, this corporation has an important role to play in the day to day life of the people and hence generation of a big amount of revenue to the Government of India. If you are all geared up to visit places, just visit its official website, have a look at the trains list, schedule, etc. and accordingly get your Indian Railways Reservation done online. The reservation process is easy and takes only a few minutes. It is not only trains list or facilitation of the online Indian Railways reservation but also access to a wealth of information that you can enjoy at its website.

In case your Indian Railways reservation is not confirmed, you can check the PNR status. Imagine the hassles of going to the ticket counter or having a look at the confirmation list displayed at the platform notice and concerned train. When you can get your PNR Status online, why face the hassles. Alternatively you may dial 139 from any telephone to get the PNR status of the desired Indian Railways reservation.

IRCTC Simplified!

There are a whole lot of facilities that IRCTC– Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation website provides its passengers. A series of activities happens at the site - right from facilitating browsers to conduct an enquiry about their train, availability of tickets to access to important information like trains fare, PNR status enquiry, railway booking. Indian Railways has made maximum use of the latest developments in IT and the use of the Internet.

IRCTC has now established a ‘beta website’, which is a remarkable feature. Now, there are many superior features which make the railway booking procedure easier for the customers. Now, travelers who want to travel by Indian Railways don’t need to stand in queues at the ticket counters. Just log in to the IRCTC website and get your desired railway booking done online with a few clicks of the mouse.

One also need not put a separate request for the train, seats, availability and fare because the intellectual enquiry software helps getting the requisite information to the browser’s advantage, bringing down the load on the servers. Above all, IRCTC now has influential servers to take up the loads, particularly during the peak hours of booking season and timings.

Ride India on Rails

Indian Railways is known for being one of the best in the world; thanks to a wide-ranging network with modern amenities, and fast and recurrent services. Online railway booking facilities travelers to take advantage of travel spanning across India’s 64,015 km of tracks, the flexibility to hop on and off trains at their leisure. Riding the rails in India can be a fun and relaxing way to travel from city to city while vacationing in India; plan each portion of the trip accordingly. While planning your trip, make use of India Tourist Guide. An India tourist guide is simply the answer to the list of questions that you may ask yourself about the daily activities for the entire trip.

Just like in other modes of travel, it is feasible to make a railway booking done online. The Indian Railways wing IRCTC caters for online Railway Booking, feeding the passenger with relevant information on PNR status, train lists, fares, destinations, and more. To check confirmation of seats after your booking and before your journey, you can check the PNR status at the Indian Railways site or directly through your mobile if it has the facility; the process is simple.

Indian Railways Reservation at IRCTC Website

There is none in the country who doesn’t like to visit places by Indian Railways. The airline phenomenon is new in the transportation scenario compared to Indian Railways. People earlier traveled by trains to cover long distances rather than flying. It has been since a decade that air travel has become popular owing the sudden fall of airfares. But passenger count in Indian Railways is not affected; in fact, the count is only increasing. Making Indian Railways reservation is made simple; thanks to the online reservation system. You can book tickets online not only at the IRCTC website, an offshoot of Indian Railways, but also at travel portals like Zoomtra.com.

There are different modes of getting the Indian Railways Reservation done at the IRCTC website. Other than e-tickets, you can also get i-tickets. Such tickets are bought online which are delivered at the specified address by post. For Indian Railways reservation of e-ticket, a service charge of Rs.10/- per e-ticket for sleeper class (SL) and second sitting (2S) and Rs.20/-per e-ticket in case of all other classes, are levied. If you have planned to visit a place, get the Indian Railways reservation done right away online.

For the People

IRCTC – Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited, is an online official portal launched in 2003. Earlier, people faced difficulty in searching for PNR status and other booking details. But now with the intervention of web space, IRCTC is a definite answer for all the common questions raised by a humungous Indian democracy. With technology advancement witnessed all around, IRCTC serves as an advanced tool in managing complex railway booking system. And, one should not forget the fact about Indian Railways for being known for its most ‘complex’ rail network, in comparison to the rest of the world.

Services rendered by IRCTC include online ticketing, PNR Status lookup, catering information, seasonal offers on railway tickets, tour packages and more. Interestingly, IRCTC has been recognized by people of India as the most prosperous e-commerce portal. In fact, for the fourth time since 2003, IRCTC website won award for excellence in innovation. Moreover, features like booking I-ticket, mobile zone and the PNR status search tab are the talk of the town at present. IRCTC launches new ‘rail tour packages every year, much to the customers’ delight. Well, it’s a pleasure to see democratic government putting efforts to work – ‘For the People’.

Indian Railways- “The Billion Dollar Baby!”

Spread across 64,000 Km and generating a revenue of 20 billion US$ annually, Indian Railways is an indispensable part of Indian economic machinery. And, Indian Railways reservation portal is the most visited online venture in India. IRCTC and agent portals help public to get access to Indian Railway reservation system. The trains list, PNR status information, booking offers and special rail packages are all available for customers to choose from. The Indian Railways reservation website is a user friendly innovative government initiative. Apart from passenger rail info, the freight section deals with parcel rates, freight claims and service costs associated with freights.

Catering across 7100 stations, Indian Railways is spread to remote rural areas. With new tracks being built, the trains list also gets longer. Indian Railways is the most complex rail network in the world and probably a lifeline for Indian commuters. Indian Railways Reservation site and its features like PNR status look up, tourist information, ticketing, baggage allowances regulations are all support tools to help customers. A luxurious amount of money has been spent on adding to the trains list and such mammoth investments have earned a title for Indian Railways – “the Billion Dollar Baby!”

Travel by Indian Railways

Indian Railways is the oldest public institution in the world. Since 1880s, development had been their main agenda. And, IRCTC is part of one of the many innovations brought to the table by Indian Railways. Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation started providing online railway booking services and also improved the hygiene levels of catering services. IRCTC is considered by commuters as the official railway booking website, simply due to the ease with which one can book their tickets. And IRCTC is also responsible for tourism complaints, catering service grievances and customer service as a whole.

In 2007, Indian Railways won the ‘Genius of the web award’ for the ‘Best E-Governance website’. This award means a lot to IRCTC and proves the efficacy of online portals in bringing about revolution in customer service betterment. Railway booking and catering are just a small part of the main website. There are travel offers, rail tour packages, Buddhist trains, hotel bookings and much more available on IRCTC portal. Over past few years, Indian Railways have made conscious efforts in improving services offered to customers. And, instead of urging people to commute, Indian Railways have allured people to travel with them.

Travel India by Indian Railways!

With a whole host of cities all over India, an India tourist guide will meticulously acquaint tourists with the different corners and crannies of Indian cities. India tourist guide unmistakably demonstrate landmarks, streets, road, rail road maps, and even the changing movements of visitors in each city and more. This informative material can greatly provide tourists and guests of helpful data about the particular city they want to explore. Indeed, referring to India Tourist Guide solves countless problems and makes you a self-governing traveler amongst the flocks.

Traveling in India is mostly preferred by trains than any other means of transport due to the complacencies involved. With such an increase in railway booking facilities, there has been a tremendous growth in the enquiry of the PNR status by the passengers. To make things more comfortable for the passengers, a number of websites providing Railway Booking and facilities for checking PNR status online had been started long back. Just do a Google search on PNR status to get the sites or otherwise you can also check PNR status on your mobile through simple and easy ways. Travel portals like Zoomtra also facilitates railway booking online.

Travel by Rail - India

Indian Railways has one of the largest railway networks in the world that connects major cities in India. Traveling India by trains has been made so much easier these days by the infrastructure that is in place all around the country; thanks to Indian Railways. The comfortability and affordability associated attracts all classes of travelers. There are dedicated luxury trains meant for tourism facilitating tourists to tour around the country. The Indian Railways network spans across the whole of India almost getting you to every accessible point. Indian Railways reservation is effortless; thanks to online interfaces that provide planning, scheduling and trip organization services. Both personal and corporate travel arrangements can be made effortlessly and virtually online.

The train reservation details, PNR status, online ticket bookings, seat availability, time table, trains list, destinations, and lot of other information are available online at the official website of Indian Railways. Earlier, one had to arrive to the nearest booking station to get the Indian Railways Reservation done. Well, it was very hard to envisage few years ago that Indian Railways would make such an unparalleled progress in terms of using web technology to reach people and making life easy for many.

IRCTC and PNR Status

Visiting destinations by train is always fun. Right from the departure to arrival, you will enjoy myriad experiences; the diverse sceneries as you pass by are no doubt a feast for the eyes. IRCTC of Indian Railways always innovates, introducing passenger-advantageous packages from time to time.

When it comes to food, you do gain a competitive advantage, especially if you travel by 12628 Karnataka Express and 12780 Goa Express. IRCTS has introduced online booking of meals in these trains; you can book the meal at the time of booking your tickets. Well it is not only at the IRCTC website but also at travel portals like Zoomtra.com that you can get the ticket bookings done. If you book e-tickets at IRCTS, you need to produce proof while traveling; for students, Nationalised Bank Passbook with photograph and Student Identity Card with photograph issued by recognized School/College are valid.

Getting the PNR status of your ticket is easy at the IRCTC website. It will be wise on your part to update your mobile number in IRCTC profile so that you receive SMS alerts for your ticket booking. Online PNR Status enquiry is available from IST 04:00 hrs to 23:00 hrs.

Milestones Achieved by IRCTC and Online Railway Booking

Are you aware of the fact that the IRCTC portal of Indian Railways is the largest and fastest growing e-commerce website in the Asia-Pacific region? Well, there are lakhs of users who do their railway booking online. No wonder IRCTC has been honored with a number of awards till date because of its contribution to the travelers’ community at large.

Few of the awards worth mentioning are National Tourism Award of Excellence by Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, Genius of the Web Award 2007 for being the "Best E-Governance PSU Site" by CNBC, National Award for E-Governance, 2007-08 jointly by Department of IT, Govt. of India and Govt. of Haryana, award for E-Governance for being "Best Citizen Centric Application" for the year 2007-08, and the list goes on.

Do not worry about standing in a queue to get your railway booking done at the ticket counter of Indian Railways stations. And you need not visit the railway agent as well. Just log in to the IRCTC website and get the bookings done in a matter of few minutes. Travel portals like Zoomtra.com also facilitate Railway Booking to the advantage of the passengers.

Advanced Railway Booking for Confirmed Seats

Lakhs of people travel by train everyday. It is no surprise if you find every train always full. Right from students heading towards their destination of study or going back home for a vacation to people employed in the city going for a short trip to their hometown, you will find passengers traveling for different purposes. You will also find passengers on a vacationing tour or corporate travelers. Well, without a Railway Booking, you cannot travel.

You cannot expect to get a confirmed reservation if you do not get your railway booking done in advance. Indian Railways has facilitated passengers to know the status of their bookings via the PNR status feature, especially for those who do not get a confirmed reservation. Entering your train details in the given space, you can get your PNR Status in seconds. If you are doing a railway booking in the eleventh hour, go for ‘tatkal’ reservation; you will have to pay a few hundred bucks extra but there is no guarantee of confirmed booking. In this case, if you are in the waiting list, again your PNR status will let you know about the status of your booking.

Indian Railways - Growth and Priorities

From diesel locomotives to electrical ones, the Indian Railways has grown in size, value and reputation. With over 8500 railway stations, 65,000 km large rail network and increasing contribution to nation’s economy, Indian Railways is a proud institution. In fact, the ‘mass employee hiring’ done in ’97 was a world record for 7 years. And, Indian Railways contributes more than one-third to GDP’s growth. Having discussed all of the above facts, one must also lay emphasis on provisions made by Indian Railways to improve traveling standards.

Indian Railways Reservation process has improved immensely. On the indialrail.gov.in portal, anyone can visit, search and book trains for themselves with a few clicks. Earlier, one had to approach a booking counter to reserve rail tickets. Today, Indian Railways reservation is as easy as any daily routine procedure. And interestingly, its official website was the most visited portal in the month of April, 2010. Also, under the ‘information’ tab, one can see a section for ‘international tourists’, which shows the willingness to reach out to the world community. Once made, such reputation is hard to maintain over a period of considerable time. But this govt. organization is here to stay.

The Official IRCTC Indian Railways Website

There is hardly any Indian who has not traveled by Indian Railways no matter whether it is long distance or short distance travel. For confirmed reservation, do get the railway booking done well in advance. In general, you can make your railway booking up to three months in advance. So, if you have an itinerary planned in your mind, it is essential that you look for the Indian Railways seat availability of your preferred train and book your tickets before time. The best way to get all the information you need for Indian Railways is to go to the IRCTC Indian Railways website. Easy to access, you will have options of trains to choose from including local and regional rail lines and daily schedules. Also, you don't have to be bothered much about high cancellation expenses.

At the IRCTC Indian Railways website it is feasible to book your seats by means of credit card or debit card payments. An additional benefit that you can enjoy with online Railway Booking is that you can check for seat availability in the same compartment and sequential seat numbers as well. Zoomtra.com also facilitates travelers to get the railway bookings done.

Traveling with Indian Railways

Have you ever explored remote villages and big cities, hills and mesmerizing landscapes, gazing from the windows of a train? It is altogether a different and cherishing experience! The best part is that you can make Indian Railways reservation easily online. You may either visit the IRCTC official website or Zoomtra.com or some other travel portal for the same. Besides Indian Railways reservation, travelers can have access to trains list, train schedule, and other information with just a few clicks of the mouse. Gone are the days when people had to open a weighty booklet to have a glimpse of the Indian trains list. Today, the usage of web is enough to facilitate improved quality service concerning information on trains between stations, availability of seats, PNR Status, etc.

Gone are the days when web presence was not there creating problems for the travelers to stand in queues and get the Indian Railways Reservation done. Today with the improvement of technology and quantum leap in communication facilities, getting a reservation done anywhere online has become feasible. In case you do not have a confirmed reservation, you can check the PNR status by entering very few details.