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.