Railways are the most widely used means of transportation in India since ages. Despite an incredible increase in the magnitude of the railways, we need to accept that, the demand is still on top of it. Knowing the timetable is the key to make a time saving journey.

A Few Facts to Know About Indian Railways:

• Indian railways have the world’s most extensive railway tracks. Have you ever imagined the magnitude of our railway network..? About 14,300 trains in India cover a distance, which is equal to three and half times the distance between the earth and the moon, everyday..!
• They have got deep roots in India. The first railway track was laid long back in 1853 between Bombay and Thane. Since then, newer tracks and trains are introduced every year to meet the increasing demand of people. Today, they have changed the pace of the Indian economy and administration.
• Let’s have a quick look at the numbers associated with the railways. It has a track length of 63,028 km and about 7000 odd railway stations across India. It helps 13 million people every day to reach their destinations. Employment opportunities are created for 1.55 million people.

Sources:

If you want to make a safe and comfortable trip, make sure to check out the train time table before you leave to the railway station. When we say time table, we mean to say the arrival and departure times of trains at various stations. Check out various sources to know about the train time table:

• One of the best initiatives made by the Indian railways is providing online access to its services. Millions of passengers have benefited from these services and we need to accept that this is helping us to have a better traveling experience. Just check out the official website of Indian railways and get to know every detail you want. Apart from the official website, there are also others websites which bring you this information. So all that you need to do is, just type your query in the search engine and allow it to generate results for you. Train name and number can be used to generate specific results.
• For a quicker search, you can download various apps, which let you know about the schedule of trains. One of the most followed and classic source in this aspect is the book “Trains at a glance” published by the Indian railways itself annually.

Be Updated:

Every year the ministry releases the time table with all the changes made. It’s important to be updated with these modifications. These salient features, which are released annually, generally include the following:

• It is majorly concerned about the changes in the arrival and departure timings of the trains.
• It also specifies if there are any new trains in a particular route.
• In case of high demand from people, the railway department arranges some extra trips.
• Any hike in the fares or changes in reservation criteria will be mentioned.
• Extensions of existing trains and speeding up of their time travel will be stipulated.
• The train number is one thing, which we mostly use to identify it. Often, changes in the number can be made by the railway department. Have a keen eye on these numbers.

Indian railway is without a second thought the lifeline of our country. It is such a wide network and it carries nearly 23 million passengers every day. With so many trains running round the clock, planning your travel could be a frightening task. It takes a lot of planning by the railway employees to plan train timings and keep them as they are supposed to be. But sometimes trains get delayed due to certain circumstances. This makes travelling more difficult. Hence, it is important that you plan your travel and to do that you must know and keep certain things in mind.

1) Classes of Indian train: There are six classes for travelling in Indian railways. To begin with, we have 1st AC which is luxurious, Air-conditioned and most expensive of all. There are 2 or 4 berths and a wash basin in a cabin. It comes with bedding and is very luxurious. Next to 1st AC is 2nd Ac. It is also Air-conditioned with 4 bunks together and 2 on the side. These are not as fancy as 1st Ac but still luxurious. It comes in half the cost of 1st Ac along with the bedding. The 3rd AC has 6 bunks in a compartment and 2 on the sides. These are usually more crowded than the 1st and 2nd AC and isn’t luxurious at all. It doesn’t come with bedding. Then comes 1st class Non-AC. This is much cheaper and doesn’t come with bedding and Air-Condition. You will also come across sleeper class, which is usually crowded. It is like 3rd AC, but it doesn’t have Air-condition and bedding. And then there is unreserved class, which is amazingly crowded and cheap. These are open cars and have benches for seating. In some short distance trains, you will also get to see AC chair cars.

2) Special tips: If you are planning to see the real India, you must travel in sleeper class because real India travels in sleeper and unreserved compartments. But if you cannot stand the crowd, you have an overnight journey, you have a long journey ahead or if you seek comfort and luxury during travel, you should consider travelling in AC coaches. For short journey, you can travel in AC chair car.

3) Reservations: It is better to plan your journey in advance. Reservations can be hard to get on the last moment. And if you don’t plan your travel in advance, you might miss certain benefits. For example, if you book a ticket for a journey of more than 500 km, you can take a 2 days break at any station enroute after 500 km. Also, a single circular journey ticket includes 8 days of breaks in between. But if you are not the kind of person who plans their travel in advance, you can book your ticket in tatkal, but it is expensive. You can book your travel tickets online as well through IRCTC or other websites that provide such facility. You can either take the printout or carry your ticket on your phone in form of message sent by the booking site.