Railway Booking

The British laid the tracks of the Indian railway in the time of the Raj to transport goods. Since then it has come a long way in transporting not only goods but initiating passenger trains so that people can commute between various destinations.

Booking for reservations was done manually till the 80s. In 1986 the first computerized reservation system was launched in Delhi. Since then gradually the entire reservation system across the country has become computerized. So that data is accumulated at one bank and can be checked by anyone across the country.

A person booking the ticket can book between two destinations anywhere in the country. Each person is allowed to do a maximum of 6 reservations at a time. A ticket too holds up to 6 tickets of passengers traveling to the same destination. If you do not have reserved tickets then you are waitlisted and your listing is put up on the notice board.

If the listing does not have your name till the end moment then you cannot board the train by law. In case of an unreserved ticket you can board the general compartment. There are separate ladies and gents compartment.

The railways allow you to cancel a reserved ticket till the last minute. You get 50% of the amount returned in such cases. This facility is for those who come up against some crisis at the last minute. Unlike airlines where your ticket amount is completely un-refundable, the railways give you at least some refund according to the date of cancellation with regard to the train travel date, thus minimizing your loss.

The railways also give subsidies to senior citizens. Around 30% of the ticket price on a long distant reserved ticket is waived off for them. Even for regular train travel there is a subsidy for senior citizens, students, disabled and senior government officials.

For regular commuters the railways has begun rail pass between two destinations. Here the commuter has to purchase the pass only once a month or quarterly and forget about standing in those long queues.