Booking Train Tickets
On Monday I went to New Delhi train station to book a train ticket to Khajuraho from another of Delhi’s train stations, Hazrat Nizamuddin. On speaking with people at two ticket booths, I thought I was being told to go to the station to book my ticket, though signs clearly said I would be able to book a ticket from any station at any station.
Each time, as I attempted to convey what I wanted to do to the staff, local crowds were still passing me to get their tickets from the booth. This is a much more direct approach to bothersome tourists than the tutting and watch-looking you might get at Waterloo or Paddington!
Luckily I met Johana and Daniel, from Switzerland and Austria respectively, who had more information than I. Though to say that is a detriment to how prepared they were, considering how poorly clued up I generally am. Apparently there was a tourist ticket office in the station over the other side of the tracks by platform 1, so the three of us went across and walked the length of the platform in search of it.
We saw one sign on the platform, but it didn’t give any arrow or indication about how to get there. Upon asking a guard, we discovered it was up a set of stairs in the huge waiting area between the main door and the platform.
This place was a delight. We grabbed a numbered ticket which showed us our place in the queue and took a seat at the back. There were illuminated numbers over the desk to show which ticket they were serving and a computer screen showed the current list.
While filling out booking forms, we watched as security guards came in to look at a large travel case which had been left locked to a bench. As ever security was high and the three guards clearly were trying to work out what to do. A controlled explosion, I wondered. I’m not sure if I was more worried for the person’s possessions or excited of the potential action that was about to take place.
Instead they took a seat on the bench next to it and guarded the case. After a pleasant and easy experience with the staff member at their desk, I wished Daniel and Johana good luck in their travels and noticed the guards still guarding the case, which to me looked like browsing websites, but then I’ve never been place in charge of protecting a bomb before.
Ticket types
It seems as if the Indian train reservation system’s goal is to leave no seat empty. It doesn’t overbook trains either, unlike how flights work where you might get to the airport and be told “this flight’s overbooked, but how about this one tomorrow and one million candy points?!” or some such.
The system is actually pretty simple, when you buy a ticket it can either be available, waitlist or RAC (reservation against confirmation).
When a ticket is available, you get instant confirmation and, in my experience of booking six trains, a seat number. This is a joy because you know where you stand and aren’t left biting your nails about your onward travels.
Buying a waitlist ticket puts you in a queue. It turns out that it’s really cheap to cancel tickets, so this often happens. As people cancel, you move up in the queue until you are confirmed or RAC. When this happens, if you’re like me, checking your status will become the worst game in the world.
I’ve not experienced RAC yet, but the way I’ve seen it described is that you might only get a seat instead of a bed, if there are no cancellations. Apparently this is rare though.
It seemed like a daunting subject and took some reading about. India Mike has an article about it, if you really want the gritty details. His site has been great for understanding how a lot of the train system works over here.
As you may be able to tell booking tickets online is a much more boring affair than going to a train station and playing hide and seek, but I’m pretty sure that would get tiring at some point.