Survive Guide - South India and Kerala - page 1069

300 848 500 342 755 266 122

400 1064 627 425 937 331 151

500 1279 754 509 1121 396 182

1000 2140 1255 829 1853 644 295

1500 2780 1624 1049 NA 816 374

2000 3420 1993 1270 NA 987 452

FARE FINDER

Go to www.indiarailinfo.com and type in the name of the two destinations. You'll promptly get a list of every
train (with the name, number, arrival/departure times and journey details) plying the route, as well as fares for
each available class.

Booking Tickets in India
» You can either book tickets through a travel agency or hotel (for a commission) or in person at the train station.

» You can also book online through IRCTC ( www.irctc.co.in ), the e-ticketing division of Indian Railways, or portals
such as Make My Trip ( www.makemytrip.com ) and Yatra ( www.yatra.com ).
» Remember, however, that online booking of train tickets has its share of glitches: travellers have reported problems
with registering themselves on some portals and using certain overseas credit cards.
» Big stations often have English-speaking staff who can help with reservations; at smaller stations, the stationmaster
and their deputies usually speak English. It's also worth approaching tourist-office staff if you need advice.

AT THE STATION
Get a reservation slip from the information window, fill in the name of the departure station, destination station, the
class you want to travel and the name and number of the train. Join the long queue for the ticket window where your
ticket will be printed. Women should take advantage of the separate women's queue - if there isn't one, go to the front
of the regular queue.

TOURIST RESERVATION BUREAU
Larger cities and major tourist centres have an International Tourist Bureau, which allows you to book tickets in relative
peace - check www.indianrail.gov.in for a list of these stations.

Reservations
» Bookings open 120 days before departure and you must make a reservation for chair-car, sleeper, 1AC, 2AC and 3AC
carriages. No reservations are required for general (2nd-class) compartments; you have to grab seats here the moment
the train pulls in.
» Trains are always busy so it's wise to book as far in advance as possible, especially for overnight journeys. There may
be additional services to certain destinations during major festivals but it's still worth booking well in advance.