Indian rail & trains

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ixigo.train.ixitrain

An unbelievably fast & useful train app, "Indian rail & trains" makes Indian Railway train information search really easy and intuitive! Remember the last time you tried finding train tickets and how long and difficult the process was to find the right train or fare? Finding which days a train runs on, or which class to choose, or to find availability, PNR status, routes or accurate fares is now easier! Indian rail & trains app uses the power of India’s leading trip planning site, ixigo.com to search across all train information and routes in India, with comprehensive data and an awesome user experience across all mobile devices! With Indian rail & trains app, you can:

- Search for trains between destinations by simply typing the name of the stations / cities / towns
- Check real-time availability for over 2000 trains running under the Indian Railways
- Find trains with train numbers and names
- Browse through routes of multiple trains to choose the most convenient option
- Receive quick PNR status updates
- Explore seat/berth maps to find convenient seats
- Get real time running status of trains
- Add trains to your Favourites to create a ready reference to plan your trip

Indian rail & trains app provides information of all trains running across India with their current schedules, fares & routes clearly displayed for passengers to make informed decisions while planning their trips. Backed by intelligent technology, the app is very light on the phone’s memory and is available for free!



Disclaimer: This app relies on public information available on relevant websites that you choose to access, at will, through the app. By using it, you are responsible for any legal implications that may arise from such usage. You'll need to visit IRCTC official website / app to make your bookings.

dear p.J.,

glad you brought out this topic.

the indian railways is made of stuff. not just getting from A to B, but each journey is a story by itself.

some memorable experiences

1958 june - kozhikode to madras central - sister 56 days old and grand parents taxi from badagara to kozhikode, to get a seat in the additional bogey attached at calicut. grandfather asks this velichchennai christiani man to keep an eye on this young lady travelling with a baby and a young son. this man took the job seriously, and every once in a while enquired after us, bought us tea at trichur, olavakkot, and early morning breakfast at arakonam (he had bought mangoes at salem, vaalapalam (!) at katpadi and kept it for us), and biscuits and chocolates, treats for me. and fondly bid us good bye at madras and handed us over to dad

even more remarkable was this brahmin family moving to bombay. the lady, in madisar, had just lost her husband, and her brothers settled in bombay had already found jobs for her two sons. two other sons, and a daughter my age were moving lock stock and barrel, to bombay. of the dreams. there was big crowd from tali bidding good bye. i still remember the poignant farewell, and the consolation words uttered by someone, 'மாமி ஒன்னும் கவலைபடாதுங்கோ. பாம்பே ஒரு ரட்சிப்பு எடம் ஆக்கும். எல்லாம் சரியாகும்.'. i got close to the girl and we exchanged stories, and i can still remember her smell, but not her name. she must be close to my age, and i hope life went well with her in bombay. she missed her tali agraharam and friends..and was terrified of bombay.

1973..i was returning after 2 years from canada. my first return. i landed in bombay, and for unknown reasons, took the dadar express to madras. two years in the 1973 canada, you did not see poverty or beggars. i had spent 3 months travelling in europe, and had 'forgotten' the real india. i opted for a unreserved 3rd class seat to madras, much to my relative's chagrin, who wanted to me fly to madras.

all along, i rediscovered the india i had left. the beauty of the western ghats, and soon into andhra, and the unspeakable poverty, beggar children (kidnapped most likely) maimed (purposefully) to elicit your sympathy, humans fighting with dogs for throwaway foods and above all the searing heat. i did not eat or drink. just swallowed the atmosphere.

the fellow passengers did something i did not expect. they bought me food. i forget the face of the man, who said, that they realized that i was very upset, but that was no excuse not to eat. tears fell out of my eyes, and i remember morselling a few grains of rice and vegetables.

at arakonam, a madisar mami and her son got inside the compartment. we stared at each other. she started the conversation. 'ரொம்ப தூரத்திலேந்து வரேளோ ' she asked. i just nodded, not in a mood to talk. she soon turned to her son, and was telling him that பொண் பார்க்கல் was not all that terrifying. 'அவள் ஒன்னும் பிசாசு இல்லை. உன்னை மாதிரி அவளுக்கும் பயமா தான் இருக்கு. நீ வெத்த படாதே ' she consoled. i was more touched, i think than the son. in my heart i wished him well and hoped he found his mate .

soon we dieseled into chennai. and to the bosom of my family who missed me. .and then..but that is another story.

here is an url to a great railway story by paul theroux. feel free to download it and enjoy, the exclusive chapter to a ride on the grand trunk express

Great railway bazaar by paul theroux - free eBooks download

Sri.kunjuppu

Thanks for your info

We make friendship while travelling and in most cases forget the person after the journey.
probably every person we meet has a purpose and to teach us a lesson.

Sometime I used to wonder about this Forum and other Social sites; the face less friends here help us to learn many things!!


Enjoy your Sunday!! Cheers!!

With an aim to further facilitate the passengers, Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC),a public sector undertaking of the Ministry of Railways, will launch a pilot project of ticketing through non-internet based mobile phones with effect from July 1.

This will enable people using non-internet based mobile phones to easily access Railway ticketing services through SMS/IVRS/USSD. The scheme is user-friendly, secure and also eco-friendly, as no print out is required.
Indian Railways has continuously endeavored to improve the ease and access of ticketing.
The e-ticketing initiative of Indian Railways has been one of the most passenger-friendly initiatives of Indian Railways. In order to further expand the reach of ticketing, the Minister of Railways had made a Budget announcement regarding launch of ticketing through mobile phones was announced in the Railway Budget.
The objective was to tap the potential of mobile phone market in India and thereby facilitate the common man, by providing him any-where any-time and hassle free booking option.

The salient features of this new scheme to be operationalised are:


There will be a dedicated number on which SMS can be sent.


No need of internet at any stage viz. booking, payment, cancellation etc.


One has to register the mobile number with IRCTC as well as one's bank. The Bank (one time password) for authorization of payment.


The passenger has to type the train number, destination, journey date, class and passenger details like name, age and gender on the SMS box.


The sender will receive transaction ID and then make payment through sending another SMS by typing PAY followed by the transaction ID, MMID as received from the bank and password.


On successful booking of ticket, message will be sent to the user by IRCTC which will suffice as valid authority to travel along with photo ID card in original.


Cancellation of tickets can also be done through the cancellation option available.

The scheme will be on pilot basis and will not be available during the 8 am - 12 pm for booking ARP/Tatkal/General tickets.

Railways to launch ticket booking through non-internet based mobile phones | Business Standard