Neha Gupta gives an overview of Indian Railways
It was on the afternoon of April 16, 1853 when a three-engine train pulled 14 coaches and 400 passengers from Bombay (Mumbai) station to Thane station. The journey began with a bang, literally, setting off to a 21-gun salute and a cheering crowd. About 34km later, the passengers disembarked from the brand new coaches, and were escorted to grand tents for a sit-down meal. They were celebrating the first passenger train in India, which was also the first in Asia.
A year later, on August 15 the second railway line opened in the east between Howrah in India’s then capital Calcutta (Kolkata) and Hooghly. South India got its first line on June 26, 1856 on the Royapuram-Wallajah Nagar route in Madras (Chennai). And finally, north India’s first railway track between Allahabad and Kanpur was functional from March 3, 1859.
It was only a little later in the early 1860s that they equipped coaches with toilets and lights. However, these amenities were limited to the first class coaches initially, before being available to the lower coaches too. By this time, railway lines were being laid down at an increasing pace, and each year the inter-city rail network saw at least one additional route.
Today the 66,000km government-run Indian Railways’ network is the fourth largest in the world after the USA (2,50,000km), China (1,00,000km), and Russia (85,500km). It supports 13 lakh Indians through direct employment, and another seven lakh through indirect employment. In 2014-15 alone, it has generated a revenue of ₹1,57,880 crore, an increase by 12.16 per cent from last year.
PROGRESS IN THE LAST YEAR
107 foot bridges
9,000 on-board bio toilets
119 new trains
Wifi on all A-1 to C category stations
RAIL TO AIR
The average Indian traveller is more likely to buy a train ticket than an air ticket for domestic travel. Each day close to 23 million people take the trains (the ratio of train travel to air travel is 5:1). The reason is simple — it has always been the cheaper option. This is why the waiting list for train tickets runs into pages in spite of an average of 12,000 active trains operating each day. To take the load off waitlists, IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) has tied up with GoAir and SpiceJet for discounted air tickets to its waitlisted passengers.
After low-cost airlines entered the field with their bargain prices in 2005, the gap between air (economy) and train travel (first class) has narrowed. In June, Indian daily Financial Express, quoted IRCTC’s public relations officer (PRO) Sandip Dutta explaining this: “IRCTC will provide cheaper tickets than the prevailing spot rates. For instance, if a Delhi-Mumbai one-way [air] ticket costs ₹6,000-7,000, passengers with waitlisted tickets will have to pay a lower fare of about ₹4500-5,000.” An average first class Delhi-Mumbai train ticket costs about ₹4,000.
This is available only if the flight routes of the said airlines match the train routes. It would take years for airlines to be able to match IRCTC’s intricate web-like connectivity. Most tier-II cities in India have direct rail connections from important railway hubs, but infrequent, or no direct air connections.
TICKETING: WHAT IT USED TO BE
Buying options for train tickets haven’t always been this flexible though, or even convenient for that matter. Up until 2002, you had to personally visit the nearest railway station to purchase a ticket. These were punched cards issued manually, measuring about 57.5mm x 30mm and were 0.8mm thick. Information on the card-tickets read: endpoints of the journey, date, distance, class, seat number, and fare. Dates and seat numbers were usually stamped at the time of purchase, and the other details were pre-printed. Of course, coded markings and indents prevented them from being counterfeited.
The real hassle was if you were waitlisted. The only way of knowing the status of your ticket was by visiting the station or getting them on telephone if you were lucky. And booking tickets for travel from another city was a bigger bother altogether with back and forth communications with station masters via telegrams. Card-tickets are still available in India, but in the smaller, remote stations.
E-COMMERCE ON RAILS
The 1980s upgraded to computerised tickets that helped move queues faster. And in 2002 when the IRCTC website (irctc.co.in) was launched, railway ticket-bookings offered the much awaited convenience to its passengers. On March 19, 2014 it issued 5.80 lakh tickets in that one single day, the highest number logged thus far. Today the average number of per day e-ticket sales are a little over six lakh. “This means, the daily e-ticket sales are close to ₹54 crore, making it one of the most frequented and largest e-commerce platforms in the world, and the biggest in India,” says an IRCTC spokesperson. Not just ticket sales, the website also tracks and broadcasts live status of its trains, the same is emulated on its free mobile app — IRCTC Live Train Status & PNR Check — available on iPhone and Android.
Of all the tickets sold by the Indian Railways daily, 45 per cent are purchased online. A majority of these, as IRCTC has identified, flood the website between 9:30am and 12pm. Hence during these peak booking hours, certain links are disabled to improve page-load time and discourage idle browsing. This is termed “IRCTC Lite”, and is for the benefit of booking Tatkal tickets online. At stations, Tatkal ticket counters open at 10am for AC classes and at 11am for non-AC classes.
Tatkal literally translates to “immediate”. Subject to demand, these are a set of reserved tickets on each rail route, which aren’t released until a day prior to the train’s scheduled departure. Each class, except first class AC, reserves a fixed number of Tatkal seats. Their target is impatient waitlisted passengers, and last minute travellers wanting to buy a ticket. They are priced at an additional 10 per cent and 30 per cent of the basic fare, depending on the class.
The next category of Premium Tatkal tickets, introduced in December 2013, are even more expensive than Tatkal, have dynamic prices depending on demand, are non-refundable, and can only be booked online. They don’t work with waitlists either. This means, you can jump the Tatkal line, and get a confirmed ticket, if available, by paying from 1.5 to three times the base fare during peak season. The response to this price difference hasn’t been very welcoming, as they are at par with air fares. Also, Premium Tatkal is exclusive to select trains and routes, not listed on the railway time-table, and have a ten-day advance reservation window.
Taking into consideration the ongoing and increasing demand for train tickets, especially between business cities, the government is contemplating introduction of Tatkal Special trains. Their target is the business traveller who can afford an air ticket, but prefers to avoid adding airport time (check-in, security, etc) to the travel time.
GLOSSARY
SL Class: Sleeper coach
FC or 1A: First class AC
3E or 3A: AC 3-tier sleeper
2A: AC 2-tier sleeper
CC: AC chair car
EC: Executive class
2S: Seater class non-AC
RAC: Reservation against cancellation (guarantees a seat, but class depends on availability)
WL: Waitlist
REGRET/WL: Booking closed
HIGH-SPEED TRAINS
In the meantime, 320 km/h bullet trains seem more probable in India; the first corridor is planned between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The government is in talks with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) who has submitted a report estimating a ₹98,805 crore project cost. If the government commissions the project this year, India will experience its first bullet train by 2023. In-depth talks and research have even estimated an average ticket price of ₹2,800 one way, making it the cheapest high-speed train in the world.
China has also been in talks with India for a bullet train project between Delhi and Chennai. This is in the nascent stage though. Chennai-Bengaluru is the shorter root that is in discussion too, as China hopes to cash in on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of modern India.
These come as big news to the country because the existing Indian trains, barring a few, run at an average speed of 50 km/h. The industry does have faster trains in the pipeline; one of them is the Gatimaan Express on the Delhi-Agra route, which can race at a maximum of 160 km/h. It is ready to carry passengers, but can make its maiden journey only after the Railway ministry gives a security clearance.
The fastest running train till date is the Shatabdi Express on the Delhi-Bhopal route in North India, which runs at 91 km/h and has been in operation since 1988. Following this, one among the next three fast running trains are the Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani Express at 90 km/h. The Delhi-Kanpur Shatabdi Express logs in a high speed of 88 km/h. And connecting Delhi in the north to Sealdah in the east, is the Duronto Express that was launched in 2009 and travels at an average speed of 85 km/h. An additional number of trains running on popular routes are shortlisted for speed upgradation.
The other areas that need dire improvement are increased capacity and improved connectivity. While the latter is in control, the former is a major snag, one that remains chronic due to under-investment. However, the coming years look promising though as Indian Railways has proposed a five-year investment plan of ₹8,56,020 crore for 2015-2019, and has already got ₹96,000 crore approved to tackle the problem areas.
INDIA ON TRACK
At a recent inauguration ceremony of a passenger train, Prime Minister Modi’s speech implied that railways are crucial in India’s development. He had said, ”If we get help from Japan and China, we can get technology support and expertise from them. If railways are modernised, they can change the face of the country.” His plan is open to employing foreign and private capital for the improvement of Indian Railways, as he believes that it will help boost the country’s economy. He also explained the other side of better rail-connectivity, apart from just improved services: “If a village, through which a number of trains pass has a railway station, it would naturally result in good electricity supply. If we construct a few rooms in the vicinity, we can use them for setting up skill development centres, which can work wonders for the unemployed youths in the village and nearby areas.” This is one of his visions for India Forward through railways.
LUXURY TRAINS
Polar opposite to regular passenger trains are the tourist trains. They don’t just transport you from one destination to another, but coddle you with luxuries on-board such that you need to leave your train only for escorted sightseeing tours. Below is a list of luxury tours by Indian Railways. palacetours.com
Palace On Wheels
Each of the 14 saloons, a combination of four twin-bed rooms — has channel music, intercom facility, television, and a shower. The train has a bar, and two restaurants — one that serves authentic Rajasthani cuisine and the other is multi-cuisine. Each coach has its own minibar and pantry, as well as a small collection of books.
Cost: From US$2,658 per person, per journey
Duration: Seven to ten nights
Destinations: Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Chittorgarh, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bharatpur, Kathma, Corbett National Park, Khajurao, and Agra
Maharajas’ Express
The 14 cabins are fitted with five Deluxe cabins, two suites, six Junior suites, and one Presidential suites, and can accommodate a total of 88 guests. These are equipped with a DVD player and LCD television, telephone, channel music, and shower (bathtub in suites and Presidential suites). Drinks are served at the Safari Bar, and multi-cuisine foods at Mayur Mahal, and Rang Mahal. The Rajah Club and bar has board games and an array of books, newspapers and magazines.
Cost: From US$4,099 per person, per journey
Duration: Three to seven nights
Destinations: Delhi, Agra, Sawai Madhopur, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Balasinor, Mumbai
The Golden Chariot
The 18 coaches have a total of 44 rooms. The two restaurants onboard serve Indian and European cuisines, in addition to a special menu created to match cuisines of the destination they visit each day. Madira, the lounge bar has local artists entertain guests in the evenings. Apart from the spa, they also have a gym.
Cost: From US$2,955 per person, per journey
Duration: Six to seven nights
Destinations: Bengaluru, Chennai, Mamallapuram, Pondicherry, Tanjore, Kumbakonam, Madurai, Kanyakumari, and Cochin
Royal Rajasthan On Wheels
Their rooms, spread through 13 coaches, are divided into Super Deluxe Saloon — The Bravura suite, and Deluxe Saloon — The Extraordinary suite. Each suite has channel music, an ottoman, sofa-chairs, writing table, and a shower. Sheesh Mahal and Swarn Mahal, the two restaurants onboard serve Rajasthani, Indian, European, and Chinese cuisines, and have one bar each.
Cost: From US$1,990 per person, per journey
Duration: Three to seven nights
Destinations: Delhi, Agra, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Chittorgarh, Khajuraho, and Varanasi
Deccan Odyssey
Of the 21 coaches, 12 are reserved for rooms that have a telephone, shower, DVD player and television, as well as a personal attendant. Peshwa I and Peshwa II, the two onboard restaurants serve Indian, oriental and European cuisines. Drinks are served at Mumbai Hi; books and board games are available at the sitting lounge; and an Ayurvedic spa session can be booked well in advance. One coach is exclusive to conferences with audio-visual facilities and screens.
Cost: From US$5,801 per person, per journey
Duration: Seven to eight nights
Destinations: Mumbai, Vadodara, Palitan, Sasan Gir & Somnath, Little Rann of Kutch, Modhera and Patan, Nashik, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Agra, Sawai Madhopur, Jaipur, Delhi, Bijapur, Aihole, Pattadakal, Hampi, Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Pench, and Tadoba.
