India

Most important information about India

• Night trains are mostly fully booked several weeks in advance therefore reservation at least seven days before departure is highly recommended (you are mostly on the waiting list and you get the confirmed ticket sometimes on the day of the departure. If you want to have a ticket without being on the waiting list then you often have to book at least three weeks before the departure).
• Day trains can mostly be booked some days in advance or sometimes even on the day of departure
• Night buses: If you want to stay flexible then you often have to take night buses because they are mostly still available one day before departure. There are many night buses with couchettes.

Important links

• https://12go.asia/en: here you can book the trains and night buses however only the main train connections which are relevant for the tourists can be booked here and it is more expensive. Advantage however is that it is much more convenient for booking because you can avoid the complicated registration process of the Indian railway and payment with foreign credit cards is easily possible.
  
• https://www.redbus.in/: trains are mostly fully sold out weeks in advance therefore you have to take the buses sometimes. Obviously it is also possible to pay with foreign credit card. If it should not be possible then use 12Go (see above).
  
• https://www.irctc.co.in/nget/train-search IRCTC official website of the Indian railway: Here you can book ALL train connections for the cheapest price without surcharges from foreign agencies. The only disadvantage is that you have to create an account and the registration process ia quite complicated. You can book maximm 12 trips / month. Furthermore you can download an App which enables you to easily book train tickets during your travel.
  
• https://www.seat61.com/India.htm Registration process for the account of the Indian railway: website Seat61 explains the registration process in detail where you also have to verify your foreign mobile phone number (122 INR / 1 € fee). Furthermore there are a lot of good tips for the Indian railway.
  

Different categories of the Indian railway

• Sleeper SL WITHOUT air con: Category for the normal poor Indian people with 6 beds configuration (three beds about each other). If you want to experience an adventure, the authentic Indian life and meet Indian people then you can take the sleeper. For solo travelling females I would rather recommend the AC class (see below) due to safety reason.
• AC class: with air con and it is the category for the Indian middle class e. g. engineer, financial analyst, etc.
• AC3 Tier 3A (six beds): three beds above each other. During the day the middle bed is mostly raised therefore four beds are more comfortable (see below).
• AC Tier 2A (four beds): two beds above each other. If you want to have more private sphere during the day then the upper bed is recommended because the lower bed is used for sitting (it is more difficult to lie down during the day on the lower bed). Furthermore the luggage is safer on the upper bed.
• AC first class 1A: it is the only category with closed compartment with four beds. It is much more expensive than the other classes and the higher price is not worthwhile in my opinion.

Different booking status

• AVL = Available: seat is free. If you book it then you will not be informed about the seat number because the seat will be assigned on the day of the departure (therefore update the App / ticket to get to know the seat number).
• WL = Waiting List: Mostly you are on the waiting list except you book the ticket at least more than three weeks in advance. You have to pay the refundable fare price, rise in rank of the waiting list and eventually receive a confirmed ticket. If you don’t get a ticket then the fare prices will be refunded to you.
• RAC = Reservation against cancellation: after you have risen in the rank to number one of the waiting list then the status changes to RAC. You are allowed to embark the train but you maybe have to share the couchette with a second person (seat place instead of a couchette). In most cases the status changes to confirmed = CNF (see below) shortly before departure.
• Confirmed = CNF: you have a ticket with a couchette which you don’t have to share with anybody.

Following scenarios of the waiting list

• Booking seven days before departure
• WL 7 this means you are ranking number 7 of the waiting list (six people precede you)

Now the scenarios in the different ticket categories of the waiting list. It is only an estimation and gives you an orientation (it can vary from case by case)

• AC First Class 1A: often only 12 seats in the whole train therefore only book this class when the status is “available”. Even when you are on waiting list number1 it is not guaranteed that you get a reserved seat. 
• AC2 Tier 2A: realistic chances that you get a ticket (approval maybe not until on the day of departure)
• AC3 Tier 3A: good chances to get a ticket (approval maybe not until on the day of departure)
• Sleeper SL: almost 100 % chance to receive a ticket in the next two days because it is the most booked category. 

How to proceed when you are on the waiting list:

• Check the app daily for your waiting list status
• After some days you normally rise in the rank e. g. WL5 instead of WL7
• In the last two days before the departures many travellers cancel their trips so that you rise in the rank even more
• After you have proceeded to number 1 of the waiting list, the status mostly changes to RAC (reservation against cancellation, see above). You are allowed to embark the train but you maybe have to share one couchette with another traveller.
• CNF = confirmed: after RAC the status changes to CNF. Now you finally have a guaranteed couchette which you don’t have to share with anybody. In some cases you receive the status CNF only some hours before departure of the train.
• If you don’t get a ticket then you will receive a refund.

Ticket categories of the Indian railway

The fares are just for orientation. There are some fast routes e. g. Dehli – Mumbai or Dehli – Kolkata which are more expensive.

Information about the night buses with couchette

• You can often get a ticket on the day of the departure (train must be booked at least one week in advance) therefore much more flexible.
• The buses are with air con and the passengers are mostly from the Indian middle class (they haven’t received a train ticket too so they have to take the bus)
• Prices are mostly approximately the same as the aircon class in the train but it is less comfortable because you can’t walk around and there is no toilet
• Sleeper buses are mostly bunk bed and have a 1-2 configuration, so one single lane (more expensive and sold out fast) and one dual lane which must be shared with another passenger (cheaper). You can of course book two seats (however double fare) so that you don’t have to share it with anybody.
• During the day the sleeper buses are not too comfortable because the couchette have no proper seat back.
• Big cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, etc and also smaller cities: the buses DON’T depart from a central bus station but drive along the main road and stop at certain landmarks which you have to choose when you book the ticket. At the stations there are no seats or toilets and no information if the bus has a delay or not. In the booking process there are also “dropping points” mentioned where you can disembark after arrival (also along the main road and not at the central bus station).
• Central bus station: here mostly buses depart which have a maximum of four hours journey time or cheaper night buses WITHOUT beds

India, night train, night bus, travel