Booking trains in India
Sep 18, 2014, 10:28 am
#91
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond, Radisson Rewards Gold, Best Western Diamond Select
Posts: 1,856
> On one train, on the e-ticket, coach is blank, and seat/berth is 0000
> (and says CNF for both if I check PNR status).
Seats will be assigned when the chart is prepared. You'll MOSTLY be seated together, if not you'll just have to request someone sitting next to you to move to the other seat so that you can sit together. If the other seat (and berth) is as good as the one the person is vacating, he/she typically won't mind.
> 2. On the return, they did assign seats, but they seem to not be together
> (same coach, seat 2 & 32). On the phone, they suggested the only thing
Yes, you can ask someone to switch with you. Seats once assigned are final in the system and won't be changed around.
> 1. System seems to be down (can't get on IRCTC site) and when I try to
> check availability on Cleartrip, it says IRCTC systems are down 8am to
> noon. Is this normal (I thought 11:30pm to 00:30 was the downtime).
IRCTC restricts access to its site through third party booking portals during Tatkal hours. Which means you can't use Cleartrip or similar to book during that time. IRCTC tends to be slow and crawl - so try again after a few minutes and you might be in luck.
> even from international card gateways. Is it just I can't use a foreign
> card for the train (I live here...for now...what do foreigners who
> don't have a local card do)?
I've booked with a foreign card several times from when I used to work for a Hong Kong based company and lived in India with a HK issued cc. That card supported verified by visa and so things worked fine. There's a Reserve Bank of India mandate that requires online credit card transactions to use two factor authentication. So if your card doesn't support it, you're out of luck. You can also use Amex, which has a different form of auth that works fine.
> 3. Speaking of ClearTrip, is there a clear benefit to using them (or
> MakeMyTrip...or whatever online travel site) rather than the IRCTC site?
It is easier to use those portals is all. No other benefit. Yes - the auto upgrade won't happen, but that's about it.
> (and says CNF for both if I check PNR status).
Seats will be assigned when the chart is prepared. You'll MOSTLY be seated together, if not you'll just have to request someone sitting next to you to move to the other seat so that you can sit together. If the other seat (and berth) is as good as the one the person is vacating, he/she typically won't mind.
> 2. On the return, they did assign seats, but they seem to not be together
> (same coach, seat 2 & 32). On the phone, they suggested the only thing
Yes, you can ask someone to switch with you. Seats once assigned are final in the system and won't be changed around.
> 1. System seems to be down (can't get on IRCTC site) and when I try to
> check availability on Cleartrip, it says IRCTC systems are down 8am to
> noon. Is this normal (I thought 11:30pm to 00:30 was the downtime).
IRCTC restricts access to its site through third party booking portals during Tatkal hours. Which means you can't use Cleartrip or similar to book during that time. IRCTC tends to be slow and crawl - so try again after a few minutes and you might be in luck.
> even from international card gateways. Is it just I can't use a foreign
> card for the train (I live here...for now...what do foreigners who
> don't have a local card do)?
I've booked with a foreign card several times from when I used to work for a Hong Kong based company and lived in India with a HK issued cc. That card supported verified by visa and so things worked fine. There's a Reserve Bank of India mandate that requires online credit card transactions to use two factor authentication. So if your card doesn't support it, you're out of luck. You can also use Amex, which has a different form of auth that works fine.
> 3. Speaking of ClearTrip, is there a clear benefit to using them (or
> MakeMyTrip...or whatever online travel site) rather than the IRCTC site?
It is easier to use those portals is all. No other benefit. Yes - the auto upgrade won't happen, but that's about it.
Sep 22, 2014, 1:07 am
#92
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Indore
Posts: 335
Thats not so, Your seats are assigned in each and every reserved class, be it sleeper or even seating (without ac).
The only time, you wont get confirmed seats is when the seats have gone to waiting, that time, you will get seats only when the charts are prepared (i.e. 3 hours or so before the train time). This is done so that if a person has more than 1 pax in a single PNR, they can be seated as close as possible to each other.
The only time, you wont get confirmed seats is when the seats have gone to waiting, that time, you will get seats only when the charts are prepared (i.e. 3 hours or so before the train time). This is done so that if a person has more than 1 pax in a single PNR, they can be seated as close as possible to each other.
Sep 22, 2014, 7:19 am
#93
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond, Radisson Rewards Gold, Best Western Diamond Select
Posts: 1,856
Thats not so, Your seats are assigned in each and every reserved class, be it sleeper or even seating (without ac).
The only time, you wont get confirmed seats is when the seats have gone to waiting, that time, you will get seats only when the charts are prepared (i.e. 3 hours or so before the train time). This is done so that if a person has more than 1 pax in a single PNR, they can be seated as close as possible to each other.
The only time, you wont get confirmed seats is when the seats have gone to waiting, that time, you will get seats only when the charts are prepared (i.e. 3 hours or so before the train time). This is done so that if a person has more than 1 pax in a single PNR, they can be seated as close as possible to each other.
Sep 22, 2014, 8:34 am
#94
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Indore
Posts: 335
There are 2 categories - Reserved and General
General - No reservation, first come first serve, Crowded till the last sqft
Reserved - 1st 2nd 3rd CC 1A - are all AC, Sleeper, Second Seating are all NON AC
ALL RESERVED TICKETS WILL HAVE SEAT NUMBERS UNLESS YOU ARE BOOKING AFTR IT HAS ALREADY GONE TO WAITLIST ONCE DURING BOOKING TIME.
Sep 23, 2014, 8:10 am
#95
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond, Radisson Rewards Gold, Best Western Diamond Select
Posts: 1,856
Again its not so.
There are 2 categories - Reserved and General
General - No reservation, first come first serve, Crowded till the last sqft
Reserved - 1st 2nd 3rd CC 1A - are all AC, Sleeper, Second Seating are all NON AC
ALL RESERVED TICKETS WILL HAVE SEAT NUMBERS UNLESS YOU ARE BOOKING AFTR IT HAS ALREADY GONE TO WAITLIST ONCE DURING BOOKING TIME.
There are 2 categories - Reserved and General
General - No reservation, first come first serve, Crowded till the last sqft
Reserved - 1st 2nd 3rd CC 1A - are all AC, Sleeper, Second Seating are all NON AC
ALL RESERVED TICKETS WILL HAVE SEAT NUMBERS UNLESS YOU ARE BOOKING AFTR IT HAS ALREADY GONE TO WAITLIST ONCE DURING BOOKING TIME.
Last edited by slickvik; Sep 28, 2014 at 12:05 pm
Jun 29, 2017, 1:10 am
#96
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 3
IRCTC has new feature now for you
We want to take the overnight train from Delhi to Kathgodan (the Raniket Express) on Monday 29 January 2007 and want to return on 9 February. I have been on the web site but don't seem to be able to book any more than 2 months ahead. Is it possible to book further ahead or should I just leave making the booking to later? How does the booking work? Do they mail or email confirmation/reservation documentation?
May be this will be helpful for you in your next visit.
You can go through here:
https://pnrstatusirctc.in/irctc-regi...ri-foreigners/