RE: India :~sleeper train
It depends on where you are going and the route? Where to from Delhi?
I am going to Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, where we go by jeep to the reserve
We will be booked on the 'Express'
this sleeping on the train business is the only reason I have not booked..the rest of it sounds very thrilling
tigress
RE: India :~sleeper train
I'm sure it'll be fine and not much different to England.
I got off my first train of this trip 3 hours ago. As it was a 'short' 5 hour trip at the last moment I decided on 1st class with AC LOL. 2nd was 150 r and 1st was 350r so just this once I took it. This is NOT sleepers, OK, but my first impressions of seat-only carriages. I've 2 points against the 1st class I had which only appy to me. (1) I really could do with saving even 200+ rupees here and there so I can stay a fair while; but that won't effect most people, being only about 2 1/2 pounds! (2) I have the biggest backpack you can get, about 100 litres I think. There were loads of 2nd class but only 1 1st class carriage. Looking inall the 2nd, they have enormous overhead storage racks sticking way out. Excellent. But 1st class SEATING had only something like the overheads in the UK - I had to impose and stick my pack on a seat, and a real large suitcase would not go up there either. I also found the AC unecessary and freezing and had to, ironically, pull out more layers of clothes. Everyone switched off the cold fans.
Pro 1st class I'd just say that after 3 days in the very heart of noisy and crowded Mumbai, it was great, I realised, to be quiet, left alone, and to mentally chill. The seats were aircraft style so no need to talk across to anyone -- but another time that's exactly what one might liek to do, to meet the people.
Oh, and vendors came in 1st too, about every 3 minutes!
V xxx
RE: India :~sleeper train
For anyone interested, I just did the first trip by non-AC general sleeper (not 1st class) and here are quick notes: They are the same exactly as decades ago so I know the set up well:
No door or curtain so it's kind of segmented parts along a corridor. 3 people sit facing forward, 3 back, and 2 on the other side of the corridor. To sleep you can set up 3-tiered bunks front and back. You either chain for safety luggage to the floor posts, or have it on your bunk, maybe as a pillow or feet over it? Take your own chain with lock.
Not at all private but it's OK. Soft seats. You get vendors with food (and acrobats for money but few give to them).
Not AC but the windows are kept open so it's cool enough.
Very cheap - about $7 for a 12 hour journey. Need to book at least 3 days ahead if not more.
V
RE: India :~sleeper train
ORIGINAL: venetian
For anyone interested, I just did the first trip by non-AC general sleeper (not 1st class) and here are quick notes: They are the same exactly as decades ago so I know the set up well:
No door or curtain so it's kind of segmented parts along a corridor. 3 people sit facing forward, 3 back, and 2 on the other side of the corridor. To sleep you can set up 3-tiered bunks front and back. You either chain for safety luggage to the floor posts, or have it on your bunk, maybe as a pillow or feet over it? Take your own chain with lock.
Not at all private but it's OK. Soft seats. You get vendors with food (and acrobats for money but few give to them).
Not AC but the windows are kept open so it's cool enough.
Very cheap - about $7 for a 12 hour journey. Need to book at least 3 days ahead if not more.
V
Hi V,
You asked " what arail ticket with a numbered berth designated but"Journey Cum Reservation Ticket" means? I shall try to answer your query, if I can!
As far as I know, no further confirmation is required! You could try to get confirmation about that from the local office of Indian Railways, Foreign Tourist dept. if there is one. But should you try that, be prepared for a very, very long wait.
I believe it is a ticket with 3 components:
journey + reservation + numbered berth. It is necessary to consider each separately:
Journey = Rail journey has been paid for; (but may need to be undertaken in a standing posture throughout the journey, however long).
Reservation = The Journey on that particular train has been reserved, ie the operator is obliged to carry you on that train, wherever and however it can.
Numbered Berth = ONE PARTICULAR NUMBERED Berth has been reserved for you.
So it's that last that's the key.
But, it IS your responsibility to locate the numbered berth; in dark, in all the hustle and bustle, being elbowed constantly. They don't mean you any harm, personally. They are just trying to make yougive way to them; in a physical manner!
Local Indians seem to have no problem doing so; but appearances can be deceptive. Canny Indians employ the services of a 'coolie'. If you regard that 'coolie' purely as the carrier of your oversize, overweight luggage, you will be doing him and your good self an extreme disservice. To your extreme disadvantage, I hasten to add.
No, No, No, my genteel friend. In Bharat, a 'coolie' is far, far more than a 'coolie', he is your saviour, a veritable knight in shining armour. You may not actually see the shining armour, but believe me, it's there, all the same.
For those few precious minutes, it will be his mission to protect you and guide you unerringly(?) towards the elusive numbered berth, clear it of the 3 or 4 occupants sitting on it (without a journey ticket, let alone reservation or numbered berth, I might add) and ensure that you actually get to occupy the numbered berth that you have paid for and are legally entitled to.
Or, of course, you could always let them carry on occupying the berth and yourself sleep on the floor!&
RE: India :~sleeper train
ORIGINAL: Prashna
Once upon a time, (about 45 years ago now) I hired a coolie who physically threw me (I was only 7.5 stones) through the open window on to a seat, while the train was actually moving and coming to rest in the platform.
:D:D:D
Yes, I don't regret allowing a guy to make me under his wing as I entered Mumbai station, knowing he'd take a cut of a raised fare. He saved me at least an hour of figuring out what to do and got me on a train within 20 minutes.
My friend is self-reliant and wouldn't consider help for a moment from a coolie. If we find our berths occupied between he and I it won't stay that way for long ....
One puzzle still about the one ticket for the three of us is that under "coach" our three names are designated as being in 51, 52, and 53. Yet we also have different numbers under "berth", above each other. The problem is that I haven't a clue what that means re what coach we are in - so also can't assert our right to a seat with our present knowledge.
Simply everything here is complicated like this. To post a parcel means seeing six different administrators (as you know). India would go into mass paralysis if Western efficiency experts got their hands on the system. 😉
V