[libranof1987]

This comes from experience.

On a recent trip to Gokarna/Palolem from Bangalore, we were to travel to Udupi by bus and then further to Gokarna/Cancona by train.

We were going to travel by the Madgaon-Mangalore passenger and were constantly tracking the trains' arrival/departure at Udupi since the bus was supposed to drop us at 7.30am and train arrive at 7.50am.

Now, like all smart people, we used the Indian Railways' "Train Running Information" service at "Train running information - TrainEnquiry.com". The link is also available on "Welcome to Indian Railway Passenger reservation Enquiry" to have a real-time update on the train status.

It worked well for us on the onward journey. On the return journey, we were to catch the train (56641) at Gokarna Rd to get back to Udupi.

The whole afternoon, the website listed the train as running late; the scheduled arrival is 1601. At 2pm, it showed 1623; at 3pm it showed 1700; at 1600, it showed 1743.

Now, we finally left Gokarna at 1630 while the arrival was 1747. As many know, Gokarna has many many cell-phone blindspots where there is just no network coverage.

It takes about half n hour to reach the railway station from Gokarna. At 1645 when we had some network, mysteriously, the train ETA was 1701!

And as things turned out, we missed the train. Another story that we took a cab till Manipal which worked out beautifully for us. But anywho.

I'm not sure how the train managed to cover up an hour's distance (from 1747 to 1701) in a span of half n hour (when we checked between 1600 and 1630); the website doesn't seem to be updated correctly or regularly. Or maybe, the train gained speed and covered up some distance between 2 stations (presumably where the timings are upated)

Moral of the story : That website isn't really something you can swear by. I understand that this is all approximation based on when the info is updated and hence it can't be perfect but it can really bite you in the rear and not everyone can end up having a jolly taxi ride from Gokarna to Manipal.

So, I'd suggest you to be at the railway station by the train's scheduled arrival and kill time rather than be at the receiving end of the few times that technology can be a pain.

[fordday]

That website is very unreliable. Last I heard that it is updated manually, so there is every chance of it going wrong.

It is not suitable to consult this website for boarding a train, perhaps for getting down at or receiving someone at the station can do.

[Irish]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

This comes from experience.


Moral of the story : That website isn't really something you can swear by. I understand that this is all approximation based on when the info is updated and hence it can't be perfect but it can really bite you in the rear and not everyone can end up having a jolly taxi ride from Gokarna to Manipal.

So, I'd suggest you to be at the railway station by the train's scheduled arrival and kill time rather than be at the receiving end of the few times that technology can be a pain.

The exact location of the train is updated on this website once it reaches its station. I have used this facility a number of times and have found this to be extremely useful.

Like a recent example: I got my tickets booked (from Old Delhi Rly Stn - to Ludhiana) in the Tata Muri Express (Tatanagar to Jammu Tawi - 18101 Express) and it was scheduled to depart from Old Delhi at 2130 hrs. I tracked this train on the railways website and it updated the online schedule. That is a diffferent issue that in the last, it left the Old Delhi Rly Stn at 5:00 AM in the next morning. During that time, I had a good 3 -4 hrs sleep at home. I left my place after 20 mins (had an approx idea) of the train leaving Khurja Junc. (two stations before Old Delhi).

Had I not used this website the I would have had to spend the whole night (more than 8 hrs) at the platforms in chilled Dilli ki sardi.

May be in your case, railways staff didn't update the site properly. But in my case it was perfect even at the 3:00 AM.

Cheers!
Irish

[mayankjha1806]

Rightly said, we were also at the receiving end once and when enquired were told Sir, uspe vishwas mat kariye (Sir, don't trust the web site), as it turns out that there are multiple points where in this data is collected and sent to a central location (possibly Delhi) and sometime this data is incorrect (or assumption based). Which in turn messes up the ETA as displayed on the web site.

This is as per we had been told by the station master (or someone equivalent). The nearest authentic info is from the station itself, so if possible do call the station train enquiry system.

[venki.bala]

Rightly said. Calling the station is the best way to check the status. Even the 139 number that can be used is also not so reliable.

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Rightly said, we were also at the receiving end once and when enquired were told Sir, uspe vishwas mat kariye (Sir, don't trust the web site), as it turns out that there are multiple points where in this data is collected and sent to a central location (possibly Delhi) and sometime this data is incorrect (or assumption based). Which in turn messes up the ETA as displayed on the web site.

This is as per we had been told by the station master (or someone equivalent). The nearest authentic info is from the station itself, so if possible do call the station train enquiry system.

[tanwaramit]

Thats the reason railways is working on this site - SIMRAN , currently it has just a few trains, but will soon have all the trains.

Also, there is an sms service too for the same,

send train no to 09717631813

[jkdas]

I use indiarailinfo.com for checking most railway stuff.

[faustus77]

Hi everybody
As tanwaramit mentioned about SIMRAN want to make a point.The railways have been working on this for approximately 4 years.With todays technology it shoulnt take so long.
Calling up the railway station is the best option.However rather than calling your entraining station call up the 2 earlier stations as well as check the train running information and then decide.
Regards

[sgiitk]

SIMRAN is now running.Covers the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and some other VIP trains. site is SIMRAN andyou can checkby sms. SMS <trainno> to 09415139139. You should get a sma (from a different number) in a minute. Also, you can sms AD <trainno> <STD code> to 139.You will get the arrival time estimate at <STD Code>. I do not know whether it is real time info as in SIMRAN or not.

[Turbanator]

"Train Running Information"

well I find this to be quite useful and this is updated in minutes after Train arrives / leaves a station . Best way to use this is to factor possibilities of train making up distance in case its running late as its not updated in way between stations .

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

I use that site regularly - on a daily basis. Arrival / departure times is never accurate. Even allowing for the fact that trains do make up and lose time in running, the site is not quite accurate. I always look up for the station before the one I want to embark / disembark if I am intending to delay my arrival at the station beyond the scheduled time.

[manjubp]

Originally Posted by fordday

That website is very unreliable. Last I heard that it is updated manually, so there is every chance of it going wrong.

It is not suitable to consult this website for boarding a train, perhaps for getting down at or receiving someone at the station can do.

Not really, please do note that when a train passes a station, there would be an entry into system, this information is the base for information. So most of the time it is reliable. I have seen/used this in last 10 years.

Also note that, if a train is running late, and in most of the time in runs late till destination, however there are segment, where trains can really pick the time, many time depending on drivers, whether and locomotive used.

It is unfortunate that teh train was missed in this case. Railways always mentions that the train can gain the last time.

[Rehaan]

Seems pretty cool!

Check it out: Indian Railways - Live!



cya
R

[rishie]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Seems pretty cool!

Check it out: Indian Railways - Live!
cya
R

As everyone else mentioned, this one is not a realtime map view, but just last update plotting on the map. Its accurate (most of the times) upto the last updated station. If anyone has used trainenquiry.com earlier, one can figure that out from the popup window when clicked on the train icon.

[Majumdarda]

Can someone please help me in understanding impact on rail operations in the TataNagar - Kharagpur section, from 17th November to 19th November?

I referred the below site and following that it seems that many trains are cancelled. My understanding is that there might be chaos with very few trains working. Other relevant sites inform that local trains between these stations are also cancelled.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/calcu...16-days-183344

Am worried because my senior parents would be travelling this section on the 19th November via Pune Howrah Duronto. The site informs that the train would be halted by at least two hours at Chakradharpur. What if it gets stuck after that as well? Also many trains from Tata are cancelled, so expecting chaos at Tatanagar and Kharagpur stations.

Going by the span of operations, the amount of trains getting cancelled / rescheduled, is it safe to travel during that period or postponing by one week is better??

Please advise.