[TKMCE]

Long back IR used to have "Through Coaches" where by a few coaches were attached to one train/ then detached and reacttached to another train at a junction enroute. Do they still exist???? Is there a list of such coaches available?


I remember in the 1980s and 1990s travelling from Trivandrum to Coimbatore overnight in one such "through coach". This was attached to the Trivandrum Mangalore Malabar Express leaving in the evening and got detached at Shoranur Junction in the early hours of the morning and got reattached to the Mangalore Chennai "West Coast" Express. You need not have to leave the coach and it was one through ticket.

I remember there were similar attangements for Trivandrum Hyderabad before Sabari Express was introduced and even a "through coach" from Mangalore to Mumbai before Konkan Railway was commissioned. In the latter instance, since the interchange was at Shoranur again, I think mostly people from Calicut and further south used it than people from Kasargod or Mangalore who preferred buses.

Any updated information is appreciated.

[hserus]

http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-ops.html has some fairly up to date information. And irfca is like tbhp for rail fans so you might ask there if you want more.

[binand]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Long back IR used to have "Through Coaches" where by a few coaches were attached to one train/ then detached and reacttached to another train at a junction enroute. Do they still exist?

Through and sectional coach services have been discontinued for more than a decade now.

[TKMCE]

Thank you hserus and binand.

Binand - I believe a variation exists still in a different form . From Trivandrum Central there are two "daily" trains departing in the late evening , 16349 Rajya Rani Express between Trivandrum Central and Nilambur Road and 16343 Amritha Express which runs between Trivandrum Central and Palakkad Town. Effectively this is one train for most of the way till Shoranur Junction but the trains are listed separately in the IR reservation system and for joruneys let us say between Trivandrum and Shoranur or Trivandrum and Trichur you may end up with aa Wait List ticket on Rajya Rani express but if you chose to book Amritha Express you will end up with a confirmed ticket. In the end you will be boarding the same train for all practical purposes anyway.

[binand]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Binand - I believe a variation exists still in a different form . From Trivandrum Central there are two "daily" trains departing in the late evening , 16349 Rajya Rani Express between Trivandrum Central and Nilambur Road and 16343 Amritha Express which runs between Trivandrum Central and Palakkad Town.

Clubbing multiple trains going the same way for part of the journey for operational and cost reasons is a practice that is still followed.

Similarly a given train could have multiple destinations; like the Aleppey-Dhanbad express (part of whose destination is Tatanagar; the train splits at Rourkela). In the early nineties (pre-Konkan) the Netravati Express would reach Shornur via Pune-Wadi-KR Puram and then split into two; the front half goes to Cochin and the rear, to Mangalore.

These are different arrangements from through carriage service.

[TKMCE]

Binand


The difference I can see between Alleppey Dhanbad Express and the Amritha/Rajya Rani express is this. Please note I refer to www.indianrail.gov.in for train availability positions. In the case of Dhanbad Express whether you book from Alleppey to Tatanagar or Dhanbad or intermediate stations such as Rourkela or Chennai you have the same train number 13352 Dhanbad Express listed and not two train numbers/names. This is not the case for Amritha/Rajya Rani if you book to intermediate stations like Trichur or even Shoranur where the train bifurcates. You have two different train numbers and two sets of availability positions if you try to book sleeper class depending on the train you choose and there is no clear indication (unlike in the case of Dhanbad express) that this basically is just one train all the way upto Shoranur.

All I can think of as the reason for dual numbering is because of a possible limitation of the Indian Railways booking computer. While one set of Sleeper coaches goes to Nilambur Road as part of the Rajya Rani Express and another set goes to Palakkad Town as part of Amritha Express, the AC II tier coach is only for Palakkad Town and the AC III tier coach only for Nilambur Road. I assume Indian Railways computer system cannot handle this complexity with one single train number.

Anyway for the unititated this is all highly confusing. Incidentally Amritha Express is the much older train. The Rajya Rani Express was introduced much later.

[binand]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

The difference I can see between Alleppey Dhanbad Express and the Amritha/Rajya Rani express is this.

I did not say they are the same thing. They are two different situations where the set of coaches that begin the journey at the origin station and the set that arrives at the destination station are different. Presence of through coaches is a third such situation.

[adhiraj]

Guys I missed my train Duronto from Ypr last week.
Had 2 cnf ac 3 tier tickets.
Immidiately I filed for TDR under "Passenger not travelled."

Now can anyone tell me is there any chance of getting any percentage of the ticket amount?

Thanks

[Gannu_1]

Amendments in the tatkal system w.e.f. 15 June 2015:



IRCTC

10 AM - Tatkal timing for AC bookings commence.

11 AM - Tatkal timing for non-AC bookings commence.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by adhiraj

Guys I missed my train Duronto from Ypr last week.
Had 2 cnf ac 3 tier tickets.
Immidiately I filed for TDR under "Passenger not travelled."

Now can anyone tell me is there any chance of getting any percentage of the ticket amount?

Thanks

You will get about 50% of the fare if it was NOT a tatkal ticket. Refund will take some time.
I have gone through this on a few occasions due to late running of incoming train and have got my refund on all occasions.

[supremeBaleno]

Attached are two Sleeper tickets purchased on 2 consecutive days (10th & 11th June 2015) for travel from Trivandrum to Kollam. While the first one cost Rs.95, the second one was Rs.150 (costlier by 50%). I could not make out why this difference for similar tickets - anyone has an idea why the different charge ?

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Attached are two Sleeper tickets purchased on 2 consecutive days (10th & 11th June 2015) for travel from Trivandrum to Kollam. While the first one cost Rs.95, the second one was Rs.150 (costlier by 50%). I could not make out why this difference for similar tickets - anyone has an idea why the different charge ?

The second one is a Super Fast train, and there's a Super Fast surcharge that gets added. Had you bought a SL ticket in a normal train (say, Island Express) and it so happened that it got delayed and a Super Fast train (like KK) would arrive first, then you can go to the counter and pay the surcharge alone to upgrade to a Super Fast SL ticket.

[supremeBaleno]

Both were for the same superfast train (TVM - Chennai Mail) & both tickets have Superfast mentioned on them - have marked it with a circle. The only difference I see is that the cheaper ticket has "SL UR" mentioned on it, while the costlier one has just "SL" written. Not sure if this means that the costlier one is a Reserved Sleeper (is there something like this?) where they assign you a specific berth/seat and thus the extra cost. As opposed to a "SL UR" where there is no berth assigned specifically for you.

[hserus]

SL UR = "free seating" in sleeper class on short haul routes of indian railways - mostly in kerala intercity shuttles. You sit in the first vacant seat that you see in a sleeper coach. Same as sitting in unreserved but the seats are padded.

http://indianrailways.informe.com/fo...dt75-1275.html

[TKMCE]

supremeBaleno

SLUR - The Rs 95 Tickets - on 12624 are for the "De reserved" coaches. Chennai Mail (12624) has a couple of them between Trivandrum and Ernakulam (S10,S11). The full list or Southern Railway is here. In the De reserved coach there is no "minimum fare" applicable.

http://www.sr.indianrailways.gov.in/...of-coaches.pdf


Your SL (Rs 150) ticket is valid for other sleeper coaches on the train. A TTE should allot you a vacant seat (As you may be aware only about 20 to 30 % of the long distance overnight pssengers board this train in Trivandrum anyway) and will allot you a seat number and also charge an additional Rs 20 for the Reservation charges. There is a minimum "distance" charge applicable for travel on such coaches . Passengers from Trivandrum to Varkala, Kollam and all the way upto Kottayam on 12624 will pay the same 150 + 20 charge.


This news has been widely publcised in the Kerala newspapers a couple of months back. On a personal note, I welcome this move. I have seen sleeper coaches of trains like the Trivandrum Kurla 16346 (Nethravathi Express) being more crowded than Mumbai locals at places like Trichur and hopefully this move will bring some relief to those unfortuante passengers who have to travel in sleeper coaches all the way from say Trivandrum or Kollam to Mumbai.