[tiger_stripes]

Originally Posted by kiku007

It's not just holding of cash in advance, think about the revenue from cancellations.

Indeed, revenue from increased cancellations as well as interest earned on the ticket money for an additional 2 months.

It's difficult to plan a trip 120 days in advance. I hope this is reverted soon.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by tiger_stripes

Indeed, revenue from increased cancellations as well as interest earned on the ticket money for an additional 2 months.

The guy is a CA, and knows how to use the parked money.

We could pay much more for the tickets, if they could improve the facilities and reduce the travel time. For time immemorial, the travel between b'lore - m'bai is 24 hours for 1000 odd kms. When they can cover m'bai - delhi of 1300 odd kms in 14 hours, why NOT they improve the travel time for other major circuits?

[ghodlur]

The IRCTC site is becoming nastier day by day. Had a frustrating experience today morning when I was to book tickets to Mantralayam Road from Kalyan. The ticket nos for 3AC showed only 24 and by the time I completed the payment formalities, the status turned to PQWL. All this happened within a matter of a 30-60 secs.
Questions:
1) Why only 24 tickets were available?
2) If all 4 people trying to book tickets and were successful would have taken the same time as me to go through payment formalities, how come I was issued PQWL? I mean is there any faster means of payment on the website?

And I thought this is the next generation IRCTC website. The status for tickets in 4 of the opted trains became WL within 4 mins from opening at 8 am.

The only alternative if I dont get confirmed tickets is to drive.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

1) Why only 24 tickets were available?

Did the 60-day ARP for this train start from today? If yes, this is quite normal. Seats get filled within a matter of seconds.

Don’t forget the fact that some folks are also waiting at the reservation counters for the ticket. On more than a couple of instances, I have observed that the clerks at the counters fill the details of the journey and passenger (the first guy waiting in the queue) in the system 5-10 minutes before 8’ o clock. When the ARP timing begins, the ticket is printed out within a few seconds. At the same time, someone who is sitting in front of his desktop is probably filling the details by then.

Ditto for the tatkal tickets as well.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

I mean is there any faster means of payment on the website?

I am guessing, the fastest mode of payment is NEFT since credit card/debit card requires you to enter a whole lot of details and there is no option of saving the card details. Most folks wouldn’t want to have their card details saved anyway.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

The only alternative if I dont get confirmed tickets is to drive.

Do it!

Last month, I did the same (Surat - Karad, 570 km) for an official trip but I lied instead stating there were no tickets available for buses or trains. I wasn’t going to sit inside a bus or a train for 12 hours anyway.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

If all 4 people trying to book tickets and were successful would have taken the same time as me to go through payment formalities, how come I was issued PQWL? I mean is there any faster means of payment on the website?

You can pay in advance so that payment steps are not required. This is called "E-Wallet".

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Seats get filled within a matter of seconds.
I am guessing, the fastest mode of payment is NEFT since credit card/debit card requires you to enter a whole lot of details and there is no option of saving the card details. Most folks wouldn’t want to have their card details saved anyway.

Agreed that seats get filled faster than time taken by Superman to reach the destination, but was surprised to see only 24 seats available for the sector. Assuming two coaches of 3AC amounting to min of 120 seats meant that a seat is booked every 20 secs. Now do the calculation for 24 seats, the timing goes into milli seconds. The funny part is even sleeper class gets WL status within 8 mins which is unimaginable.

I had timed out 52 secs from clicking Book now to completing the payment formalities.

Drive is the only option available I guess but am thinking on booking a 16 seater tempo traveller. Working out the logistics and expenses part with a known rental car provider. Lets see how this pans out.

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

You can pay in advance so that payment steps are not required. This is called "E-Wallet".

Is this available on the website, doesn't come as an option in the payment screen at least IIRC.

[ghodlur]

An update:

After numerous permutations & combinations, I finally managed to book the tickets through IRCTC albeit with a little inconvenience to family.

Senior citizens are packed off in 2AC in train#1. Discounts helped to minimize the hole to the pocket.

Youngsters with kids (like me) are booked in SL class in train #2. We reach early (in the middle of early mornings) but hey I can't be a chooser. Can I??

Now I can concentrate on my office work. Phewww.

[binand]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

You can pay in advance so that payment steps are not required. This is called "E-Wallet".

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Is this available on the website, doesn't come as an option in the payment screen at least IIRC.

E-Wallet has strings attached - it is not available between 8 AM and 12 noon, it is not available on booking opening day, not available for Tatkal etc... It, as it stands now, is practically useless.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Drive is the only option available I guess but am thinking on booking a 16 seater tempo traveller. Working out the logistics and expenses part with a known rental car provider. Lets see how this pans out.

I once booked a Force Traveller for 12 of us to go from Bangalore to Tirupati. Two unexpected things happened that upset our budget:

1. AP RTO charged (if I recall correctly) Rs. 300 per seat as road tax. The traveller is a 14-seater. Do the arithmetic.
2. This is Tirupati-specific - non AP-04 vehicles are not allowed up the hill. We had to leave the traveller and hire an innova to take us up.

[Night Rider]

I believe lot of tickets are now being allotted under "tatkal" quota. This explains why we find very few seats available when booking under normal.

[ILTDrive]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

The guy is a CA, and knows how to use the parked money.

We could pay much more for the tickets, if they could improve the facilities and reduce the travel time. For time immemorial, the travel between b'lore - m'bai is 24 hours for 1000 odd kms. When they can cover m'bai - delhi of 1300 odd kms in 14 hours, why NOT they improve the travel time for other major circuits?

Exactly my grouse. For a 1000kms ride, it take 24 hours and add couple of hours of delay due to the numerous single tracks along the route. This route (BLR-MUM) desperately needs a shatabdi or a similar fast train.

However, with numerous private bus operators making a killing on this route, I doubt this is ever going to happen in the near future.

Has anyone been able to login to the website today? I tried from three different browsers and I am getting a network error.

[sanjaykk]

Originally Posted by binand

2. This is Tirupati-specific - non AP-04 vehicles are not allowed up the hill. We had to leave the traveller and hire an innova to take us up.

This is
But still, is this only for taxis?
I was able to take my KA private car all the way up!

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by ILTDrive

Has anyone been able to login to the website today? I tried from three different browsers and I am getting a network error.

I did and did not see network error atleast thankfully. See my travails a few posts up.

But what irritated me the most was the captcha during payment confirmation screen. They were totally illegible (even with my specs on). Why do they need the captcha during booking? You have them during login isnt it?

Mumbai-Bangalore sector has been a neglected one for ages. There's only one premium train Udyan exp and getting a ticket on the train is like finding pin in a haystack. I seriously wished there were some super trains as alternative. Unfortunately there has not been any railway minister from Karnataka (with an exception of Sadananda Gowda for a short tenure).

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by ILTDrive

Exactly my grouse. For a 1000kms ride, it take 24 hours and add couple of hours of delay due to the numerous single tracks along the route. This route (BLR-MUM) desperately needs a shatabdi or a similar fast train.

However, with numerous private bus operators making a killing on this route, I doubt this is ever going to happen in the near future.

They should have superfast trains connecting all the 6 major metros. Why only for Mumbai - Delhi - Kolkata or B'lore - Chennai?

Now that you say private bus operators making a killing, I hope NOT they have a lobby against B'lore - M'bai as there was with the B'lore - M'lore sector.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Mumbai-Bangalore sector has been a neglected one for ages. There's only one premium train Udyan exp and getting a ticket on the train is like finding pin in a haystack. I seriously wished there were some super trains as alternative. Unfortunately there has not been any railway minister from Karnataka (with an exception of Sadananda Gowda for a short tenure).

Why do they need a railway minister from the region for it to have development? BTW, k'taka had many a railway ministers like Sharief, Kharge and the last being Gowda.

If they could improve the travel time, the commercial viability should be very high for the B'lore - M'bai sector.

[srikanthns]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

I did and did not see network error atleast thankfully. See my travails a few posts up.

But what irritated me the most was the captcha during payment confirmation screen. They were totally illegible (even with my specs on). Why do they need the captcha during booking? You have them during login isnt it?
.

For an alternate option, you can try Android app "IRCTC Connect". The app is clean , the interaction is fast, and no captcha business
And even with my 2G network at TVM, i am able to complete transaction at the peak time! I have done 3 bookings in the past week. You can give it a try.

[faustus77]

Gannu/ Netfreak
Hi.
Can you please guide how does NEFT work for railways?
Also E Wallet if i dont want my transactions through mobile or netbanking.(I dont have password for netbanking. What is the procedure?
Is there any way ?
Thanks regards