Trains & Permits
A train seat exists only if a quota holds one for you
The Indian railway reservation system divides each train into separate pools by station, category and…
· 4 min read
Trains & Permits
Booking, classes, inner-line permits and the paperwork nobody mentions.
20 articles · page 1 of 2
Trains & Permits
Indian train classes are a ladder built from two variables
Every class on the network is a combination of how many people share the space and whether the air is conditioned, and once you see that the list stops being confusing.
Trains & Permits
Waitlisted, RAC and confirmed are three different promises
The letters in front of a waiting list number say more about your chances than the number itself does, and…
· 4 min read
Trains & Permits
Permits in India are a border instrument and the rules are not the same twice
Inner-line and protected-area permissions exist because of frontiers and protected communities, not tourism…
· 4 min read
Trains & Permits
Winter fog rewrites the northern timetable for weeks at a time
A stable, cold, moist layer over the Indo-Gangetic plain slows trains, grounds aircraft and produces delays…
· 4 min read
Trains & Permits
For the same journey, road and rail fail in completely different ways
A train is slow to book and hard to change but arrives roughly when it says; a road journey is available on…
· 4 min read
Trains & Permits
The bus network reaches everywhere the train does not, in two separate systems
State-run corporations and private operators cover the same country with different rules, different booking…
· 4 min read
Trains & Permits
Most travellers’ stomach trouble is a water and handling problem
The usual route is contamination somewhere between a source and your hand, which is why the practical…
· 3 min read
Trains & Permits
An Indian address is a set of directions rather than a coordinate
Landmarks, sector numbers, phase names and locally known building names carry more weight than street…
· 3 min read
Trains & Permits
A large Indian station holds facilities most travellers never find
Cloakrooms, retiring rooms, waiting halls tied to your ticket and a working enquiry system exist at major…
· 3 min read
Trains & Permits
Flying within India is easy at the big airports and a different exercise at the small ones
The metro terminals run like any modern airport, while a single-runway regional field with one departure a…
· 3 min read
Trains & Permits
India’s travel calendar is set by school terms and wedding dates
Domestic demand moves in a pattern that has nothing to do with the tourist season, and knowing when the…
· 3 min read