Training Day

We have written extensively about all our destinations and how long it took us to get there, but you really can't appreciate train travel in India until you experience it.... but we will try to explain in anycase.

It all starts with a reservation. Easy? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, if you are not booking over the Internet (that brings it's own problems!) you have to scramble through the one open booking window for a reservation form. Why they don't leave them out still amazes me! I say this because there can be up to 60 people in loose form of a queue at any one time. Sim usually goes to get the form as ladies can usually walk straight up to the front.

Form obtained and your destination in mind, you now have to know the train number and station code to fill in the form. These can either be guessed, studied or obtained from helpful strangers or the person at the window but then you run the risk of all the irate people behind you while you ask your questions.

On the form you also have to supply your name, age and sex as well as your preferred travel class. There are up to 8 classes with some not available on certain trains, so a little bit of guesswork here too. As a rule, on overnight trains we choose Air-conditioned 3-tier (AC3).

AC3 provides seats by day, convertible to bunks at night. AC3 coaches are not divided into separate compartments, but are open-plan, with berths arranged in bays of six (two upper, two lower, two middle) on one side of the aisle, and in bays of two along the coach side above and below the windows on the other side of the aisle. It's lacks the privacy curtains and individual berth lights found in AC2 (one class up). An attendant distributes pillows, sheets and blankets in the evening.

On day trains, we usually choose sleeper class as its a little bit cheaper. This is the way most of the Indian population travels long-distance, and the majority of cars on a long-distance train will be sleeper class. Sleeper class consists of open plan berths with upper, middle and lower bunks arranged in bays of six on one side of the aisle, and along the coach wall in bays of two (upper and lower) on the other side of the aisle. Bedding is not provided and at night can be quite crowded (although in theory all berths must be reserved, so it can't get overcrowded), and it's fairly grubby and basic. On the other hand, you get a better view of the countryside then in AC coaches, where the windows are sealed, tinted, and sometimes dirty. In summer, there are fans on the ceiling and a breeze from the windows.

So anycase, class decided, you are back in the Q and handing in your form. Indian Railways have a unique system: After a train becomes fully booked, a set number of places in each class are sold as 'Reservation Against Cancellation' or 'RAC'. After all RAC places have been allocated, further prospective passengers are waitlisted. When passengers cancel, people on the RAC list are promoted to places on the train, and waitlisted passengers are promoted to RAC. What a system..! Otherwise, if you want to skip all of this you can always pay extra for something called Tatkal, which I think jumps ahead of all the people mentioned before? Another option is asking for Tourist Quota, something we do often but have never got so we are not sure if it exists!

For internet reservations, the same process is applied but no Qing, instead you get to try numerous times to book your ticket without the overloaded system booting you out.

So, ticket in hand, you are off to the station. Stations vary drastically with some being neat, clean with helpful staff or other being a smelly, overcrowded and noisy. All stations have hundreds off people, your normal tea stores, portable vending carts, your handful of stray dogs and numerous people sleeping and eating everywhere.

The train arrives and off you go to get your seat. If you do not have a reservation, it usually ends up in an almighty scramble to get on the train and secure a seat, so much so, most people try and get on before the train has even stopped!

Your train, coach and berth number will be printed on your ticket and the station master will print a reservation list for long-distance train and post them on the noticeboard at each station about two hours before departure. All passengers have an assigned seat or sleeping berth so there's no overcrowding. However, pristine western standards don't apply anywhere in India, but AC2, AC3 class fairly clean by Indian standards, with both western-style and squat toilets usually in a reasonably sanitary condition. On the other hand, Sleeper Class gets much grubbier than the AC classes and unreserved passengers can sometimes enter the coaches making it crowded. Toilets in sleeper class can leave a lot to be desired...

Having found your seat, there are wire hoops hanging down underneath the seats to which you can padlock your luggage. We do this as a norm. Safely on the train, comfortable in our seats we wait for departure.

Train journeys can be long, so you have to eat...
People in India have obviously grown accustomed to the long train journeys and usually come with a packed lunch, breakfast, dinner or snacks or all. Nothing here seems to be regarded as not-travel-friendly so sauces and curries get packed in small plastic bags and rice and chappaties in other containers. They are so jacked with the picnic plates with built-in compartments for the different parts of the meal. And then they tuck-in. The aroma of every carriage is indicative of all the foods this can happen as early as5am for breakfast. The plates and any other rubbish is simply tosssed out of the window with not a thought about the environment. India has a long way to go to start addressing its litter issue but in places like Ooty and Munnar there are huge signs that say 'no spitting, keep clean.' Hopefully this will gradually spread throughout the rest of India.

Available on every train is of course, chai (tea). The men come along singing: 'chai chai chai' or 'coffeeee cofffeeee cofffeeee.' These are more sugar than anything else and come in a tiny little cup. They also sell other things like fried veg patties, samoosas and more specific items (?) like colouring-in books and eucalyptus oil. Then there are the packaged meals which seem to be curry and bread of different sorts. We have had the veg rice on two separate occasions, served in a little tin foil contained and tasted okay with little consequences. Station food which is served at a pace at each stop, with men running through the carriage or shouting through the window to sell their item.

The train also serves its own food but we have been warned to stay away from it. It has recently been referred to on the news as inedible and dangerous with a large amount of it being prepared in the slums!

Having eaten, rested and half awake - you dont get much sleep with 70 other people burping, snoring and running up and down to the toilet, you arrive at your destination. You are now ready to find your hotel, but first, its back to the rickshaw/taxi drivers to get there..

Ps. I hope you are feeling tired after reading all of this... imagine actually living it!