The Indian Railways has introduced some splendid services for the benefit of its passengers. Today, passengers can get valuable information from the official portal of the Indian Railways with just a click. One of the most sought-after services is about the number of trains between stations. People who want to plan their travel well in advance find this service quite helpful as they can get a list of trains that run between a particular pair of stations in seconds.
Checking for trains between important stations is now a breeze as the passenger just needs to key in some basic details in order to get the full updates. A passenger can key in any two stations as the source and destination, select the date of journey and class of accommodation and click on submit. The official portal of Indian Railways then throws up an exhaustive list of trains that run between those stations, time of departure at the source station, time of arrival at the destination station, train number, train name, time taken to travel between the two stations, days when the train is operated etc.
Passengers do not have to know the codes of the source and destination stations to check the list of trains between stations. It is enough if they enter 3 or 4 characters of the name of the station’s name as the system automatically populates the same. Apart from getting the full list of train names and numbers, passengers can also get to know about their availability of seats, fare, schedule etc. by choosing a particular train from the list that is displayed.
This feature of getting the list of trains between important stations is indeed a huge support for passengers for planning their trip. They can plan their travel based on the arrival and departure time of the trains at the respective stations where they plan to board and get down. These trains are also accompanied with important information like the days during which they run, so that passengers can book tickets accordingly. Since the class of accommodation is already keyed in at the time of entering the source and destination codes, only those trains that have that particular class are displayed on the screen, making the job of the passengers easier. The source station need not necessarily be the station from where a train starts. Special “*” marks are included in these trains to denote that the source is not the originating station.
I have been a regular traveler in the various transport system in Delhi and here I want to share my experience about Delhi Suburban Railway service that many of you would have seen in the city of Delhi. It forms a part of Northern Railway that operates its services in NCR region. NCR as many of you know as a National Capital Region comprises of Delhi and its neighboring cities that are Ghaziabad, Faridabad and states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. I will here make you aware about the services operational through Delhi Suburban Railway and these include EMU and MEMU. Many passenger trains that falls under the DMU services and ends up till city of Rewari in state of Haryana is also part of National Capital Region.
The Delhi Suburban Railway runs on the same track as used for the trains that are operational on longer distances. On popular demand in 2009, a special train for the ladies in the Delhi Suburban Railway was initiated and this ran between the routes from New Delhi to Palwal. In future, Indian railways are planning to connect Ghaziabad city in Uttar Pradesh to Panipat city on Haryana by starting two other trains that will be ladies special.
During the current times, EMU that forms the part of Transport in Delhi are operational with 12 number of coaches out of which two compartments is allocated for ladies whereas the remaining 10 compartments are for the general public. While scanning through current news about Transport of Delhi, I got to know that Northern Railway has approximately 110 suburban trains that connect to the nearby cities and majorly run during the peak hours and is mostly flooded with crowd.
The other railway form that I see operational in Delhi Suburban area is the Delhi Ring Railway that forms a circular chain. It came into existence in 1981 during the Asian Games. The initial service was started for the transportation of goods during 1975 while later it was exalted to passenger service to be used during Asian Games. It is a 35 km long route and takes around 90 to 120 minutes to traverse the entire route whether be clockwise or anti-clockwise that operates from Hazrat Nizamuddin station during the hours 8 am to 7 pm.
The Delhi Ring Railway though is a little failure since the other modes of transportation were not well networked with this railway system.
About Indian Railway
Since childhood I have always been keen in travelling through Indian railways, the whistling of train, the passing trains, seeing the engine from the window of my seat while the train takes a turn and counting the number of coaches of other passing trains was my favorite pass-time.
I will make you aware about few facts about Indian railway first that is in 1851, the first carriage train was started which was meant to carry construction goods to Roorkee while the first passenger train was started from Bori-Bunder to Thane in the city of Bombay, covering total distance of 21 kilometers.
Indian Rail Network Map
Maps have been my favorite subject of interest, gradually I developed a habit of studying the maps whether they are of roads or railways. While studying Indian Rail Network Map, I found that it has been divided into 16 different zones that are:
• Northern Railway
• Western Railway
• Southern Railway
• Eastern Railway
• Central Railway
• North Eastern Railway
• Northeast Frontier Railway
• North Western Railway
• North Central Railway
• South Central Railway
• South Eastern Railway
• South Western Railway
• South East Central Railway
• West Central Railway
• East Coast Railway
• East Central Railway
The other attention-grabbing fact that I learnt is that the Indian Rail Network Map comprises of a total of 28 states, 3 Union Territories and also provides travelling to international locations like Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. As per Indian Rail Network Map, it covers long distances that connect the suburban areas.
Railway Map of India
The Railway Map of India comprises of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites where first one is Chatrapati Shivaji Terminal and the second one is Mountain Railways of India. The Railway Map of India has three different railway routes that are part of Mountain Railways of India where one is Darjeeling Himalayan Railway that is located in state of West Bengal while another is the located in state of Tamil Nadu and is named as Nilgiri Mountain Railway and lastly is in state of Himachal Pradesh that operates from Kalka to Shimla.
The Railway Map of India is divided into two parts where first is the General Railway Maps of India and the other is the Railway Map of Metro cities. The General railway comprise of:-
1. Duronto Express map
2. Konkan Railway Map
3. SamparkKranti Route Map
4. Rajdhani Route Map
5. Jan Shatabdi Route Map
6. Palace on Wheels route map
7. Shatabdi Route Map
8. Fairy Queen Express Map
9. Royal Orient Express Map
10. Deccan Odyssey Map
The other Railway Map of India comprises of:-
1. Mumbai Railways Map
2. Delhi Railways Map
3. Kolkata Railways Map
I love to travel and exploring different states of India is one of the most unforgettable travelling experiences for me over the years. I have been travelling to different places to explore the nature, historical monuments, pilgrim places etc. This time my target was to a state which I have heard have been drastically improved its transportation system. A good transportation system has always mattered to me when I plan a travel. This gives a tension free journey and a mode that can be easily accessible from every tourist spot especially. The other reasons for me to visit this beautiful state is its colorful ambiance all over and the delicacies of food offered.
The major transport system that I witnessed in the state was by GSRTC that stands for Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. It comprises of various luxurious buses that ply in different parts of the state and mind me, I love these luxurious buses since they help to relieve the stress of the day that happens while I travel for longer times.
I have read many articles about the tourism and transportation in Gujarat before planning out my trip and here I am sharing my views and experiences about the transportation system in Gujarat that actually helped me to travel most of the places with ease and comfort.
While travelling, I studied that GSRTC was started in 1960 with a total of 1500 buses. GSRTC is also the receiver of national award for the various services.
GSRTC shares its time table online and allows making GSRTC Online e-ticket Reservation.
GSRTC Time Table
I like to work as per a scheduled time table in my life to avoid any kind of hassle at the last moment and hence, GSRTC influenced me since it has set a schedule time table for the service of its buses.
I am here sharing the link to make an enquiry about GSRTC routes:-
http://www.gsrtc.in/GSRTCEnquiry/
I could easily access the routes of the buses by entering first four letters of my source city and destination city, like I entered “ahme” for “Ahmedabad”.
The link http://www.gsrtc.in/site// provides all valued details about the GSRTC Time Table.
GSRTC Online ticket reservation system
I made my tickets booked online through http://www.gsrct.in/GSRTCOnline.
The only thing I had to do was create an account before making GSRTC Online e-ticket Reservation and I received my e-ticket through mail.
My entire experience in the state of Gujarat was heartwarming and a part of me wishes to go back there time and again.
The very first thing that comes to my mind when somebody talks about the costumes and dressing style of Gujarat is their culture and tradition. Actually, what I feel about the dressing style of Gujarati people is that it is very cultural and it reflects various changes that the state has undergone. The outfits they wear are really of very bright colors which brighten up the surroundings and the atmosphere. The fancy and esthetic jewelry worn by the women reminds me of traditional culture of India. Costumes of Gujarat mainly include Kediyu and Chorno for males and the women wears Choli and Chaniyo. The traditional dress of Gujarat is observed during the Navratri festival.
What attracts me the most about the costumes of Gujarat is their variant bright and glossy colors worn with fashionable jewelry. Chorno is a cotton dress which the men usually wear in the rural parts of the state. In order to cover the upper body part, they wear a short angrakhu or Kediyu. We have often seen men otherwise wearing a turban or a gear but in Gujarat, men wear a thickly folded phento tied on their head.
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| costumes of Gujarat |
Women according to me, looks brighter than the men due to their bright and colorful choli and long flary skirt. It looks very attractive as the glass pieces are used to design the choli. I have also been to Gujarat once and worn their costumes and honestly speaking, it was an amazing experience. Women also wear a chunri that is draped around their body’s upper part which looks very beautiful because of the heavy work on it. You would be surprised to know that in spite of heavy work on the chunri, it is very light weight.
I went to Gujarat during the Navratri season of Gujarat. This festival is the most important festival celebrated with huge pomp and show by the Gujarati people. Males wear Keviya which is a small and colorful coat with tight sleeves and frilled pleats elegantly embroidered along with churidar pajama and a turban. But it is sad to know that the dresses are very costly so to avoid expenses, so I preferred to wear them for a few days on rent.
Women look very beautiful in Lehenga choli and Ghagra choli which they wear while dancing. Stunning bare-backed embroidered blouses are worn by them with Ghagras and lehangas below it. Odhni or duppatta is draped and worn by them on top. Although generally also they wear the same type of costumes but during festivals they wear heavy designed costumes.
There are many Indian Railway luggage rules for the passengers to follow and enjoy carrying it while travelling which are applicable as train luggage booking charges for some items. Let us discuss them:
General Rules-
Luggage not legibly addressed fully in Hindi or English will be rejected for carrying and booking by train. Luggage not packed securely will be rejected so pack your luggage wisely. The luggage which you want to carry along must be presented before 30 minutes of the scheduled departure at the office. Children below 12 years of age and above 5 years are always at benefit at many places and same is applicable here as children are permitted half of the allowance that is free till 50kgs weight.
Rules regarding the luggage measurement-
Luggage of 1m*1m*0.7m in measurement and 100 kgs above weight will be applicable as bulky surcharge. Boxes, suitcase and trunks of 100cmx60cmx25cm dimensions are allowed to be carried along in the compartments.
Luggage allowed and not allowed-
Corrosive substance, acids, dead poultry, gas cylinders, dangerous, explosive and inflammable articles are not allowed to be carried as luggage. Oxygen cylinder and supporting stand along with patients are allowed in any class. Free allowance is granted to them. Merchandized products are not allowed for carriage and booking as luggage inside the compartments.
Train luggage booking charges-
Rs 30 is the minimum rate charged for luggage, however carrying excess luggage along with that is beyond any free allowance, then the charges applicable are 1.5 times of the rates mentioned under L-scale. Be cautious passengers as if you are caught at your destination or enroute carrying partially booked or not booked luggage with a weight more than granted as per free allowance then the excess luggage will be charged at the scale rate of luggage at 6 times, instead of scale-R’s 6 times. The minimum amount charged in the case of scale rate of luggage is Rs 50.
Rules for stolen luggage-
If your luggage on route gets stolen, then you can confidently contact the guards, GRP escort, coach attendant or train conductors. You just need to fill the FIR forms they will give you and your complaint will be forwarded and send for required action at the Police station.
Rules in case of damage of the luggage-
If in case your luggage value is not declared by you and the charge is not paid, then the railway liability to be paid is Rs 100/kg. But if you have mentioned the value and paid the charges, then you can claim for the amount of luggage damaged or lost at the office of luggage booking.
