Indian
Railways have been divided into 9 Zones - Western, Central, Eastern, Northern, North
Eastern, Northeast Frontier, Southern, South Central & South Eastern covering the
largest route length of over 63000 Kms of total Indian boundary. The last stations of the
four directional boundaries are West-Mumbai, South-Kanyakumari, East-Guwhati, North-Jammu.
It is the most convenient way of travelling if you are travelling on a budget. The
railways have one of the most efficient communication systems between 2 stations. The
types of class available are 1st class, AC 2tier, AC 3tier, 2nd class sleeper & chair
car. The 1st class being phased out being converted in to AC 2 tier/AC 3 tier (recently
being introduced in some of the trains).
The 1st class is mainly for 6 persons in
day and converted in to a cabin for 4 persons for night travel. The AC 2tier class is
mostly recommended for comfortable travelling for long distances as movement of persons in
the compartment other than reserved people is not permitted. Also you travel pollution
free and bedding is provided at night from an attendant. However there are only 2-3
coaches of AC 2tier per train of 15-17 bogies, hence ticket availability is difficult if
not booked well in advance. 2nd class sleeper is the cheapest and most common way of
travelling in India in which 3 sleepers are provided for night travel. The chair car is
the most comfortable way of travelling for shorter distances in daytime. E.g. Mumbai-Pune,
Mumbai-Nasik, Mumbai-Amhedabad.
The train runs at a speed of 60 km - 130
km per hour depending on the type of trains e.g. Passenger train, Superfast trains,
Shatabadi train (the fastest among all these, covering only some of the destinations). For
all the major destinations superfast trains are running and the same are being recommended
if you are ready to spend the night on a train.
The aproximate fare comparison is given
below to give you an idea.
SECTOR-MUMBAI-BANGALORE(KM-1210/750 Mile)
AC First Class- Rs. 2537/- , AC 2-Tier
Sleeper-Rs.1370/-, First Class-992/-, AC 3-Tier Sleeper-750/-, 3tier
Sleeper-280/-. |
