How to lose and retrieve an Indian Railway train ticket in 7 steps
1) If it is an internet ticket feel free to lose it as long as you are close enough to PC with an internet connection and a printer
2) If it is not an internet ticket a good time to lose a railway ticket is between 8 PM & 8 AM (the following day) on any day between Monday to Saturday or after 2 PM on a Sunday. That way it is less likely that someone else can find your lost ticket and cancel it to collect money because the reservation office is closed at other times. So your name will be on the reservation chart and this is a precondition for issuance of a new ticket.
3) It is generally good to keep note of the PNR number, typically note it in something that you would not lose on the same day.
4) Don't panic, but if you are the panicky kind or have panicky folks around you; who need reassurance from Indian Railways then call the railway helpline and explain the situation and ask for directions. You may be actually glad to hear the (otherwise annoying) customary call center greeting "This is the Indian Railway enquiry service, how may i assist you?", for once.
5) Approach the railway station master with a letter seeking issuance of ticket (stating the PNR number and name/age of passengers).
6) Let the official machinery carry your application through it's conveyor belt. It is slow but well oiled machinery so wait patiently.
7) Pay the railway fee for re issuance of lost ticket (it used to be 50% of the original ticket fare) and collect your new ticket
If you were like me then you have been conditioned to believe that you have to offer more than just your gratitude to government officials so you would go ahead and enquire if there is "any other fee" that you need to pay.
If all railway officials are like the kind that i met at Thrissur railway station that evening (and i would like to believe so) you would see them almost take offense to your suggestive offer and they'd just tell you, "it is your ticket and you paid for it, so just go ahead and board the train".
My appreciation of the efficiency of the railway department and the confidence that systems still work in there are at an all time high at the moment.
Seriously, losing a train ticket was probably never such a pleasant experience.
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3 comments:
Hey I thought we were gonna charge people for this gyan!
While you are at it, one more thing that might help is to know the railway PR of the region or at least the station master.
Railway PR contact - That's what we'll charge for. Value added service.
To find more trains and stations visit http://www.indiantrains.org/
The better way to search Indian trains looks great and it open fast, no pop-up, user friendly. Every information in a single page. This concept is good and some of the features like calendar, train running day has not come in a single website in this reviews. the most important features i have seen in this site that if the user does not know the station code then also he can see all the trains and it is only website which have a drop menu box for the important station from where you can choose the station name and also it has a date calendar from you can choose the date and it show the running day of the train so that you can know which day of the week this train is running. the other most important feature I have seen in this website that it show the train which does not have the reservation coach for the benefit of the user and they are showing the passenger train also which is also not available in any website. This site will enable the users to search train route and compare fares of most of the trains in India.
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