Indian Railways
Posted by adminInstead of car rental India offers a wide selection of railways which is a more interesting way to travel across the country.
Indian Railways is a huge state-run conglomerate, the world’s largest employer. It moves 14 million passengers a day yet still remains remarkably efficient and uniquely poetic. There is no better way to get the pulse of South Asia than to view the changing scene from a carriage window. Incidentally, a window in the non-air-conditioned sleeper class comprises several layers to keep out the sun, dust and tick-etless travellers.
British colonialists laid most of the 63,140 km (39,230 miles) of track, and left sturdy Victorian relics - clocks, scales and benches - on platforms across India. Things have moved on since then, however, and now the fast track inter-city services, known as Rajdhani and Shatabdi, run to various state capitals and major cities from Delhi and other centres. In the 1990s, the overnight switch of political power from North India to the constituencies of the South resulted in the conversion of metre gauge to broad gauge, a decision that had been considered unrealistic under North Indian prime ministers.
Yet in spite of political interference the working of the railways is impressive. Serving under the Rail Minister is the Railway Board, whose chairman is invariably a railway engineer. The system is divided into nine zones, which derive in part from the reach of the imperial private companies. For example, today’s Central Railway has inherited the extent and style of the Great Indian Peninsular lines. Zonal profiles vary considerably, with the southern states profitably in command of their assets (borne out by the smart livery of both rolling stock and rail-waymen), while those in the north and east wilt under the burden of saturation.
Reservations are now computerized at most stations of any size and special quotas are available for foreign tourists. Indrail Rover Tickets, bookable in India and abroad, can be very convenient for the frequent rail traveler.
Luxury service
Service on specialty trains such as the Palace on Wheels through Rajasthan is unrivalled, with two turbaned valets for each carriage. For the luxury of service, if not for speed and fittings, the first-class air-conditioned compartments of Indian Railways are as good as any in the world.
When you compare what the railways give you for about the comparable price of a plane ticket with all the delays and charmlessness of airports, then you travel more meaningfully by train. Following a relaxed journey, you arrive in the middle of town. Budget travelers can also go by second class in an air-conditioned or three-tier air-conditioned sleeper coach so that the heat and dust is filtered out.
On board, there are rules and there are rules. Officially, no drinking is allowed, but those most likely to benefit from abstention are the least troubled by warnings. Just as first-class passengers are generally free to indulge, so are they allowed to take their pets on board.
