SAVE ON TRAIN TICKETS

SAVE ON RAILWAY FARES

With ever increasing fares of train tickets, we need to follow few rules to reduce the cost of train travel.

1) USE THE PRS:

Internet ticket booking has turned costly. Rs.23 service charge + Rs.8 for your bank services, you end up paying Rs.30 extra per ticket.

If you are 100% sure of a travel plan, use the nearest Reservation counter to book the tickets. Most counters are free except 10am to 12 noon (Tatkal booking) and you can book the tickets without sparing Rs.30 extra.

2)REDUCE CANCELLATION CHARGES:

Cancellation charges can be reduced, if not avoided completely. Book the tickets when it reaches RAC50. This way, when you want to cancel – the chart would have moved up to RAC10 and you end up losing Rs.30 instead of Rs.60 (on a confirmed ticket).

If you plan to travel also, its not a problem as RAC50 will be definitely cleared to confirmation. This is a small risk you take for reducing the cancellation charges to half.

3)USE SHORT DISTANCE TRAIN:

Some trains take a circuitous route for reaching a destination. Always list down trains (from Indian railways website) and choose the shortest distance.

Destination	Short distance fare (Rs.)	Long distance fare (Rs.)
Chennai to Rameswaram Chennai to Hyderabad Chennai to Karaikudi	Sethu Exp – 330 Hyderabad Exp – 405 Silambu Exp - 255	Rameswaram Exp – 355 Charminar Exp – 425 Rameswaram Exp - 280

4) SELECT NON-SUPERFAST TRAINS:

Select non-superfast trains to a destination and save Rs.30 per passenger. Few trains are:

Destination	Non-superfast train
Madurai, Tirunelveli Hyderabad Bengaluru	Ananthapuri Exp Kacheguda Exp Kaveri Exp

Use website to list down trains. There may be special weekly trains that may be non-superfast. Book accordingly.

5) AVOID TATKAL BOOKINGS:

Tatkal bookings are frustrating and are 50% to 60% higher than regular fares. Also

-         no refund on cancellation (what if you are caught in a traffic jam)

-         no senior citizen concession

-         fares calculated till the final destination and not your destination

How to avoid tatkal bookings? Refer the next chapter.