Trains are the most sought-after long-distance mode of travel among the Indian population. The Indian Railway ranks among the most comprehensive networks in the world. It regularly operates over 20,000 passenger trains, on both suburban and long-distance train routes, from 7,349 stations across the country. Approximately 24 million travellers commute every day using the network. The Railway authorities may run multiple trains between stations to meet the growing demand for train travellers.
Read more to gain insights on train routes and learn about their importance for travellers.
Zones and Route Maps Indian Railway
There are sixteen zones into which the Indian Railways network is divided. Each zone is further categorised into subdivisions with their respective zonal headquarters. The main railway zone comprises Western, Eastern, Southern, Northern and Central. The zone that was set up initially post-independence was the Southern zone. The remaining five zones - North Central, East Coast, South East Central, South Western and West Central were included in 2005.
The enormous network of the Indian Railways encompasses the country’s entire length and breadth. A train network database is managed by the railways that help to locate trains between two stations. It allows users and passengers to access vital information such as the live status of trains, intermediate stations, and train route.
Why is Checking Train Routes Best Practice?
Indian Railways frequently announce new trains between two locations. You may refer to an online train timetable to check train routes and plan your travel accordingly. Additionally, you can get an idea about how quickly a train covers its journey and the times for arrival and departure from its route. Once you become aware of such details, your ticket booking process is streamlined.
What Are the Options to Check Train Timetables?
Train timings are accessible on the official Railways website. Alternatively, a dedicated Railways helpline number has been provided for users. You can also consider downloading a train app to verify railway timings from literally everywhere quickly. If you are at a railway station, locate a timetable chart near the reservation counter.
The Age of Online Train Enquiry
With the continuously improving internet speed and affordable smart devices, getting train-related information at your fingertips is effortless. The entire train enquiry system is simple and economical in this digital age. You can enter the names of two stations and generate information on departure and arrival times, train running days and more from anywhere, anytime.
What Info Do Online Train Timetables Convey?
A train covers railway stations en route its journey from source to destination. The train route tells the timing of the train at the respective stations as it crosses them. Here is an overview of the train timetable display window of the railway enquiry app- RailMitra:
The top portion shows the full train name along with days of operation, class of travel, journey duration and train type.
Train stoppages are sequentially organised into a table which shows every station in the journey route. The stoppage station names are represented in the first column of the table.
You can find the codes of stations where the train halts in the second column. The arrival time is mentioned in the third column.
The fourth column captures the halt duration. And the fifth column includes departure time. Be mindful that all railway times displayed are in 24 hours format.
The sixth column shows the number of days, and the last column mentions the distance covered from source to destination along the train route in KM.
What Does A Train Status Reveal?
Getting the live train status with the accurate location and the most recent delay status for IRCTC trains is very straightforward. You may also see the train’s estimated arrival time(ETA) and the last reported location(LRS).
ETA reveals when the train is due to arrive at the station. It makes travellers aware of when the train will arrive and by what time they should reach the station to catch their train. LRS lets you know whether the train has reached or left, or crossed the specific station. It usually denotes a non-halting station where the train doesn’t stop but passes.
Users are estimated to be notified about a major chunk of a train’s live updates for a particular station within 10 minutes of the train’s arrival or departure. You should understand that a delay time may be less than the one informed from the previous station for any station. Since the trains between stations data get updated frequently, you should check the position at 2-5 minutes intervals. The live status becomes more accurate with the train nearing the ETA.
Recently several train apps have been launched for users across all mobile platforms. These feature-rich apps keep you updated on all the happenings related to your train journey. When you know the complete train schedule and the train routes, trip planning and execution become much more effortless.
Choose the RailMitra app for your train trips to experience the difference between a highly advanced train app. It has inbuilt AI tools to help ease the stress of your train journey.
