Bus Travel in India

One of the fast developing nations, India is criss-crossed by thousands kilometers of roads include National Highways, State Highways and town roads. The vast network of road in turn makes an excellent base for plying of buses. In fact, buses in India provide easy connectivity to small towns as well as big cities.

Buses are the most convenient mode of transport in India. From small villages to big cities, bus services are offered in almost every part of the country. Today, one can see various types of buses plying on the roads such as Deluxe, Luxury, Air-Conditioned, Volvo and passenger buses.

A Low Floor Bus Run By DTC, Delhi

You may chose from luxury to local buses, depending on your budget and requirements. In almost all states of India State Road Transport Corporations offer bus services to common public that connects the cities of the state and also the cities and towns of neighbouring states. Besides the government operators, several private operators also provide buses for travelling across India.

Usually the state transport corporation have one or more bus stands in cities or towns depending on the size of population. For catching the buses you have to reach the nearby bus stands or terminals. From the bus stands you can board either public transport or private bus for your desired destination by paying reasonable fare. All the state transport bus terminals have enquiry offices and ticket counters as well. You can gather important information related to your journey from the officials.

A Bus on Mumbai - Pune Expressway

For tourists, special tourist buses are offered by the private operators as well as government transport departments. If you are looking for group tour, buses are also offered by the private and government operators. You can book buses from one day to one week according to your requirement from the concerned offices. Nowadays, many bus operators offer online booking facility in advance. Some of the noted websites offering bus bookings in India are Ticketwala, RedBus.in, MakeMyTrip, Yatra, etc.

In India bus services are available in varied options such as express buses, luxury buses, super deluxe, video coach, air-conditioned volvo coaches, airport shuttle buses, local buses etc. All types of buses run in all parts of India, but their fares differ according to comfort.

Some of the important bus services operational in India are mentioned below.

Intercity Bus Services in India – Intercity buses run within the cities covering all the important places. Such services are available in national capital New Delhi and other cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

A Volvo Bus infront of a hotel at Lonavala

Interstate Bus Services in India – Interstate bus services are available from almost all major cities of states in India. Interstate buses run from one state to other neighbouring states. Such bus services are available to and from Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other important cities of the country. Public road transport services and private transportation offer luxury, deluxe or other types of buses on interstate routes.

Intrastate Bus Services in India – These buses run within the important places of the state. Intrastate bus services are available in almost all states of India. Some example of intrastate bus services are buses running between Jaipur and Ajmer, Hyderabad and Warangal, Bangalore and Mangalore, Mumbai and Aurangabad.

Airport shuttle bus services in India – The bus service connect different airports in India to important locations in the vicinity. For example Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to Dwarka Domestic airport or any other place in Delhi. Recently DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) has introduced airport buses on 534 route between IGI Airport and Anand Vihar, on 729 route between IGI Airport and Old Delhi Railway Station.

Tour buses in India: These buses are meant for tourists to show them places.

Coach buses in India: Coach Buses are used for long term trips across cities etc.

Public transit buses in India: The Public Transit bus is the most common form of buses found on Indian roads. They are just another form of commuting like the taxi and subway used by civilians to travel from office to home etc.

Famous Buses in India

Star Bus, Globus, Marcopolo, Viking BS-I - city bus, Viking BS-II - city bus and Cheetah BS-I

List of Bus manufacturing companies in India

- Kerala State Road Transport Corporation

- Mahindra Navistar

- Ashok Leyland

- Tata Motors

- Coach Line Industries

- Aglow Engineers Private Limited

- Delite Technologies

- Gujarat Corporation

- Bhutani international

- Volvo Buses

- Swaraj Enterprise

- Eicher Motors

- Force Motors

Train Travel In India

Indian Railways - The pride of India

Bestowed with world’s second largest rail network, India is easily accessible by various types of trains such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Mail, Express, Super Fact and passenger trains. In fact, Train travel is the most convenient and economic mode of transports in India. Even long distances such as Delhi to Mumbai can be covered with ease through trains by using sleeper class berth and you will not get tired. Besides, train travel is safe and cheap as you have to pay a reasonable fare.

Barog Railway Station on Kalka - Shimla Route

One can see and experience India at its best through train travel. Maintained and run by Indian Railways the trains in India connect almost all the state capitals and other important cities and towns of the country. The rail network in Indian spreads over 63,000 kms and there are around 6, 800 stations. India’s rail network spreads from Jammu & Kashmir in north to Kanyakumari in the south, Assam in the north-east to Rajasthan in the west. Interestingly, the rail network of India extends from plains to hill stations such as Shimla, Darjeeling and Ooty.

Fact is that, for travelers to India the trip would be complete without the experience of travelling on the trains run by Indian Railways.

Types of trains running in India

General Trains of India - For travelling across India, Indian Railways have a variety of trains including fast, superfast, express and local trains. Passengers choose the trains according to their requirements and budget. Shatabdi and Rajadhani are two high-class trains, running at a speed over 100 km per hour, having all Air-conditioned coaches. Besides, there are hundreds of superfast and express trains running across the country. For short distance the Indian Railways run local passenger trains.

Exterior of New Delhi Railway Station

Luxurious Trains of India - Indian Railways run these trains keeping in mind the tourism point of view. Most of the luxury trains offers five star facilities to passengers on board. Running for a duration of two days to one week, these trains take you on a once upon a lifetime journey. You find a fine chance to explore the picturesque terrain along with enjoying royal hospitality. Palace of Wheels, Deccan Odyssey, Heritage on Wheels and Fairy Queen are some of the popular luxurious trains in India.

Shimla Railway Station, Shimla

Mountain Railways of India - Mountain Railways is a special attraction of Indian Railway and also the most convenient way to visit the hill stations of India. Developed by the British government about 100 years back, during their rule over India, Mountain Railways now served as the main mode of transport to hilly areas. Travelling on mountain rail is a thrilling experience, as you get a wonderful chance to see the beautiful green countryside and other amazing wonders of nature. In fact, three of the Mountain Railways namely Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway and Kalka – Shimla Railway have been declared World heritage properties by UNESCO.

Accommodation Classes in Indian Trains or Classes of Travel in Trains of India

The Kalka - Shimla Route

Usually there are six classes of accommodation found in Indian train, but some other classes such as AC Executive class may be found in important trains like Shatabdi Express. Below are the important classes, found in trains of India

Newly Constructed Double Decked Boggy

Air-Conditioned First Class (AC1) in trains of India – AC1 class is the most comfortable and luxurious way to travel in Indian Railways. However, AC1 class is found only in the important trains including all Rajadhanis. First class coaches are spacious and carpeted having 4-berth and 2-berth compartments, with washbasin. During the daytime berths can be converted into seats. Passengers are provided all necessary bedding materials such as bedsheet, blanket, pillow and towel.

Air-Conditioned Second Class (AC2) in trains of India – Second Class AC are not divided into separate compartment like First Class, but are also very comfortable to travel. The coaches are open-plan with berths arranged in bays of four on one side and in bays of two on another side. For privacy each bay is curtained and like First AC bedding is provided to passengers.

Air-Conditioned Three Tier (AC3) in trains of India – Three Tier AC is almost similar to Second Class AC, but it has three tiers of bunks – arranged in bays of six on one side and bays to two on other side. AC3 coaches are more crowded than Second Class AC and also lack the private curtains. Bedding materials such as pillows, sheets and blankets are provided to passengers. AC3 is a good option for families who are looking for long distance travel in comfort.

AC Chair Class in trains of India – AC Chair class is a fine choice for day time short-distance travel. The classes are found mainly in ‘intercity’ daytime trains consist of comfortable air-conditioned seating cars. Such classes are available in Shatabdi trains running from Delhi to Ajmer, Chandigarh or intercity trains.

Sleeper Class in trains of India – Sleeper class is used by the most of the Indian people and found on all long distance trains except Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express. The coaches of Sleeper class comprise of open plan berths with upper, middle and lower bunks. The windows are fitted with bars and also have a glass pane and a shutter which can be raised and lowered.

Unreserved Second Class in trains of India – These coaches have wooden or padded plastic seating seats suitable for only short journey. Unreserved second class is not recommended for long distance journeys especially overnight journeys.

Train Fares for trains of India

Train Fares for sleeper class ranges from few hundreds to thousands, depending on the class and routes. However, for unreserved second class journey you have to pay very nominal fare. For more information about the train fares visit the official website of Indian Railways.

How to reserve train tickets in India

For any long-distance and short distance journey, in Sleeper class or Air-Conditioned Class, it is necessary to reserve a seat or berth. You can travel by buying an ordinary ticket in these classes. Booking for reservation open 90 days in advance, although the duration may be less in some short-distance inter-city trains.

In Indian reservations are completely computerized and reservation facility is available in all the important stations of the country. Due to huge rush most of the express trains get booked weeks ahead before the departure. So, you should make reservations well in advance, for hassle free journey. Various types of quotas, such as tourist quota are also available in Indian trains.

Tourist Quota in trains of India

Several important India trains have a special quota of berths for foreign tourists and IndRail passholders. A few ‘tourist quota’ berths remain available within a day or two of departure, so foreign travellers can book at short notice. But, you may have to wait couple of days for getting the berth for your desired destination. For tourist quote berth you have to pay in US Dollars, Pounds, or Indian rupees backed by an exchange certificate.

The railway stations in major cities of India and tourist centres in cities like New Delhi, Bombay, Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and Varanasi have an International Tourist Bureau, where Foreign travellers can book tickets. There is also a round the clock rail booking office at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. For more information on tourist quota reservation visit the official site of Indian Railways.

How to book tickets - from outside India

Most of the important trains of India get fully-booked weeks in advance, so it better to book tickets before you arrival to India. You can book train tickets online at www.irctc.co.in , which is the official government-sponsored sales website for Indian Railways.

Due to crowding of visitors, the website may respond slowly, so keep patience and follow the information given on the site. You can buy a maximum of 10 tickets in a month from this website for travelling across India. Your ticket will not be sent to your desired destination outside India or you can pick it up at the station. Only 'e-ticket' and 'i-ticket' options are available to get the ticket from the website. You have make payment through credit card such as Visa, MasterCard or Amex.

Some Important Tips for train journey in India

- Always check your coach and berth number printed on your ticket. The reservation ticket also carries the details like age, sex, origin station name and travel destination as well.

- Before boarding the train ensure your coach number and occupy the seat mentioned in the ticket. For more conformation you may consult the concerned office in the railway station or the Ticket Collector or Conductor travelling alongwith the train.

- All the long distance trains have a pantry car offering breakfast, lunch and dinner to passengers at nominal charges. Prefer the food of pantry car and avoid outside food as they may be of bad quality.

- There are fair chances of stealing in Indian trains, so take care of your belongings.

- Don't become much friendly with other fellow passengers, because some of them may bribe you or cause other types of harm.

The website of Indian Railways: http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/

The website of Indian Railways Enquiry: http://www.indianrail.gov.in/

The website of IRCTC: http://www.irctc.co.in/