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Railway Timetable: Why It’s Useful for Your Travel Planning

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Rail Mitra
Railway Timetable: Why It’s Useful for Your Travel Planning

There are over twenty million regular travellers on Indian Railways, but most lack a clear understanding of the train schedules. IRCTC's train timetable, which is issued every year, provides vital updates on Indian trains. You should review the railway time table before planning your upcoming trips to experience a joyful ride. 


What's a Train Time Table?


A train timetable is a compilation of all train-related information, including train routes, arrival and departure time, halt stations and much more. It also presents information such as source station, train name, train number, train category and destination station. With a wealth of information in the IRCTC timetable at your disposal, trip planning is much easier today. If you know your train's name/number, you can discover information such as seat availability and class of travel on the train with a single click. You can choose to proceed with seat reservations based on availability.


IRCTC'S “Train at a Glance” Train Timetable


Every year, the Ministry of Railways publishes a user-friendly “Train at a Glance” guide. This guide covers the train schedules/timetable of all mail/express trains run by the Indian Railways. It helps train travellers in better trip planning and experiencing a smooth ride. The rail timetable displays information on each train's stoppages at important stations, arrival and departure schedules, days of services, accommodation classes, distance in KM and availability of pantry cars.


What are the Other Ways of Checking Train Schedules?


Besides "Trains at a Glance," there are numerous other methods to learn about train schedules. These methods help you become aware of the arrival and departure timings and broaden your views on future travel. Below are some additional ways of accessing train timetables:


Online Timetable: In older days, people mostly used to visit Railway stations, stand in queues, or meet travel agents and spend extra bucks for ticket booking needs. However, with the inception of the online rail timetable, the overall ticket booking process has now become quite simplified, efficient and economical. Today, you can choose to book a train ticket from your home or office or during your journey as well. You do not even need to make extra efforts to call the railway enquiry to know your train timetable.


Railway Websites: Many websites use the national train enquiry system to pull information on Indian train timings and publish them on their site. You need an internet connection to know the train schedule of any train. 


Mobile Apps like RailMitra: These are reliable sources to know the schedule of a particular train. Follow these steps to use a train app:


  • Download the train time table app and sign in.
  • Go to the Train Schedule/Timetable section to input the train number/name. 
  • Choose the relevant train from the automatically suggested options.
  • Submit to view the train schedule of the selected train


Why Is Railway Online Timetable Important?


The train progresses through numerous railway stations in its journey from source to destination. The train schedule allows you to view the train timings at individual stations. Checking your train's timetables will give you an idea about the following:


Train schedules: For the convenience of passengers, the train schedule is updated with the precise arrival and departure times at individual stations.


Stations along the way: The train schedule compiles the names of individual stations and the count of stations the train will pass through.


100% Real-time accuracy rates: Online train schedule is prepared using live status with a full accuracy rate.


Status of Train: The delay status is displayed as an average figure beside the accurate train

timings.


Train number and name: All the Indian Railway trains, including the popular ones, are assigned a distinct number. A train's name and number combination makes it unique and can be used to track its timetable on its operational days.


Intermediate Stations: These are the stations a train crosses on its way to the final destination. It includes a list of stations that the train crosses without stopping. The intermediate station list does not include the origin and termination status.


Knowing the train schedule will help you plan your journey more efficiently. You can also choose particular stations where you wish to get food deliveries in trains en route. 


Consider using Railmitra for all your IRCTC train enquiries, like timetable and eliminate the need to call or visit the railway inquiry. It's loaded with AI-enabled online tools to boost your train journey experience. With this app, you can get numerous information including PNR status, live train running status, live station train arrival and departure, train fare, station details etc.

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