Transport

¤ Air

India is extensively connected by air by various private airlines like Sahara India, Jet Airways and so on. The official domestic carrier is Indian Airlines, which flies extensively throughout the country and to some neighbouring countries.


¤ Reservations

Indian Airlines has computerized booking offices in all major cities that look after reservations and flight information. However, flights in popular sectors might be heavily booked so book in advance.
The private operators are very efficient and often give heavy discounts on their tickets. For most airlines tickets can be booked with foreign currency (dollar or pound), TCs or by credit card. Refund charges are Rs 100 on each ticket and can be made at any booking office. and tough luck if your ticket gets lost, Indian Airlines will not accept any responsibility though they might issue a replacement.


¤ Indian Airlines office Addresses

Distance from the office to the airport are given in the brackets.

Agartala (12km)
Khosh Mahal Bldg, Central Road

Agra (7km)
Hotel Clarks Shiraz
54 Taj Rd

Ahmedabad (10km)
Airlines House, Lal Darwaja

Allahabad (12km)
Tourist Bungalow, MG Rd

Amritsar (11km)
48 The Mall

Aurangabad (10km)
Dr Rajendra Prasad Marg

Bagdogra (14km)
Hotel Sinclairs, Mallaguri, Siliguri

Bangalore (13km)
Housing Board Bldg, Kempegowda Rd

Bhavnagar (8km)
Diwanpura Rd

Bhopal (11km)
Bhadbhada Rd, TT Nagar

Bhubaneswar (4km)
Unit 1, Raj Path, Bapuji Nagar

Bhuj (6km)
Outside Waniawad Gate, Station Rd

Calcutta (16km)
Airlines House, 39 Chittaranjan Avenue

Chandigarh (11km)
SCO-186-187-188 Sector 17 C

Chennai (18km)
19 Marshalls Rd, Egmore

Coimbatore (12km)
Civil Aerodrome, Peelamedy

Darjeeling
Bellevue Hotel, Chowrasta

Delhi (20km)
Malhotra Bldg, Connaught Place

PTI Building, Sansad Marg

Domestic Terminal (24 hours)

Dibrugarh (16km)
CIWTC Bungalow, Assam Medical College Rd

Dimapur (3km)
Dimapur-Imphal Rd

Gangtok
Tibet Rd

Goa (30km)
Dempo Building, D Bandodkar Marg, Panaji

Guwahati (23km)
Paltan Bazar

Gwalior (12km)
Tansen Marg, Barar

Hyderabad (16km)
Secretariat Rd

Imphal (8km)
Mahatma Gandhi Rd

Indore (9km)
Dr R S Bhandari Marg

Jaipur (13km)
Tonk Rd

Jammu (6km)
Tourist Reception Centre, Veer Marg

Jamnagar (10km)
Indra Mahal, Bhind Bhanjan Rd

Jodhpur (5km)
Airport Rd

Jorhat (7km)
Tarajan Rd, Garhali

Khajuraho (5km)
Khajuraho Hotel

Kochi (6km)
Durbar Hall Rd, Ernakulam

Kozikode (Calicut)
Eroth Centre, Bank Rd

Leh (8km)
Ibex Guest House

Lucknow (14km)
Clarks Awadh, 5 Mahatma Gandhi Marg

Madurai (12km)
Pandyan House, 7A West Veli St

Mangalore (20km)
Hathill Rd, Lalbagh

Mumbai (26km)
Army & Navy Bldg, MG Rd

Mysore
Hotel Mayura Hoysala, 2 Jhansi Lakshmi Bai Rd

Nagpur (11km)
242 A Manohar Niwas, Rabindranath Tagore Rd, Civil Lines

Patna (8km)
South Gandhi Maidan

Port Blair (3km)
Tagore Marg

Pune (10km)
39 Dr Ambedkar Rd

Raipur (16km)
LIC Bldg

Rajkot (4km)
Angel Chamber, Station Rd

Ranchi (13km)
Welfare Centre, Main Rd

Silchar (26km)
Red Cross Rd

Srinagar (14km)
Air Cargo Complex Bldg, Shervani Marg

Tezpur (16km)
Jankin Rd

Thiruvananthapuram (6km)
Mascot Hill Bldg, Museum Rd

Tiruchirappalli (8km)
Southern Railway Employees Co-op Credit Society Bldg
Dindigul Rd

Tirupathi (15km)
Hotel Vishnupriya, Ranigunta Rd

Udaipur (24km)
LIC Bldg, outside Delhi gate

Vadodara (Baroda) (6km)
University Rd, Fatehganj

Varanasi (22km)
Mint House Motel, Vadunath Marg, Cantonment

Visakhapatnam (16km)
Jeevan Prakash, LIC Bldg Complex

Private Airline Domestic Operator


Ahmedabad
Jet Airways 656 1290, 786 8307
Sahara India 656 4049, 786 6071

Agartala
Sahara India 23387

Aurangabad
Jet Airways 487091, 484269

Bagdogra
Jet Airways 435876, 450590
Sahara India 434929, 450074

Bangalore
Jet Airways 227 6620,526 1926
Sahara India 558 6976, 526 2531

Calcutta
Archana Airways 292 471
Jet Airways 240 8192, 511 8836
Sahara India 242 9067, 551 9545

Chennai
Jet Airways 855 5353, 234 6557
Sahara India 826 3661, 233 0056

Coimbatore
Jet Airways 212034, 575387

Delhi
Jet Airways 685 3700, 329 5404
Sahara India 332 0013, 548 1351
Archana Airways 329 5768

Diu
Gujarat Airways 2180

Goa
Jet Airways 221 472, 511 005
Sahara India 226 291, 510 043

Guwahati
Jet Airways 520 202, 84131
Sahara India 548 676, 84128

Hyderabad
Jet Airways 231 263, 840 382
Sahara India 202 836, 842 054

Indore
Jet Airways 409 437, 410 452

Jaipur
Jet Airways 377 051, 551 733
Sahara India 553 525, 550 018

Jorhat
Jet Airways 325 657

Kochi
Jet Airways 369 582, 666 509

Kozhikode
Jet Airways 356 518

Kullu
Archana Airways 65630
Jagson Airlines 65222

Mangalore
Jet Airways 440 694, 752 709

Mumbai
Jet Airways 285 5086, 610 2772
Sahara India 283 2446, 615 0948
Archana Airways 284 6535, 617 7442

Patna
Sahara India 661 109, 228 307

Porbandar
Gujarat Airways 41889

Pune
Jet Airways 637 181, 685 591
Sahara India 500 327

Srinagar
Jet Airways 475 511, 33041

Thiruvananthapuram
Jet Airways 327 635, 451 424

Vadodara
Jet Airways 337 051, 555 938


¤ Air Passes

Indian Airlines has a Discover India pass for 15 and 21 days, which allows unlimited travel in the domestic circuit. It can be quite reasonable if you are taking lots of change of flight. Another pass India Wonder Fare gives you a week’s unlimited travel between cities within a particular region: north, east, south and west.
There are also some special discounts. You can avail of a 30% discount on the US dollar fare on selected zones in South India. Also a 25% discount on US $ fare of some sectors are available for those under 30.


¤ Train

Indian Railways is the world’s fourth largest railway network, with a route length of over 60,000km. Each day more than 7000 passenger trains run connecting 7100 stations. Indian Railways has over 160 high-speed trains, including the Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express and so on.
The best way to be acquainted with the system is to catch hold of the timetable Trains at a glance, which is available at all major railway stations and on some newsstands in the bigger cities. The Indian Bradshaw, published monthly, also carries handy information on the train services throughout the country. You can usually find it on the bookstalls of all major city railway stations. The fares of the trains are based on distance. Meals and drinks are available on most trains.


¤ Classes

Indian railway trains come in two classes, first and second. There are two types of first class, AC and non-AC. The fare for first class AC is often twice that of the normal first class. Slightly cheaper is the AC two-tier sleeper class, which costs about 25% more than first class non-AC.
Squashed between the first and second class, are the AC three tier and the AC chair car. The former has three levels of berth and the latter consists of carriages with aircraft type seating arrangement. These options are available only on the major routes.


¤ Sleepers

There are first and second class sleepers in Indian express trains. First class sleepers are private compartments with two to four berths in them. First class AC sleepers are more expansive, both in luxury and cost. Second class sleepers, still popularly known as three-tier, are arranged in doorless sections each of six berths.


¤ Reservations

Computerized reservation centres are available throughout the country. In the metro cities, there are special reservation counters for foreign tourists at the main booking offices and there are special quotas for tourists on many trains. When tickets are not available over the general counters, if you're lucky you might get one on the tourist quota. Payments must always be foreign exchange or in Rupees if you have the currency exchange certificate. Reservation cost is very nominal and can be made upto 60 days in advance.
If the train is fully booked, it’s possible to get an RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation) ticket which allows you to board the train and get seating accommodation. In fact, more often than not, the TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner) will find you berth in under an hour. However don't go confusing this with a wait-listed ticket, which does not allow you to actually board the train. The golden rule, as usual, is to plan ahead.


¤ Special Trains

The Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) operates the a special tourist train the Palace on Wheels, which is a real experience for those who can afford it. It runs weekly from Delhi every Wednesday from September to April. The itinerary has some of the erstwhile royal cities of Rajasthan like Jaipur, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Ranthambore National Park, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bharatpur and Agra. The cost includes tours, entry fees, accommodation on the train and all meals. Rates per person per day are pretty steep and get steeper with every passing year.

Contact :

RTDC Tourist Reception Centre
Bikaner House
Pandara Road
New Delhi


Tourist Reception Centre
office Annexe
RTDC Hotel Swagatam
Jaipur


The Royal Orient Express is a similar service that operates between Delhi and Ahmedabad via Rajasthan (Jodhpur and Udaipur). The Butterfield’s Indian Railway Tours has regular train tours of India with a special carriage, in which you can travel, eat and sleep. The carriage is attached to regular trains and is usually left on the sidings of towns that you want to visit.

For more information contact:

Butterfield’s Railway Tours
Burton Fleming
Driffield
East Yorks YO25OPQ
UK

You can also get in touch with them through the Madras Hotel, Connaught Circus, New Delhi.

¤ Indrail Passes

Indrail passes are Indian version of the Eurail and works on the same principle. They allow unlimited travel on Indian trains for the period of their validity. The pass covers all of reservations and berth costs at night. They are non-extendable, and to really get your money's worth out of the pass you need to travel at least 300km per day. You pay half fare for children from the ages of five to twelve years.
Indrail passes can be bought abroad through travel agents or in India at major railway offices. Payment has to be made either in the US dollar or pound sterling. Cash or travellers’ cheques backed with encashment certificates are also accepted. Second-class passes are not available outside India.

Contact :Calcutta
Railway Tourist Guide, Eastern Railway, Fairlie Place.
Central reservation office, South-Eastern Railway, Esplanade Mansion

Chennai
Central reservation office, Southern Railway, Chennai Central

Delhi
Railway Tourist Guide, New Delhi Railway Station

Mumbai
Railway Tourist Guide, Western Railway, Churchgate
Railway Tourist Guide, Central Railway, Victoria Terminus

¤ Bus
Though slow and sometimes uncomfortable, buses in India are an efficient and inexpensive means of transport. India has an extensive and well-developed network of roads and bus services.


¤ Classes
Take your pick from the ordinary, express, semi-luxe, deluxe, deluxe AC and deluxe sleeper buses. These choices are however generally available only on major tourist sectors. Each state has its own bus transport company, sometimes backed up by privately operated buses. These are usually quite efficient and much more reliable than any other bus service operators.


¤ Reservations

The biggest plus with buses is their frequency and virtually no reservation in advance is required. The advance reservation angle becomes important only in case of the deluxe, semi-luxe and express services. Private buses should always be booked in advance.

¤ Car

Hiring cars for personal use is not very popular in India, but is available for those who have a taste for it. Budget and Hertz have their offices in all major cities. It is better to hire a chauffeur-driven car, since Indian driving conditions can be quite an eye-opener for those used to radical stuff like traffic laws and such. You can also hire local taxis for long distance trips from taxi stands or ask your hotel to book one for you.


¤ Motorcycle

(Also see Cycling & Motorcycling in Adventure Sports)
Travelling by motorcycle is fast catching up with tourists. Motorcycles can be rented from companies in various places especially in places like Delhi and Goa for a negotiable amount which includes insurance. Hari Singh Nalwa Street in Karol Bagh, Delhi, is full places where you can rent, buy or sell motorcycles.


¤ Places To Eat

The most popular eating joint with all backpackers is the roadside dhaba where the cooking is done right in front of you and the food is hot and fresh. Most hotels run their own restaurants. Indian-Chinese food finds top billing on most menus in mid-range restaurants. Many hotels offer all-you-can-eat buffet meals which can be real bargain, like the one at the Lake Palace in Udaipur.
In the north, in places like Darjeeling Gangtok, Kalimpong, Dharamsala, Manali and even Delhi, Tibetan restaurants are extremely popular. In the metros, luxury hotels and several other speciality restaurants will serve you any cuisine under the sun – French, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Italian, Tex-Mex, Greek, Spanish, Lebanese and so on. If all else fails, head for the nearest McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Domino’s Pizza joint.