There is no doubt to the fact that railways have succeeded in establishing itself and its importance ever since it came into being. The idea of steam engine initiated the usage of the concept in transportation. A train can carry a lot of passengers for long distances which is otherwise not quite possible by air or road. This has been a huge success and has not looked back ever since. Especially in a populated country like India, Indian Railways plays a major role in providing transportation services for the citizens with the country.
Railways initiated its passenger services way back in the year 1853. It was a small link connecting the city of Mumbai to Thane. However, soon the tracks started to expand and by 1880, the system consisted of about 18000 kilo metres across the length and breadth of India.
Today it is the most extensive mode of transport functioning in the country that deals with millions of passengers every day. The enterprise also has a separate wing named Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation which takes care of the hospitality services, luxury and budget tourism, catering and reservation services pertaining to Indian Railways.
A surprising fact about the railways website is that the website that was developed to carry out reservations and ticketing operates 18 hours in a day and the rest six hours are used to update information and details on the website. The website of Indian Railways is best browsed on Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 and higher versions.
Apart from all these, there are certain specific features from the railways that are given for bettering the experience of the passengers. They are listed as follows:
1. Passengers can check the PNR status of their ticker or know about their reservation status by sending SMS.
2. Online booking did not exist earlier, but this facility has benefitted many people since the time it came into being.
3. It was not always possible to get a ticket done on Indian Railways and so a Tatkal scheme was started to give away tickets on emergency basis. This was highly required for those who had to travel in some kind of emergency.
4. There are some tour packages of railways as well that are quite economical for the foreign tourists and others. They are named as Bharat Darshan and cover a lot of places and destination across India.
5. Apart from just passenger and goods trains, Indian Railways also has some heritage and deluxe packages which are special such for tourist attraction. Some of them are Deccan Odyssey, Palace on Wheels, Golden Chariot, Royal Orient Express, The Fairy Queen, Royal Rajasthan Wheels, Heritage of Wheels and more.
Thus, one can find plenty of reasons to travel by Indian Railways and experience the rich services that it offers. The railways are not only the most reliable means of transport but also the cheapest. The rates are unimaginably low and the services offered are worthy of them. It is strongly recommended that one should travel by Indian Railways at least once to experience it.
