Indian Railways was established 177 years ago. Today Indian Railways is one of the largest rail network in the world. Indian Railways is estimated to have more than 68,000 kilometers of rail routes across the country providing convenient travel to passengers across India. About 23 million passengers travel by train daily in India. In such a situation, it is important for the passengers to know about some rules to make their journey smoothly. Come, let us know some general rules related to railways, about which it is necessary for every passenger to know.
chain pulling on a moving train
If you have traveled by train in India, there are high chances that you would have seen emergency alarm chains near the doors of each coach. While almost everyone has had the urge to pull the chain at one point or another, pulling it unnecessarily can get you into a lot of trouble. Indian Railways rules state that the alarm chain is only allowed to be pulled in case of an emergency such as a medical emergency, a threat to passenger safety, an accident, or if a child, an elderly or disabled person, or a companion is left behind.
You can schedule your trip while on the go
Many times it happens that due to non-availability of tickets during the peak season, passengers do not get reservation for their original destination. However, in such a situation, Indian Railways has facilitated a rule for its passengers. If the passenger has not got the ticket up to his original destination, he can extend the destination for the journey by paying additional fare by approaching TTE during the journey. Instead, the TTE may issue a ticket for onward travel, although in this case you may get a different seat.
Middle seat / middle berth rule
There is a very important rule regarding middle berth in Indian Railways train. Middle berths are those that are in between the top and bottom berths and need to be folded down from the ceiling. The rule states that passengers cannot fold the middle berth during the day as the lower and upper berths are used as seats. Passengers can sleep on the middle berth only from 10 pm to 6 am. If a passenger takes more than the time limit, the passenger in the lower berth has the right to tell you not to do so.
Two-stop rule in case of missed train
Often, there may be unfortunate incidents wherein a passenger may miss to board the train for the original boarding station. However, to give passengers a fair chance, the two-stop rule states that the ticket collector cannot transfer your seat to another passenger. At least for another hour or until the train crosses the next two stops.
Passengers cannot be disturbed after 10 pm
Let us tell you that train journey can be long and for it to be pleasant and not cumbersome it is necessary that the passengers are not disturbed during the journey. Normally passengers cannot be disturbed after 10 pm and hence TTE is also required to check tickets well before the scheduled time. Another rule is that all lights except the night light in the coach need to be switched off so that the passengers can rest properly. This is the reason why even the food served in trains cannot be served after 10 pm.
Fixed price for packaged food items sold in trains
If you travel in buses or aeroplanes, you must have noticed that the prices of products are often much higher than their actual MRP. This rule is not there in trains under Indian Railways. The administration has laid down rules regarding pricing of packaged food items such as snacks, meals and beverages in trains to ensure that passengers are not overcharged and to meet the quality standards of the product. If any vendor is found indulging in such unethical practices, he may be reported, following which he may be fined heavily or his license may be cancelled.
avoid making loud noises in the train
Some serious guidelines have been issued by the Indian Railways for passengers traveling in trains, one of the rules is to ban loud noise in the train. In order to avoid disturbing passengers, all passengers are expected to control the noise level. If you are watching a video or listening to music on your phone or any other device, it is recommended that you keep the volume down or use headphones or earphones. It is also advised to keep your voice low on phone calls so as not to disturb other passengers. On-board Traveling Ticket Examiner (TTE), catering staff and other railway personnel are generally tasked with guiding people in following the rules.
