10 Major Indian Railway Rules You Must Know About
Indian Railway is a vast rail network. Millions of people travel by it daily. There are certain rules for Indian railways to ensure each passenger gets the best travel experience and the rail network functions well. You must be aware of these Indian Railway rules if you are a train traveller. So, you don’t get stuck in any problem and use them if you face any problem while your train travelling. These rules are for the convenience of onboard passengers. Here are some major train rules of India that come in use while journeying by train.
Indian Railway Rule for Rail Passengers
1. Indian Railway Loud Sound Rule
This rule is over playing loud music and talking at high volume over phone calls on train. The rule came when the Indian railways received multiple complaints against people talking on the phone loudly and playing music without earphones. On-board TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner), catering staff, and other railway personnel have been instructed to maintain the public etiquette in trains and guide people if they are creating problems for co-passengers.
2. Luggage Rule in Train
Do you know just like flights, there are also luggage rules in Indian Railways? If you are travelling in train from an AC coach, you can carry a maximum of 70 kg luggage, sleeper class 40 kg and second class 35 kg luggage free. With extra luggage charges in the AC class, you can carry 150 Kg, in a sleeper 80kg, and a second sitting 70 kg bag and baggage.
To know more about this Indian rule, you can read IRCTC Luggage Rules: Limit, Extra Charges, And Safety Precautions.
3. Middle Berth Rule
If you are assigned a middle berth on a train. You can sleep in your berth only from 10 PM to 6 AM. You can’t keep your berth up more than this sleeping hours duration. If you do so, your co-passenger with a lower berth can stop you. Moreover, if your fellow passengers sit more than the sleeping hours in the lower berth, You can ask them to sleep so that you can open up your berth.
4. Chain Pulling Rule of Indian Railways
When we see chains on the train, we often wish to experiment. But do you know pulling a chain and making the train stop without any reason is a legal offence? The alarm chain system in the train is for emergencies. The chain pulling in a train is allowed only if a companion, child, elderly or disabled person misses the train, any kind of accident occurs in train and other emergencies. There should be a solid reason for pulling the chain in the moving train.
5. Journey Extension Rule By Train
Many times, passengers book their tickets for one or two stations before their desired train deboarding station because of the unavailability of the ticket or any other reason. Sometimes, it also happens that passengers miss their deboarding station. In such cases, travellers can ask the ticket collector to make a ticket for an extended journey. After this, the traveller may need to change the seat and coach according to the availability of berths.
6. Indian Railway ‘After 10 PM’ Rule
Indian Railways night rule is to ensure passengers can sleep well. These rules are:
- TTE can’t come to check your ticket after 10 PM.
- All lights should be switched off except the night light.
- Passengers travelling in groups can’t interact after 10 PM.
- Lower-berth Passengers can’t say anything if a middle-berth co-passenger opens up their seat.
- Online food in train services can not serve food after 10 PM. However, you can pre-order your meal or breakfast in train even at night with e-catering services.
7. Two Station Boarding Rules of Train
If passengers miss the train at their designated boarding point. They can board the train till it crosses two railway stations. Since you have a reserved ticket, TTE is not allowed to allot your seat to any other passenger until the train passes through two next-rail stops. However, when the train crosses through the next two stops, TTE can allot the seat to any passenger with RAC PNR status ticket.
8. Waiting List Ticket Travel Rule
Passengers can travel with a waitlisted ticket if they have bought it from the PRS counter. However, passengers with the waitlisted status of e-ticket are not allowed to board the train. As the railways refund the amount of the ticket after the chart preparation. Hence, with the waitlist IRCTC PNR status of the e-ticket, you will be treated as a person without a ticket and treated accordingly.
9. En-route Journey Break Rule
Do you know? You can take one en-route journey break while travelling with Indian Railways for more than 500 km. Moreover, you can take two journey breaks for over 1000 kilometres. The journey break will be for two days, excluding the train boarding and deboarding days. However, the journey break is not allowed in certain trains such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and Jan Shatabdi express trains.
10. Circular Ticket Journey Rule
If you are travelling by train to sites famous for tourism. You can take circular journey tickets. These tickets provide travel flexibility and can be issued for all travel classes. You can buy the circular ticket for any standard route and access the 8-journey break. Moreover, you can also inform the zonal railway about your itinerary and get the circular journey ticket that suits your travel requirements.
Handing these rules will help you throughout your journey. However, Indian Railways keeps changing its rule from time to time. RailMitra, a railway-friendly platform, updates rail passengers regularly on it via rail news. You can stay tuned with it.
What are Rules Related to Indian Railway That Every Indian Should Know?
Indian Railway loud music rule, luggage rule, circular ticket journey rule, journey break rule, and middle berth rule are some major Indian railway rules you should be aware of. Apart from this, you should also know the railway concession rule, ticket booking and cancellation rules to make your train travel planning stress-free. Moreover, smoking, drinking, and doing any activity against public acceptance in train compartments and carrying any inflammable object with you are not allowed and are against the Indian railway rules.
How to Ensure I Travel by Train Without Any Hassle?
Follow all Indian Railway rules and ensure you travel by train safely. Moreover, if you are breaking any rule because of an uncontrollable situation, you can inform the authorised railway person by yourself and get the solution. For example, you can talk to TTE to issue your journey ticket if you are travelling by train without a ticket. The act will save you from the penalty and other punishment listed in the ticketless train travel rule.
Besides, pre-planning the journey is always the best way to ensure hassle-free train travel. So that you don’t need to break any rules like travelling on the train without a ticket, carrying over luggage etc. You can take help from RailMitra in planning your journey.
RailMitra is an AI-based rail inquiry app that helps passengers to check the train schedule, PNR status, live train running status, and many more. The app also allows passengers to order food in train online and satiate their hunger while travelling.