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Southern Railway, in its present form, came into existence on 14th April 1951 through the merger of the three state railways namely Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway, and the Mysore state railway.
Southern Railway's present network extends over a large area of India's Southern Peninsula, covering the states of Tamilnadu, Kerala, Pondicherry,and a small portion of Andhra Pradesh. Serving these naturally plentiful and culturally rich southern states, the SR extends from Mangalore on the west coast and Kanniyakumari in the south to Renigunta in the North West and Gudur in the North East.
Headquartered at Chennai, the Southern Railway comprises of the following five divisions.
1. Chennai
2. Tiruchirapalli
3. Madurai
4. Palghat
5. Trivandrum
The SR has a total staff strength of 1,05,111.
IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS
HEADQUARTERS OFFICE
Name Office Telephone No.
Shri. Thomas Varghese
General Manager 044-25353157
R.Gopinathan Nair
Additional General Manager and Director Public Grievences 044-25353743
M.S.Jayanth
Chief Commercial Manager 044-25353148
Abraham Jacob
Chief Operations Manager 044-25355829
S.AnanthaRaman
Chief Passenger Transportation Manager 044-25353175
S.Krishnamoorthy
Chief Public Relations Officer 044-25353455
IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS
DIVISIONAL OFFICES
Name Office Telephone No.
CHENNAI DIVISION
Dr.G.Narayanan
Divisional Railway Manager 044-25355900
D.U.Rao
Additional Divisional Railway Manager 044-25358131
A.Selvaraj
Additional Divisional Railway Manager 044-25351136
MADURAI DIVISION
Shri. B.N.Rajasekar
Divisional Railway Manager 0452-2604604
M.Suyambulingam
Additional Divisional Railway Manager 0452-2604714
PALGHAT DIVISION
Shri. S.K.Sharma
Divisional Railway Manager 0491-2555296
M.Sivanandam
Additional Divisional Railway Manager 0491-2555343
TRICHY DIVISION
Shri.D.K.SARAF
Divisional Railway Manager 0431-2411204
S.Balachandran
Additional Divisional Railway Manager 0431-2416105
TRIVANDRUM DIVISION
S.Vijayakumaran
Divisional Railway Manager
You can book your ticket for any train on the Indian Railways computerised passenger reservation system (PRS) network from any originating station or train passing through system station to any destination. Reservation can be made subject to distance restriction and availability of quotas.
Advance Reservation Period
You can reserve your tickets 60 days in advance, excluding the date of journey. At intermediate stations where the train arrives the following day, reservation can be done 61 days in advance.
Status of your ticket
The reservation status will be indicated on your ticket. If your ticket is confirmed, your coach and berth numbers will be mentioned on your ticket in all classes other than First class and AC First class. For these, the word CONFIRMED will be printed alongside the class of travel.
If your ticket is in the RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation) or in the waiting list (WL), the same will be mentioned on the ticket. You can board the reserved compartment with an RAC ticket. You will be provided with sitting accommodation initially and allotted a berth in case of vacancies.
If you are holding a waitlisted ticket, check the status of your ticket before boarding the reserved compartment of the train. If the waitlisted ticket has not been confirmed or upgraded to RAC, please do not board the reserved coaches. In case you do, you will be fined / detrained.
Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)
This is a telephone enquiry system which facilitates enquiries relating to reservation availability and current status of tickets. IVRS is available at major stations. Always quote the 10 digit Passenger Name Record (PNR) Number, given at the left hand side (Top corner) of your computerised ticket.
The IVRS telephone numbers may be ascertained from the Station Manager/ Reservation Office locally.
Current status of ticket can also be obtained from the Indian Railways website www.indianrail.gov.in. This site also provides real - time enquiries relating to availability of seats and berths in a train between a pair of stations, train timings, train fares etc.
Online Booking
You can also book your tickets by logging on to the web site of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website: www.irctc.co.in. Booking procedures are simple and user friendly.
Credit Card Booking
For your convenience, Indian Railways have nominated counters where you can reserve your tickets through credit cards. This facility is presently available only at major computerised reservation Centres. An additional service charge of Rs. 30/- per ticket is levied when you reserve your ticket on a credit card.
Break of Journey
You can avail of the Break journey facility if you hold a single journey ticket for distances more than 500 Km. You can break your journey at any station enroute after travelling 500 Km from the starting station. For instance, if you have a ticket from Chennai to New Delhi, you can break your journey at any station enroute; once you have travelled the first 500 km from Chennai may be at Nagpur or at Bhopal.
Break Journey on Reserved Tickets:
Break of journey shall not be permitted short of the station upto which reservation has been done. If a passenger seeking reservation on a through ticket requests for break journey enroute, the names of the stations where the break journey is requested must be clearly indicated on the requisition form. Reservation in this case will be done upto break journey station only.
Number of Break Journeys Permissible:
For Tickets upto 1000 Km One Break of Journey
Tickets for 1000 Km and beyond Two Breaks of Journey.
Maximum number of days allowed at break of Journey station:
During the break of your journey, you can stay for two days at the intended station excluding the day of arrival and day of departure.
Remember to get your ticket endorsed by the Station Manager / Ticket Collector at the station where you intend to break your journey, both while breaking the journey and before recommencing.
Note: Any halt at intermediate stations for less than 24 hours to board a connecting train will not be treated as break of journey. However endorsement on the ticket should be obtained in all cases while breaking journey and also before recommencement of the journey, from the staff on duty to officially confirm these dates.
This facility is not available to passengers travelling by Rajdhani or Shatabdi Express trains.
Advancement or Postponement of Journey
The date of journey on confirmed / RAC / Waitlisted tickets can be advanced or postponed in the same class on payment of fresh reservation charges. This facility can be availed only once subject to availability of accommodation. If you want to advance the date of your journey, you should surrender your ticket during the working hours and up to six hours before the scheduled departure of the train in which fresh reservation is required. For postponement, the ticket must be surrendered atleast 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the train in which reservation is presently held.
Note: If a ticket, on which advancement or postponement of journey has been made, is subsequently presented for cancellation, refund will be granted after retaining two sets of cancellation charges.
Change in Boarding Station
Change in boarding station is permitted on a written request to the station manager of the original boarding station or any computerised reservation centre, at least 24 hours before the departure of the train. However, no refund is permissible for the unused portion of the journey.
Rail Travellers Service Agents (RTSAs)
You can book your tickets through authorised RTSA approved by zonal railways on payment of prescribed charges. No separate reservation quota has been assigned to these agents and their staff have to take their turn in the reservation office for purchasing tickets like any other passenger.
The details of authorised service charges are given below:
Classes Per Passenger
All classes other than
Second Class Seat/ Sleeper Class Rs.25/-
For Second Class Seat / Sleeper Class Rs.15/-
FOREIGN TOURISTS / INDRAIL PASS
Foreign tourists, who wish to experience India by train, can enjoy the special facilities earmarked for them. Several important trains have a special quota for foreign tourists which can be booked 360 days in advance. This facility can be availed by purchasing Indrail pass on payment in US Dollars or Pound Sterling or Euro currencies. Tourists without foreign currency will be allotted the special quota on production of the exchange certificates issued by any nationalised bank. At the time of reservation, the passport number and the country of origin should be mentioned in the reservation form. Major reservation centres have special cells to help foreign tourists in planning their itinerary, reserve their tickets and render any assistance required.
The Indrail pass has been created especially for foreign tourists and Indian nationals residing abroad. This ticket is available for a specified time period from half a day to 90 days. Indrail passes should be used within one year of issue. Validity period starts from the date of the first train journey and ends on the midnight of the last day of validity. During the period of validity, foreign tourists can travel from anywhere to anywhere on the Indian Railways network any number of times without route or train restrictions and without payment of any additional charges. Out-of-turn reservation confirmations are also accorded for Indrail Pass Holders.
Indrail passes are available for sale at nominated Railway stations and also through General Sales Agent in Bangkok, Dhaka, Durban, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Kuala Lumpur, London, Muscat, New York, Paris, Port Louis, Sharjah, Sydney, Colombo, Tokyo, Toronto etc.,
Tatkal Scheme
To meet the urgent travel requirements of the passengers, who plan their journey at short notice, Tatkal reservation facility is provided in all Mail / Express trains including Rajdhani, Shatabdi / Jan Jhalabdi trains. The reservation under this scheme is available only for full fare tickets and not for concessional tickets.
The reservation for the Tatkal quota starts at 8.00 a.m on the day preceding the date of Journey and the booking will be done on First come, First served basis.
No proof of identity card is required either at the time of booking or during the journey. Name change is not permitted on the bookings made under Tatkal scheme.
The facility is now available in AC 2 Tier Sleeper, AC 3 Tier Sleeper, AC Chair Car and Sleeper Class.
Under the Tatkal scheme of booking, ticket will be issued from the originating to the terminating station of the train. Any passenger wanting to book or board from an intermediate station will be issued these tickets from originating station to the destination of the train with special permission to board from an enroute station.
Refund on Tatkal tickets
Under normal circumstances, no refund is admissible on the tickets booked under Tatkal Scheme.
However, full refund of fare and Tatkal charges will be granted on the tickets under the following circumstances :
If the train is delayed by more than three hours from the train originating station.
In case of non-attachment of coach in which the Tatkal accommodation had been earmarked and the passenger has not been provided accommodation in the same class.
If the passenger has been accommodated in a lower class and therefore does not want to travel. In case the passenger travels in a lower class, refund of difference of fare and Tatkal charges if any will be granted.
No refund will be granted in cases where Tatkal coach has not been attached but where the accommodation has been provided in the normal train service itself in the same class.
Circular Journey Tickets
For passengers who wish to go on pilgrimages or sight seeing trips, Indian Railways provide the facility of Circular Journey Tickets. These tickets are issued for all journeys (other than normal and reasonably direct routes) which begin and end at the same station. Circular Journey Tickets can be purchased for all classes of travel. A maximum of eight breaks of journey will be admissible on these tickets. The endorsement of break journey is not required on circular journey tickets.
Standard Circular Journey Tickets are also offered by Zonal Railways. The details of route, fare etc., for these tickets can be obtained from nominated stations / Headquarters Offices of Zonal Railway and also from the Zonal Railway websites. If the standard routes do not suit the needs of passengers they can approach the Zonal Railways Headquarters Office to obtain rate advice for issue of circular journey tickets according to their own chosen itinerary.
Circular Journey Tickets are issued at a fare considerably lower than the regular point-to-point fare. These rates are calculated on Mail / Express fares. The validity period of the circular journey ticket will be calculated based on the distance of the ticket. The ticket will be valid from the date of commencement of journey indicated on the ticket. The journey should be completed with in the validity period of the ticket mentioned therein.
Booking Of Tourist Cars & Reserved Carriages
Indian Railways provide exclusive coaches that can be attached to regular trains for large groups travelling together and availing the convenience of travelling according to ones own itinerary. These Tourist Cars are available in Second Class, Sleeper Class, First Class and Air-conditioned First Classes. Special Coaches cannot be attached to certain trains due to operational restrictions.
Application for such coaches must reach the Chief Passenger Transportation Manager in the Zonal Head Quarters of the tour originating station, at least 30 days in advance and not more than 6 months prior to the commencement of the journey. The application must include details such as destination, route to be followed, halts enroute and the specific train to which the Tourist Car / Railway Carriage is to be attached. An initial payment of Rs.10, 000/- per coach as Security Deposit is to be made to the Station Manager of the originating station. In special cases, coaches can be arranged at shorter notice with the approval of competent authority.
Booking Of Special Train
For the convenience of passengers travelling in very large groups, Indian Railways also allow exclusive booking of special trains for a minimum distance of 500 kms one way and 1000 Kms for a round trip with a minimum composition of 15 coaches. The following are the guidelines:-
An application in the prescribed format is to be submitted to the Chief Passenger Transportation Manager of the zonal railway through the Station Manager of the station from where the journey is to commence.
The application should give the required details such as destination, route to be followed and halts enroute.
The application must be submitted atleast 30 days in advance and not more than 6 months prior to the commencement of the journey.
The application should be accompanied by a Security Deposit of Rs.1, 50,000/- per train (Rs.10, 000 per coach)
Mail/Express adult fares will be levied on point-to-point basis for the carrying capacity of the coach or actual number of passengers travelling, whichever is more. No concession will be granted to students / senior citizens / freedom fighters etc.
The cost of booking a special train will vary with the distance to be covered. The charges will include fare, 15% service charge on fare, safety surcharge, detention charge empty haulage charge etc. The stipulated charges must be paid atleast 48 hours in advance of the departure of the special train.
Procedure for Refund of Security Deposit
Claim should be submitted within 15 days of completion of programme, with original documents. For delayed submission between 15 days and within 6 months, competent authority may consider 50% refund based on the merit of the case. No refund will be granted if the claim is submitted after six months from the date of completion of the programme.
Passengers to kindly note
The Railway administration shall make every possible effort to ensure reserved accommodation by any particular train in the relevant class as requested by a passenger. The Railway administration however does not guarantee reserved accommodation whether seat / berth / compartment / coaches by any particular train (or) class and will not admit any claim for compensation for inconvenience, losses or extra expenses due to such accommodation not being provided though asked for due to any last minute changes in train composition and for any other reason beyond the control of the Railway Administration. The reserved tickets are made available only on this express condition. Similarly, the information contained in these pages do not substitute the compendium of the various rules on the subject. These are a digest to serve more as guidance and help to the passengers.
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indianrail.gov.in
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