Indian Railways - Facilities for International Tourists

If you are planning a trip to India here is some good news. India is one of the safest and value for money destinations in the world. Around 7 million foreign tourists visit the country every year. The booming domestic airlines are connecting every major city in India, but if you want to experience the very culture and ethos Indian railways is the best medium to travel.
Some of the most luxurious trains that allow you to relive past and experience the future are plying the tracks every day.Can you imagine that in 100 dollars you can travel to any destination boarding any non-ac coach for 21 days.

Foreign Tourist Arrival in India - Growth Rate

The Indian Railways has  dedicated bureaus in all parts of India for foreign tourists.These are to help the foreign/NRI traveler in travel planning, ticket reservation and booking or any other related query. Following is the list of cities having dedicated office for foreign travelers:

• New Delhi (International Tourist Bureau)
• Varansi (International Tourist Bureau) 
• Kolkata
• Chennai
• Bangaluru
• Ahmedabad
• Secunderabad
• Jaipur
• Jodhpur
• Agra
• Mumbai

Tourists who want to get reserved railway tickets can visit the bureaus. One should carry a valid passport. The transaction is done in US Dollars, Pound Sterling, Euros and Indian Rupee.

Foreign/NRI travellers who don't have a definite plan but want to visit India as they wish can avail the facility of INDRAIL PASS(Indian Railways Pass for Foreign/NRI Travellers). The pass enables the holder to travel over entire Indian Railways without any restriction of route or train within the specifies time. The pass doesn't guaranty reserved accommodation, however a tourist can obtain reservations against INDRAIL PASS from the reservation offices of India Railways all across India. A SEPARATE FOREIGN TOURIST QUOTA IS PROVISIONED IN TRAVEL CLASSES AND IN ALMOST ALL TRAINS FOR THE FACILITY OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS. So the general rush and crowd doesn't affect the availability of tickets for them.

For further queries one can always contact at the following address or call/fax at the numbers given below.

Address

International Tourist Bureau,
First Floor, Station Building,
New Delhi Railway Station, New Delhi- 110055
----------------------------------------
Phone :  91-11-42625156,
Fax: 91-11-23343050

THE INDRAIL PASS  is available for short duration as well as long duration.

• Half Day (12 Hours)
• One Day (24 Hours)
• Two Days (48 Hours) and
• Four Days
• Seven Days
• Fifteen Days
• 21 Days
• 30 Days
• 60 Days
• 90 Days

for the facility of visitors who arrive  in India via International flights. These passes are sold by Indian Railways via General Sales Agents abroad at Oman, Malaysia, UK, Germany, UAE, Nepal and at Kuwait, Bahrain and Columbo through Indian Airlines overseas outlets.

LIST OF GENERAL SALES AGENTS

S. No. Name Phone/Fax/e-mail 1 M/s National Travel and Tourism, P.O. Box 962, PC 113 Muttrah, Muscat, Sultanate-of-Oman Phone No. 009685666046 Fax No. 00968566125 email nttmbd@gmail.com 2 M/s city East West Travels, 23 Jalan Yapah Shak 50300, Kualalumpur, Malaysia Phone No. 0060326910903 Fax No. 0060326919829 email cewtrvl@hotmail.com 3 M/s S.D. Enterprises Ltd, 103, Wembley Park Drive, Wembley HA 98 HG, Midllx. (England) U.K. Phone No. 001819033411 Fax No. 00442089030392 email info@indianrail.co.uk 4 M/s Asra Orient, Kaisertrasse 50, D-60329, Frankfurt/ AM, Main Germany Phone No. 069253098 Fax No. 004969232045 email asra-orient@t-online.de 5 M/s.Sharjah National Travels & Tourist Agency Pvt. Ltd. P.O. Box. 17 Sharjah U.A.E Phone No. 0097165517468 Fax No. 0097165683535 email andavu@sntta.ae 6 Orient Paradise Tours & Travels Pvt. Ltd. GSA of Indian Railway in Nepal Chalkhal,Dillibazar Kathmandu, Nepal Phone No. 00977-1-4428462 Fax No. 00977-1-4437990 Email: railwaysticket@kldugargroup.com dugarnp@mos.com.np 7 (i) Indian Airlines Ltd. No. 4,Briston Complex, Bton Street, Columbo. Phone No. 00941323136 Fax No. 00941445534 (ii) Indian Airlines Ltd. M/s Dadabhai Travels , P.O Bo.387, Bahrain. Phone No. 00973223181 Fax No. 00973210191 email dadabhai@batelco.com.bh (iii) Indian Airlines. AL. Hilaliah Bldg. Alsoor street . P.O.Box.594. Safat 13006. State of Kuwait. Phone No. 009652456700 Fax No. 009652434700.