www.IRCTC.co.in = Confusion

There are several ways to get tickets in India, which is convenient, however none of them are intuitive. Lets start with online reservations. First off a town may have more than one name, in the 1990s the government decided to make India more Indian by changing many of the names. Bombay became Mumbai, Pondicherry became Puducherry, Calcutta, Kolkatta to name a few, added to this the local name of the place may not be the official national name. This means I often get to do a wiki search to find out possible town names to find the station names. After I have the start station and end station I have to find out if a train actually goes between the stations or if there may have to be a junction, as the online system can’t figure that out. I have to search for each of 5 types of seats as some trains only have seats and some only have sleepers. After finally finding a train between the two stations I have to see if there are seats available, if there are I can reserve a ticket online. If not I have to pick a different day or get on the waitlist for a possible ticket later. To buy 2 tickets took me 6 hours in an internet café, granted I had to figure out plans and everything, but this gives you some idea. You can buy tickets at the station but there are lines and communication problems to deal with. At least at the internet café you can check the wiki for town names.