)
If you regularly get your directions from Google Maps, you can travel longer distances with ease now. Google on Tuesday announced the addition of Indian Railways schedules to Google Transit (GT), a feature in Google Maps which helps users plan their public transport trips quickly and easily. GT is available for Windows, Android and iOS devices, and the current update will make available information for 12,000 trains, as well as updated bus and metro routes from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune.
For a generation of Indians, who can't think beyond “Get directions” from the search engine’s locations and travel tool, the news brings welcome relief from the slow-loading IRCTC site. While Google Maps would have earlier allowed you to view door-to-door directions to your destination, along with a list of the public transport options and walking directions, only within a particular state, city or locality at a time, the inclusion of railway routes would mean the expansion of this utility beyond state boundaries on the map.
What's more, the user would also be able to access a detailed listing of arrival and departure times of trains on the same or similar routes, making it easier to plan a trip. To access this, once the start point and destination names have been entered onto the Map service, one would need to click on the “Schedule Explorer” link at the bottom of the Transit drop-down menu which appears after a search command has been given.
“Google Transit is part of our effort to make Google Maps more comprehensive, accurate and useful for millions of people around the world who take buses, trains, metros or trams to their next destination. We hope that the addition of the Indian Railways schedules pan India and updated information for eight cities to Google Transit in India will make it a little easier to plan your next trip,” said Suren Ruhela, director, Program Management, Google Maps.
Google Maps has public transportation schedules for more than one million transit stops worldwide, in 2,800 cities including New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney and has been collaborating with several public transit agencies, since 2005, to make their schedules accessible Google Maps users.
Meanwhile, the update is live already. Why not give it a try?
