Getting around India by train...

	The platform at Amritsar before departure of the Shane Punjab Express for Delhi...

Without a shadow of a doubt, the best way to see India is not on a plane at 35,000 feet, but at ground level on the incredible Indian railway system.  In fact, no visit to India is complete without experiencing the bustle of Indian railway stations and a safe & comfortable journey on an Indian express train with the tea seller's welcome cry of 'Chai, chai, garam chai' coming down the aisle.  You can safely forget media images of overcrowded suburban trains with people sitting on the roof.  On a long distance express in an AC Chair car or an AC1 or AC2 sleeper, all seats and berths are reserved and it’s a safe, civilised, cheap & comfortable way to get around India.  Even long distances such as Bombay to Delhi, Delhi to Varanasi or Delhi to Udaipur can be covered more time-effectively than flying, using overnight AC Sleeper trains, city centre to city centre, saving a hotel bill into the bargain.

Train times, fares, tickets & information...

  Train routes & maps

  How to check Indian train times & fares

  Buying tickets: Tourist Quotas, RAC, Waitlists & Tatkal

 How to buy Indian train tickets online

  Tips for train travel in India

  The 8 classes of seat & sleeper on Indian trains

  Buying & using an IndRail pass

 Where to go in India

  Cruise trains & the Palace on Wheels

  International train, bus & ferry links from India

  Travel from Europe to India overland

  Guidebooks 

  Hotels in India

  Flights to India

Sponsored links...

Children aged 0 to 4 travel free, children aged 5 to 11 travel at half fare, children aged 12 and over pay full fare.

Shatabdi Express = Premier daytime train, special fare payable, meals included. 

Rajdhani Express = Premier overnight train, special fare payable, meals included.

Tips for finding train times & fares at www.indianrail.gov.in...

• Look for 'Trains Between Imp. Stations' at the top of their home page.  This will give you train times & fares between all the most important places in India.

• Do you need to change trains?  www.indianrail.gov.in will only show direct trains.  If there isn't a direct train you'll need to guess at a likely interchange station and make separate enquiries for both sections of the journey.  For example, for Varanasi to Jaisalmer, try asking for Varanasi to Delhi and then Delhi to Jaisalmer, or Varanasi to Jaipur then Jaipur to Jaisalmer.  For journeys to Simla the interchange station is Kalka, for trips to Darjeeling it is New Jalpaiguri.

• City names:  Bombay appears as Mumbai, Madras as Chennai, Calcutta as Kolkata.  Delhi is still Delhi, at least for now - forgive me if I stick to the familiar English language names!

• Delhi:  The main city centre station in Delhi is New Delhi, so look for New Delhi as well as Delhi.  Delhi Junction station is in central old Delhi. H.Nizamudin and Sarai Rohilla stations are secondary Delhi stations, further from the city centre and best reached by taxi.

• Bombay:  There are several stations in Bombay, but the most important (and impressive) is the magnificent colonial Victoria Terminus, now officially called CST.  So start by looking for trains from Mumbai CST.  If you don't see any suitable trains, try Bombay Central (Mumbai BCT) then finally Dadar which is a little way out of the centre.

• Calcutta:  The main station in Calcutta is across the river in Howrah, often just shown as 'Howrah'.  Trains from Calcutta to New Jalpaiguri (the railhead for Darjeeling) use Calcutta Sealdah station, often just shown as 'Sealdah'.

• Agra:  The main station for fast trains is Agra Cantonment (AGRA CANTT), which is an autorickshaw or taxi ride from the Taj Mahal, although Agra Fort is nearer the town centre.

• Goa:  Goa isn't a town or city, it's a region.  The main stations in  Goa are Madgaon and Vasco da Gama, so use these when you check for train times.

• How many nights?  If the system shows a train running overnight, make sure it isn't actually two or more nights.  The journey from Bombay to Calcutta or from Delhi to Madras is about 36 hours, i.e. typically two nights. On the other hand, travelling on a fast train, Bombay to Delhi or Calcutta to Delhi takes just one night.

• The 8 different classes...  There are 8 different classes on Indian Railways, but not all of them are available on every train.  There is an illustrated guide to what each class is like further down this page.  For overnight journeys, most visitors choose AC2 (2nd class 2-tier air-conditioned, shown as '2A') or if they can afford it, AC1 (1st class air-conditioned, shown as '1A'), although more adventurous backpackers might choose sleeper class (SL).  AC3 is also fine.  For daytime journeys, air-conditioned chair car ('CC') is a good choice where it's available.

• Rajdhani Express trains are excellent extra-fast air-conditioned long-distance trains linking Delhi with regional capitals such as Bombay, Calcutta, etc.  These are the best trains to take:  The Delhi to Bombay and Delhi to Calcutta Rajdhani Expresses leave in the early evening and arrive in the morning, so actually save time compared to flying.  Meals are included in the fare, served at your seat.  The Delhi-Bombay Rajdhani uses brand-new German-designed coaches, see this link for photos.  Highly recommended, they beat flying, hands-down!

• Shatabdi Express trains are excellent fast air-conditioned daytime trains running on routes such as Delhi - Agra, Delhi - Jaipur and Delhi-Kalka with air-con chair class and executive air-con chair class.  Refreshments are included in the fare.  Again, these are the best trains to take, highly recommended.

• Duronto Expresses...  Another recommended train category, 'Duronto' means 'rebel'.  These are very fast long-distance trains linking major city pairs non-stop, often faster than the equivalent Rajdhani.  Routes include Bombay-Calcutta, Delhi-Calcutta, Bombay-Calcutta, Delhi-Lucknow, Bombay-Jaipur, although not always running every day.  Duronto Expresses are all-air-conditioned, with AC1, AC2 and AC3 sleepers, although the carriages may not be as well-appointed as the premier Rajdhani Express on the same route. 

• You may find the privately-run Indian train website www.cleartrip.com easier to use, see below.

Buying tickets:  RAC, Waitlists & Tourist Quotas

Do you need a reservation?

Yes, you do.  You need to make a seat or berth reservation for all long-distance journeys on Indian trains, you cannot simply turn up and hop on.  Reservations are now completely computerised.  Indeed, according to an Indian professor with whom I shared a compartment, computerisation saved him 50% of his travel costs as he had always had to pay the same again in bribes to get a reservation!

Do trains get fully-booked?

Yes, they do, often weeks or even months in advance, so you should make reservations as far in advance as possible.  You'll see TV screens in the reservation offices in major cities showing berth availability on the main trains from that city over the next few weeks.  In fact, if you go to www.indianrail.gov.in and click 'Availability at major stations' then 'Earliest date of available berths' you can see the next date on which berths are available on key trains leaving each of the most important stations.  For example, today is 29 January, and I can see that the earliest date for which I can buy an AC2 ticket on the Shiv Ganga Express to New Delhi is 6 March.  Although if I travelled in AC3 I could buy tickets for 28 February.  However, now for the good news.  On many popular trains there's a special Foreign Tourist quota which gives foreigners and IndRail passholders preferential treatment.

When do reservations open?

Bookings for most Indian long-distance trains currently open 60 days before departure.  It was 60 days until 2008, when it was experimentally extended to 90 days, then it was experimentally extended even further to 120 days in 2012, but reduced again to 60 days in 2013 to make ticket 'scalping' by agencies harder.  Some short-distance inter-city trains may open for bookings less than this, for example Delhi-Kalka & Kalka-Simla may open only 30 days or in some cases just 15 days ahead.

The Foreign Tourist Quota...

In addition to the normal General (GN) quota of seats or berths available to anyone, many important trains have a small Foreign Tourist (FT) quota of seats or berths available only to foreign tourists and IndRail passholders.  This is very useful:  A train which is theoretically fully booked may still have a few FT berths available within a day or two of departure so that foreign travellers can travel around at short notice.  However, it's not foolproof.  There is a foreign tourist quota on only 200 or so trains a day out of a total of 9,000 daily trains, and the quota might be just 2 places, seldom more than 12 places, in one or two specific classes.  So even using this special quota, you may have to wait a day or so before there is a berth available to your chosen destination in your chosen class.  Tickets issued against the tourist quota must be paid for in US Dollars, pounds sterling, or rupees backed by an exchange certificate proving they have been obtained from a bank or bureau de change in exchange for foreign currency.  Rupees backed by an ATM receipt and foreign bank card are usually sufficient.  You cannot book tickets from the Foreign Tourist quota online, only at the station or via an IndRail pass agency, so if you want to book Indian train tickets online you'll have to book places from the General (GN) or Tatkal (CK) quotas with the same availability (or lack of it) as for any Indian traveller.

Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) & Waitlisted (WL) places...

Indian Railways have a unique system:  After a train becomes fully booked with passengers with confirmed reservations (CNF), a certain number of tickets in each class are sold as 'Reservation Against Cancellation' (RAC).  And after all the RAC places have been sold, further prospective passengers are 'Waitlisted' (WL).

With an RAC ticket, you are allowed to board the train and travel.  Whatever happens, you know you're safely booked on the train.  So if you're offered an RAC ticket, take it, even though you won't have a specific seat or berth number at this stage.  In most cases, one of the confirmed passengers will cancel at some point before departure, and you will be promoted from RAC to CNF with a confirmed seat or berth on the train.  Your name will then be shown against a specific seat or berth number on the reservation list pinned on the notice board at the boarding station on the day of travel, or you can check your status online.  A waitlisted passenger will then be promoted from WL to RAC in your place.  Even if nobody cancels, with an RAC ticket you are allowed to board the train and will usually be given a place to sit (but not a berth) in a carriage of the relevant class.  For example, two RAC passengers might have to share a 2-seat space that would normally convert into a berth for one person.  In most cases, at least one of the confirmed passengers will fail to show up for the train, and the on-board staff will then allocate the spare berth to the first RAC passenger, and the second RAC passenger may then find himself with a berth to himself, solving two RAC passengers' problems!  Obviously, in the worst case scenario, if there aren't any no-shows the RAC passengers will have to sit up all night, or perhaps take turns using the berth to snooze.

With a WL ticket you cannot travel, unless you are promoted to RAC or CNF before departure.  However, with a low-numbered WL ticket you've a good chance of this happening.  For example, one traveller reports that they had WL places between WL1 and WL10 on numerous trips, but always successfully got promoted to CNF with a confirmed place on the train, usually in the 24 hours before departure as that's when all the movement takes place.  Just keep checking your status online.  And even if you're only promoted to RAC, you can at least now travel, see the paragraph above.

How to check your current status:  You can confirm the current status of your booking as WL, RAC or CNF at www.indianrail.gov.in/pnr_stat.html (or if you've booked with cleartrip.com, www.cleartrip.com/trains/pnr) by entering the PNR number on your ticket, but remember that things can change even on the day of departure.  In fact, most movement happens in the 24 hours before departure.  When the reservation chart is produced on departure day, unsold tickets in various special quotas may be released, and WL passengers promoted to RAC and RAC passengers promoted to CNF.  What a system!  Detailed explanation of the WL & RAC system, well worth reading! 

Tatkal places...

To allow travel at short notice on trains that often become fully-booked weeks before departure, Indian Railways introduced a system called Tatkal (Hindi for 'immediate').  A number of tickets on key trains are held back and released at 10:00 one day before departure (originally 72 hours before, reduced to 2 days in August 2009 and just 1 day in 2011), then sold with a Rs75-Rs300 extra Tatkal charge.  If there's tourist quota places available then the Tatkal system may be irrelevant for you, but if you can't get a tourist quota place, a Tatkal place may be useful.  Tatkal places can also be booked online.

Tourist reservation bureaux...

The main stations in big cities and tourist centres such as New Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Agra, Jaipur and Varanasi have an International Tourist Bureau where foreign travellers can book trains away from the crowds and queues at the normal booking office.  There is also a 24-hour rail booking office at Delhi International Airport.  For a list of stations with an International Tourist Bureau and their opening times, visit www.indianrail.gov.in, select 'Information' then 'International Tourist'.  Ignore anyone who tells you that the reservations office is closed, but their travel agency across the street can sell you a ticket.

Identifying your train & carriage:  The locomotive backs onto the Jaisalmer to Delhi Express.  The yellow signboard on the end carriage states the train name and number, clearly identifying the train.  Station nameboards are also clearly shown at every station.		An AC2 sleeper car on the Delhi-Varanasi express.  The yellow boards on the coach side tell you the train number and route, so you know you've found the right train.  Under the destination boards, the small yellow square shows the coach number.

How to buy Indian train tickets online

Indian trains often get fully-booked weeks in advance, so it's worth booking before you get to India if you have limited time or need to be on a particular train soon after your arrival.  You can buy tickets online at privately-run website Cleartrip.com using Visa or MasterCard, or if you have an Amex card you can buy direct from the official Indian Railways ticket sales website, irctc.co.in.  The process has become more bureaucratic recently, it at first seems that you need an Indian mobile number, but the workaround is explained here...

Option 1:  Buy Indian train tickets online at www.cleartrip.com.

Who are Cleartrip.com?  www.cleartrip.com is a private company which has been allowed to link their website to the official IRCTC Indian Railways reservation & ticketing system.  It's probably the easiest & simplest website to use to buy Indian train tickets online, but more importantly it's now the only one that accepts foreign MasterCard & Visa cards.  IRCTC themselves only accept foreign Amex & Indian Visa & MasterCard, so Cleartrip is the site to use.

How to register & activate a Cleartrip account...

• Registration is now a bit trickier than it was...  Cleartrip's registration process used to be simple.  But as of early 2012, IRCTC has insisted that anyone using Cleartrip must also sign up for an IRCTC account.  The Cleartrip website bundles the registration for a Cleartrip account and for an IRCTC account together, so you only need to use the Cleartrip website but will end up with two linked accounts.  However, IRCTC requires you to enter an Indian mobile phone number to which an activation code for the IRCTC account will be sent, and you probably don't have an Indian mobile phone.  But don't worry, there's a workaround for this, by emailing their customer care department with a scan of your passport.  This is all to do with stopping the illegal re-sale of train tickets.  So to buy Indian train tickets online, follow this step by step process carefully:

• Step 1:  Go to www.cleartrip.com and select Trains at the top.  Start an enquiry for the journey you want to book.

• Indian long-distance trains open for bookings 60 days before departure (they opened 90 days ahead 2008-2012, this was extended to 120 days in 2012 but reduced again to 60 days in 2013).  Some shorter-distance inter-city trains open less than this, for example Delhi-Kalka & Kalka-Simla generally open 30 days ahead.  You cannot book before bookings open.

• Remember that Cleartrip will only book direct trains, it can't book journeys involving a change of train.  So you'll need to book Delhi to Simla as two separate trips, for example, Delhi to Kalka then Kalka to Simla.  You'll need to select a class, see the explanation of the different classes here.  AC2 or for daytime journeys, AC Chair car, is the normal class used by most western visitors.

• Step 2:  In the search results, find the train you want and click 'Check availability & book'.  A pop-up appears asking for your email address.  Enter it.

• Step 3:  It now asks you to register for an IRCTC account (if you haven't already got one). 

  Enter your email address as the user name for Cleartrip

  Enter the user name you want to use for your IRCTC account, 3 to 10 characters without any spaces.

  Enter a dummy 10-digit mobile number e.g. '01234567890'.

  Enter a dummy zip-code e.g. '123456' as it won't accept UK-style postcodes.

  Change 'India' to 'United Kingdom' or wherever you live.  Change 'state name' to 'Others' at the bottom of the list.  

  When finished, click 'Sign in or register'.

• Step 4:  Now check your emails, as you will have been sent a confirmation email by IRCTC with subject 'SUCCESSFUL REGISTRATION of [your user name] for IRCTC Bookings'.  It contains an Email OTP (Email One Time Password).  You'll also have been sent an SMS message with the equally vital SMS OTP, but obviously you won't get this, as it will have been sent to a +91 Indian version of the dummy mobile phone number you entered.  You may also get an email from Cleartrip, asking you to change your password - do this right away, this is easy enough.

• Step 5:  Now send an email to IRCTC customer care (care@irctc.co.in, or try wsoperations@irctc.co.in) quoting your new IRCTC user name (remember that it's case-sensitive), attaching a scan of your passport, and asking them to send you the SMS OTP by email.  The passport scan must be less than 1Mb in size and emailed as an attachment, not embedded in the email.  You'll receive an immediate automated reply, and you'll eventually receive an email from their customer care team with the all-important SMS OTP.  Some people receive this within 24-36 hours with no problem, others spend a week having to badger them with chase-up emails - but just do what you have to, but get them to send you the necessary SMS OTP!  Ignore any comments in the email from IRCTC about only accepting Amex cards, as you'll be using Cleatrip with Visa or MasterCard, won't you!

• Step 6:  Now pay attention, this is important!  Go back to the 'SUCCESSFUL REGISTRATION of ... for IRCTC Bookings' email.  Look for the link a little way down the email that says 'In order to Verify for partner website and Activate your account please click here', and click it.  To save you the bother of looking through your emails, this is the link you need, at least until they change it:  www.cleartrip.com/trains/irctc/account/activate.  Do not use any other log-in page or train booking page until you have activated and linked your IRCTC and Cleartrip accounts on this specific activation page.

• Step 7:  A Cleartrip activation page now opens, enter your IRCTC 'Email OTP' and 'SMS OTP' one-time passwords to activate your IRCTC account on the Cleartrip website and at the same time permanently link your Cleartrip and IRCTC accounts.

• Step 8:  You can now proceed with bookings using Cleartrip.com and foreign Visa or MasterCard credit cards.  I have successfully registered at Cleartrip this way, and bought Indian train tickets with my UK-issued Visa card.  Feedback is appreciated!

• Some people sail through this process without a problem, others seem to have problems.  However, one possible source of these problems has been identified.  If you get the error message 'Mobile OTP invalid. Please correct your mobile OTP' you may have been too hasty, and started the process for buying a ticket, expecting to activate your account during that process.  This in fact generates a new account, overwriting the original account for which the OTP you've just been sent is valid.  So don't do this.  When you received your OTP from IRCTC, activate your accounts at www.cleartrip.com/trains/irctc/account/activate precisely as explained above, before trying to buy any tickets.

Advice for using Cleartrip.com when your account is activated...

• It books tickets from the General & Tatkal quotas.  Cleartrip books tickets from the General quota and for travel the following day it can also book from the Tatkal quota.  Foreign tourists are perfectly entitled to use the General or Tatkal quotas, it's just that cleartrip.com cannot book places from the Foreign Tourist quota if the General quota is full.  You can only take advantage of the Foreign Tourist quota if you buy tickets at stations or through overseas IndRail pass agencies.

• If the system is slow or shows 'error connecting' or 'no seats available':  Persevere, it does work!  The Indian reservation system is huge, it's actually the biggest computer reservation system in the world.  It gets very busy during the Indian working day, and it occasionally gets slow or troublesome.  The best time to use it is in the Indian evening or very early morning, remembering that the Indian reservation system closes down for maintenance overnight 23:30-00:30 India time (18:00-19:00 UK winter time, 19:00-20:00 UK summer time, as India is 5½ hours ahead of GMT).  So the time of day can affect how it works.  If you have problems or glitches, try again at a different time of day.  The ideal time to try is 05:30 Indian time, midnight or 01:00 UK time!  The Indian reservation system closes for maintenance 23:30-00:30 Indian time, which is 18:00-19:00 GMT.

• Cleartrip issues e-tickets, so no problem with ticket delivery.  You book online & print out your booking reference, then simply show it to the conductor on board the train along with your passport.  If you lose the printout you can still travel as long as you have your passport as ID, but there's an RS 50 fine if you cannot produce the printout or show the reservation confirmation on a laptop or smartphone screen.  E-tickets were first introduced for travelling on the best Shatabdi & Rajdhani Express trains in 2005, then extended it to cover almost all long-distance express trains in 2006.  Tickets cannot be sent overseas or collected from the station.

• There's a small booking & credit card fee:  Cleartrip charges a 20 rupee fee (30p or $0.50) in addition to the ticket price & booking charge, no big deal.  They also charge a 1.8% credit card fee.

• Credit card problem?  Credit cards sometimes fail not because there's a problem with Cleartrip's payment system, but because your own bank is blocking what it sees as a strange foreign transaction.  Check with your bank and if necessary unblock cleartrip.com, then try again.  Cleartrip does accept non-Indian MasterCard and Visa credit cards, and normally has no problem with them.

• Available, RAC or Waitlist places:  When you click to see availability on a particular train, you will see places shown as 'Available', 'RAC' or 'Waitlist'.  'Available' means there are tickets available for confirmed seats or berths on that train.  'RAC' means that the train is theoretically full, but 'Reservation Against Cancellation' tickets are available for that train which allow you to board and be allocated a berth by the conductor.  So if you only see 'RAC' tickets available, my advice is to go ahead and book, you'll still be able to travel on that train!  'Waitlist' means that all confirmed & RAC tickets have been sold, and you can only buy a waitlist ticket.  You cannot travel with a waitlist ticket, but you may well be promoted to RAC or even a confirmed place (CNF) when other travellers cancel.  If your waitlisted ticket is not promoted to RAC or confirmed (thus allowing you to travel), the fare will be refunded.  You'll need to decide for yourself whether to buy a waitlist ticket and check your booking status online at www.cleartrip.com/trains/pnr to see if you've been promoted to an RAC or confirmed place as departure approaches, or find an alternative train with confirmed or RAC tickets available.  See the explanation of Reservation Against Cancellation & Waitlisting here.

• If you're booking an AC1 ticket, don't worry that your ticket shows confirmed but doesn't show a specific car or berth number, the reservation lists for AC1 are made up a few hours before departure and posted on the platform notice board and on the coach side.

• Cancellations:  Tickets can also be cancelled online, usually up to 4 hours before the train departure.  The cleartrip.com service & processing fees are non-refundable, and the railway may impose other cancellation fees.  However, the majority of the ticket price is normally refunded if the ticket is cancelled.  Bookings cannot be amended online.

• Let me know if you use cleartrip.com, or if you have any problems.

Option 2:  Buy from Indian Railways own website, www.irctc.co.in  (only Amex accepted)

You can also buy Indian train tickets direct from the IRCTC website.  That saves a few rupees compared to paying Cleartrip's token booking fee, but at the time of writing payment by MasterCard or Visa doesn't work on any of the IRCTC payment options, only foreign Amex cards are accepted.  But if you have an Amex card and want to use www.irctc.co.in, here's how:

• Registration:  Go to www.irctc.co.in and click the 'signup' link under the login form.

• Enter the details to create an account.  It asks for an Indian +91 mobile number, you probably won't have one so enter your own mobile number and don't worry about it at this stage.  Use '123456' as your Pin/Zip as it won't accept UK-style postcodes.  Enter your city and state in the (other) box and leave the 'Select One' boxes alone.  When finished, click 'Submit'.

• Now check your emails, as you will have been sent a confirmation email by IRCTC with the subject 'SUCCESSFUL REGISTRATION of [your user name] for IRCTC Bookings'.  It contains an Email OTP (Email One Time Password).  You'll also have been sent an SMS message with the equally vital SMS OTP, but obviously you won't get this, as it will have been sent to a +91 Indian version of your phone number.

• Now write an email to IRCTC customer care (care@irctc.co.in) quoting your new IRCTC user name (remember that it's case-sensitive), attaching a scan of your passport, and asking them to send you the SMS OTP by email.  You'll receive an immediate automated reply, and eventually you'll receive an email from their customer care team with the all-important SMS OTP.  Some people receive this within 24-36 hours with no problem, others spend a week having to badger them with chase-up emails - but just do what you have to, but get them to send you the necessary SMS OTP!

• Now go back to the 'SUCCESSFUL REGISTRATION of ... for IRCTC Bookings' email and follow the instructions to activate your IRCTC account with your Email OTP and SMS OTP.

• You can now book Indian train tickets at www.irctc.co.in, at least if you select payment by Amex.  Feedback would be appreciated!

• Reservations for most long distance trains open 60 days before departure (extended from 90 days to 120 days in 2012 but reduced again to 60 days in 2013).  Some short-distance inter-city trains open for bookings less than this.  To state the obvious, you can't buy tickets before reservations open!

• Period of operation:  The online booking service is not (at the time of writing) available 24 hours a day, it closes for maintenance 23:30-00:30 Indian time, which is 18:00-19:00 GMT.  The system can sometimes be overloaded with visitors, so if you have any problems or if it rejects your credit card, try again later.    This may be why some people breeze through it and love it, while others struggle.  It gets significantly less busy after about 18:00 Indian time (13:00 GMT).

• Use tickets from the general quota (or if booking at short notice within 48 hours of departure, the taktal quota) as you cannot book tourist quota places online.

• 10 ticket limit:  You can only buy a maximum of 10 tickets per calendar month using this website, so bear that in mind if you expect to book a whole series of trips through this system.  A more complex itinerary requiring more than 10 journeys may be better booked using an IndRail pass, see below.

• Ticket delivery:  Tickets cannot be sent overseas or picked up at the station, but  there are both 'e-ticket' and 'i-ticket' options.

• The e-ticket option:  This is the recommended option.  You simply book online and print out your booking reference, then show it to the conductor on board the train along with your passport.  It's easy, and avoids any problems with ticket delivery.  www.irctc.co.in introduced this hassle-free ticketless option for travelling on the best Shatabdi and Rajdhani Express trains in 2005, then extended it to cover almost all long-distance express trains in 2006.  A small charge is made for e-tickets, currently RS 25, about 35p.  If you lose the printout you can still travel as long as you have your passport as ID, but there's an RS 50 fine if you cannot produce the printout or show the reservation confirmation on a laptop or smartphone screen.

• The i-ticket option:   You only need to use the i-ticket option if for some reason the e-ticket option isn't available for the train you want.  i-tickets (i = internet) are sent by courier to any Indian address you specify (for example, the hotel where you will be staying) in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and other specified Indian cities.  If you ask for them to be delivered to your hotel, the courier will need to see a letter authorising delivery if you are not there to sign for the tickets, so you will have to arrange this with the hotel.  An email or fax to the hotel authorising them to take delivery is sufficient.  To see which postcodes in which cities are covered by the courier service, select 'PIN codes covered' from the www.irctc.co.in home page.  You will need to know the full address and postcode (which is called a PIN code in India) for your hotel.  If these collection and delivery arrangements don't suit you, and for some reason you can't use the e-ticket option, it may be better to book through an IndRail pass agency using an IndRail pass as explained below.

• Available, RAC or Waitlist places:  When you click to see availability on a particular train, you will see places shown as 'Available', 'RAC' or 'Waitlist'.  'Available' means there are tickets available for confirmed seats or berths on that train.  'RAC' means that the train is theoretically full, but 'Reservation Against Cancellation' tickets are available for that train which allow you to board and be allocated a berth by the conductor.  So if you only see 'RAC' tickets available, my advice is to go ahead and book, you'll still be able to travel on that train!  'Waitlist' means that all confirmed & RAC tickets have been sold, and you can only buy a waitlist ticket.  You cannot travel with a waitlist ticket, but you may well be promoted to 'RAC' or even a confirmed place when other travellers cancel.  If your waitlisted ticket is not promoted to RAC or confirmed (thus allowing you to travel), the fare will be refunded.  You'll need to decide for yourself whether to buy a waitlist ticket and check your booking status online to see if you've been promoted to an RAC or confirmed place as departure approaches, or find an alternative train with confirmed or RAC tickets available.  See the explanation of Reservation Against Cancellation & Waitlisting here.

• If you're booking an AC1 ticket, don't worry that your ticket shows 'confirmed' but doesn't show a specific car or berth number, the reservation lists for AC1 are made up a few hours before departure and posted on the platform notice board and on the coach side.

• You must select the Amex payment option!  It will offer you several options to pay securely by Visa, MasterCard or Amex, each using a different Indian bank to process your payment.  Howeever, at the time of writing it's reported that none of the Visa or MasterCard options work with foreign cards, only the Amex option works if you're from outside India.  But feedback would be welcome!  After payment, you will receive an email from Indian Railways with your booking details.

• Credit card problems?  Cards sometimes fail not because there's a problem with the website's payment system, but because your own bank is blocking what it sees as a strange foreign transaction.  Check with your bank and if necessary unblock irctc.co.in, then try again.

Option 3, buy tickets via an IndRail pass agency:

The hassle-free way of booking an Indian train journey in advance from outside India, or indeed booking a complete itinerary by rail around India, is to buy an IndRail Pass from the official IndRail pass agency in your home country, complete with any train reservations you need.  Even a single Indian train journey can be arranged using a ½-day pass for any journey lasting less than 12 hours for $26 (£16) in AC2 or $57 (£34) in AC1, or a 1-day pass for any journey lasting less than 24 hours, for $43 (£26) in AC2 or $95 (£56) in AC1.  There are IndRail pass agencies in the UK, Australia, Germany, Finland, Malaysia, South Africa and some other countries, see the IndRail Pass section below.

Tips for train travel in India...

Checking your reservation...

Your train, coach and berth number will be printed on your ticket.  Reservation lists for each long-distance train are posted on the notice board at each station about two hours before departure, showing the name, age and sex of each passenger reserved in each berth in each coach - the age and sex help the ticket inspector identify that the right passenger is in the right berth.  The reservation list for each coach will also be pasted on the train itself, next to the entrance door.  Check to see that your name is listed.  The system is very efficient, and the days of finding your reserved berth already occupied by several passengers are long gone.  Pictured left, my glamorous assistant Karen demonstrates reading the reservation list next to the entrance door on the Delhi-Varanasi overnight express...

Car numbering:  Coaches on Indian long distance trains are normally numbered like this:

AC1:  car H1, H2, and so on, where 1, 2 is the number of coaches of that class on the train.
AC2: car  A1, A2, and so on.
AC3:  car B1, B2, and so on.
AC chair car:  car C1, C2, and so on.
Sleeper class:  Cars S1, S2, and so on.

So if you booked an AC2 ticket you'd expect to be given a car number 'A1' or 'A2'.

Berth layout and numbering plans:  Berth numbering system, AC1, AC2, AC3, Sleeper Class cars   Seat numbering plan, AC Chair cars

Enjoying a curry in the AC2 sleeper on the Delhi-Varanasi sleeper train (we brought the bottle of Wolf Blass with us!)

Food and drink on Indian trains...

There are no restaurant or buffet cars on Indian Railways, but on long distance trains an attendant will appear in your coach and ask you if you would like to order food.  He will note down your order (usually a choice of 'veg' or 'non-veg') on a bit of paper.  An hour or so later he will reappear with some rice and curry in small foil containers from the kitchen car.  It is not expensive - you can reckon on £1-£2 per meal.  Attendants also regularly pass down each car selling soft drinks, snacks, or excellent hot sweet Indian tea (garam chai) for a few rupees.  On the premier Rajdhani Express trains (linking Delhi with Bombay, Calcutta, etc.) and the premier daytime Shatabdi Express trains (linking Delhi with Jaipur and Agra, etc.), food is included in the fare, served at your seat.

The reservation lists posted on the platform at Agra Cantonment station.

Cleanliness, toilets & crowding...

The efficient reservation system means that you can safely forget any pictures you've seen of overcrowded Indian trains with people on the roof or hanging on the side.  These these photos show suburban trains, or basic unreserved 2nd class on long distance ones.  On fast long-distance trains in AC1, AC2, AC3, or AC Chair Class, all passengers have an assigned seat or sleeping berth so there's no overcrowding.  Don't expect pristine western standards anywhere in India, but you'll find AC1, AC2, AC3 and AC Chair class fairly clean by Indian standards, with both western-style and squat toilets usually in a reasonably sanitary condition.  See the train interior photos below.  On the other hand, Sleeper Class gets much grubbier than the AC classes and unreserved passengers can sometimes enter the coaches making it crowded.  2nd class unreserved can be incredibly crowded.  Toilets in sleeper class or basic non-AC 2nd class seats can leave a lot to be desired...

Security on Indian trains...

Indian trains are safe to travel on, even for families or women travelling alone, and you are unlikely to have any problems at all.  Having said that, theft of luggage is rare but not unheard of, so for peace of mind take along a bicycle lock or medium-sized padlock to secure your bags.  In the sleeping-cars, there are wire hoops hanging down underneath the seats to which you can padlock your luggage.  As in any busy place anywhere, pickpockets operate at the major stations (for example Delhi and New Delhi), so take care.  Oh, and be prepared:  If anyone tells you that your train is cancelled, that the ticket office has closed or has moved to a travel agency across the road, or your pre-booked hotel has burnt down or been abducted by aliens, please politely ignore them, even if they look 'official', to avoid ending up in a travel agency paying for a car and driver at vast expense, or booking their 'alternative' hotel which of course will luckily have a room available.  These are all well-known scams (yawn...) to get travel agency business, usually obvious to any regular India hand, but first-timers have been known to fall for them...

Do Indian trains run on time?

AC2 2-tier sleeper:  An AC2 bay of 4 berths.  There are more photos of what each type of seat and sleeper are like below.

Generally, Indian Railways are very efficient, but Indian trains do run late, and sometimes it's hours rather than minutes.  To get a feel for it, why not go to either www.trainenquiry.com or www.erail.in and see how late yesterday's Delhi-Jaisalmer Express arrived, or last Thursday's Bombay-Delhi Rajdhani Express?  At www.erail.in, select the origin and destination that interests you, and bring up the train list.  Now find the train that you want and click on it.  Now select a date and click the 'train running status' button.  It will show you a table of scheduled times and actual times at each station.  Data is only held for the last few days, not weeks or months ago.  At www.trainenquiry.com, you simply enter the train number or name, then select from a list of possible trains.

Alternatively, these examples from my own travels may give you a feel for the likely delay:  Delhi-Varanasi overnight express spot on time, Bombay-Calcutta Mail 1½ hours late, Madras-Bombay Chennai Express 40 minutes late, Calcutta-Delhi Rajdhani Express spot on time (Rajdhani Expresses get priority and are pretty punctual), Delhi-Agra Shatabdi Express spot on time (Shatabdi Expresses also get priority and are pretty punctual), Jaisalmer-Delhi Express 2 hours late starting and 3 hours late arriving, Delhi-Kalka-Simla Himalayan Queen spot on time, Varanasi-Agra-Jaipur Marudhar Express 50 minutes late, Delhi-Madras Grand Trunk Express 1½ hours late.

Recharging mobiles & cameras...

These days, people seem unable to go anywhere without an array of electrical gadgetry.  You'll find shaver sockets in most AC1/2/3 sleeper cars, which can be used to recharge cameras & mobiles, though you won't generally find specific power sockets for this purpose on Indian trains.  One tip is to invest in a Power Monkey universal backup battery, which will give you up to 96 hours phone stand-by when your phone's battery dies, and can also be used for recharging PDAs, iPods & some cameras whilst on the move.

Other Indian train tips...

Bring your own toilet paper.  You'll normally find one western toilet and one squat toilet at one or both ends of the car.  In AC1, AC2, AC Chair Class and even AC3 the toilets are normally reasonably clean by Indian standards, and in full working order.  Sleeper Class and 2nd class toilets may be a different matter!

The 8 classes on Indian trains... There are 8 classes of accommodation on Indian trains(!), although only some of these classes will be available on a particular train.  These are the classes, in roughly descending order of cost: Air-conditioned first class (AC1) Spacious and carpeted (and lockable) 4-berth and 2-berth compartments with washbasin.  All necessary bedding is provided, and berths convert to seats for daytime use.  AC1 is a very comfortable and civilised way to travel, although it is found only on the most important long-distance trains and costs about twice the price of AC2.  In AC1, you'll be mixing with bank managers and army officers.  You cannot specify that you want berths in a 2-berth rather than a 4-berth compartment when you book, nor will you be given specific berth numbers when you book, as specific berth numbers are only allocated by Indian Railways closer to the departure date and shown on reservation lists at the station before departure and on the coach side.  Couples are normally given preference for the 2-berth coupés, families and passengers travelling alone are normally allocated berths in one of the 4-berth compartments, but of course this can't be guaranteed.  Note that when using online systems such as indianrail.gov.in or cleartrip.com, the normal AC1 shown here and AC Executive Chair class (available on certain short-distance inter-city trains) are both shown as 'AC1', the systems do not distinguish between the two classes.  Berth numbering system, AC1, AC2, AC3, AC Chair, Sleeper Class cars. Below centre:  A rather nice AC1 2-berth 'coupé' with fabric seats/berths on the Kalka-Delhi-Howrah Mail.  Below right:  A spacious AC1 4-berth sleeper on the Bombay-Howrah Mail with the usual brown leatherette seats/berths.  Air-conditioned 2-tier (AC2) AC2 provides seats by day, convertible to bunks at night.  AC2 coaches are not divided into separate compartments, but are open-plan, with berths arranged in bays of four (two upper, two lower) on one side of the aisle, and in bays of two along the coach side above and below the windows on the other side of the aisle.  Each bay is curtained off for privacy, and an attendant distributes pillows, sheets and blankets in the evening.  AC2 is found on almost all decent long-distance trains, and it is the way the Indian middle classes travel.  It's relatively clean and uncrowded, and a good choice for most visitors to India.  Berth numbering system, AC1, AC2, AC3, AC Chair, Sleeper Class cars. Right:  A bay of 4 berths in an AC2 sleeper.  The seat back folds down to form the bottom bunk. Far right:  The aisle in AC2.  Bays of four are to the right, bays of two on the left.     Air-conditioned 3-tier (AC3) AC3 is very similar to AC2, but it has three tiers of bunks - upper, middle and lower - arranged in bays of six on one side of the aisle, and bays of two (upper and lower) along the coach side on the other side of the aisle.  It's more crowded than AC 2-tier, and it lacks the privacy curtains and individual berth lights found in AC2.  As in AC2, an attendant distributes pillows, sheets and blankets in the evening.  Berths convert to seats for daytime use.  Berth numbering system, AC1, AC2, AC3, AC Chair, Sleeper Class cars. Right:  An AC3 sleeper on the new Jaisalmer - Delhi Express.  In the far photo, the middle bunk is shown folded against the wall.  The seat backrest folds down to form the bottom bunk. First class Non-air-conditioned coaches with lockable 4-berth and 2-berth compartments.  Bedding is not included in the fare, but may be available for a small extra charge if booked in advance.  Non-AC 1st class accommodation has now almost disappeared, as Indian Railways have largely phased it out in favour of AC 2-tier.  It is generally grubbier than either AC1, AC2 or AC3 as it is not sealed against the dirt. AC Executive chair class AC Executive Chair Class is only found on the most important Shatabdi Express trains, for example Delhi to Agra.  It is available to holders of an AC1 IndRail pass.  Note that online booking systems don't distinguish between AC Executive Chair class & AC1, both are shown as AC1.  Seat numbering plan, AC Chair cars.   AC Chair class Comfortable air-conditioned seating cars.  AC Chair Class is found on a number of 'intercity' daytime trains (for example Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Kalka for Simla), and is available to holders of a AC2 class IndRail pass.  A good choice for daytime travel!  Seat numbering plan, AC Chair cars. Sleeper Class This is the way most of the Indian population travels long-distance, and the majority of cars on a long-distance train will be sleeper class.  Sleeper class consists of open plan berths with upper, middle and lower bunks arranged in bays of six on one side of the aisle, and along the coach wall in bays of two (upper and lower) on the other side of the aisle.  Bedding is not provided, so bring a sleeping bag.  Sleeper class is found on almost all long-distance trains except for the premier 'Rajdhani Express' services.  Sleeper class can be quite crowded (although in theory all berths must be reserved, so it can't get overcrowded), and it's fairly grubby and basic.  On the other hand, you get a better view of the countryside then in AC coaches, where the windows are sealed, tinted, and sometimes dirty.  In summer, there are fans on the ceiling and a breeze from the windows.  In winter, wrap up warm at night and take a sleeping bag and fleece, as it can get cold.  Sleeper class is used by the more adventurous backpackers, who are prepared to take the rough with the smooth...  Berth numbering system, AC1, AC2, AC3, AC Chair, Sleeper Class cars.      Sleeper class windows are fitted with bars to keep out intruders. There is a glass pane and a shutter both of which can be raised / lowered. A bay of six in sleeper class, with seats in day mode on the left, and berths in night time mode on the right. The aisle of a sleeper class car.  Bays of six to the right, bays of two on the left.  Bring your own bedding! Unreserved 2nd class Open plan cars with wooden or padded plastic seats.  Not recommended for long distance overnight journeys (you'll see the huge scrum of Indians all trying to bag a seat), but quite acceptable for daytime journeys of up to a few hours.     2nd class seating car. Some trains have padded plastic 2nd class seats... ...others wooden seats.

What is an IndRail pass?

An IndRail pass gives unlimited travel across the whole Indian Railways network in your chosen class for a time period which you choose.  You still need to make a reservation for each long-distance train you take, but these are free of charge and you can make them either in advance from outside India through the agency that sells you the pass or you can make reservations yourself at stations as you go, using places from the Foreign Tourist Quota.  With an AC1 or AC2 class pass there are no extra charges to pay for sleeping berths or bedding, it's all included.

What types of IndRail pass are there?

IndRail passes come in three classes, AC1, AC2, and 2nd class.  You can buy an IndRail pass for any time period from ½-day to 90 days.  With an AC1 pass you can travel in AC1 or AC Executive Chair Car class or in any of the cheaper classes on trains which have no AC1.  With an AC2 pass you can travel in AC2 or AC Chair Car or the now-rare non-AC 1st class sleepers.  With a 2nd class pass you can travel in Sleeper class or unreserved 2nd class seats.  You can use a ½-day or 1-day pass to book a single one-off train trip or you can arrange a complete pre-booked itinerary all around India using a longer period pass or a combination of passes.  You'll find a suggested itinerary below.

Should you buy an IndRail pass or point-to-point tickets?

If you just want to book one or two train journeys well in advance, the easiest option is usually to buy tickets online as explained above.  And if you want to stay totally flexible, you may as well buy tickets as you go, making use of the Foreign Tourist Quota once in India.  This often works out a little cheaper than using an unlimited-travel IndRail pass.  However, there are situations where an IndRail pass makes a lot of sense.  The key advantage is that with an IndRail pass you can ask the UK IndRail pass agency to pre-book some or all of your trains before you get to India, free of charge.  So a whole 2 or 3 week itinerary can be painlessly pre-booked from outside India, avoiding the frustration of finding trains fully-booked if you waited to buy tickets when you got there, or the frustration of trying to get registered on Cleartrip.com and make multiple online bookings, possibly running up against the 10-bookings-per-month limit.  Indeed, even for just one or two train rides, if you really can't get Cleartrip.com to work for you, the fall-back is to arrange these trips painlessly by buying a ½-day or 1-day IndRail pass and asking SD Enterprises to make the relevant reservation for you free of charge.

Will an IndRail pass save money over point-to-point tickets?

Probably not, depending on your exact travel plans, but it may not cost much more.  For example, a normal ticket from Delhi to Varanasi costs around 1,270 rupees (£18 or $28) in AC2 class, whereas a 1-day AC2 IndRail pass costs $43.  However, a 2-week itinerary to Delhi, Varanasi, Agra, Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Simla all booked in advance from the UK using a 15-day AC2 pass costs $185 (£123), whereas normal point-to-point tickets would cost around £118.  A major advantage of the pass is that if you fall ill for a day or two and have to change your plans, or simply change your mind about when and where you want to go, you can do this with a pass but may have to forfeit regular tickets.  Of course, if you want to stay flexible and not pre-book anything before you get to India, you can still do this with an IndRail pass (passholders qualify for places from the Foreign Tourist Quota), but in that case there is little advantage in having a pass and normal tickets may be the better bet.

Which class of pass should you buy?

AC1 is most comfortable and expensive class, but it's only found on the most important long-distance trains and a handful of shorter distance ones, so an AC1 pass is not worth it unless you're sure you are going to use trains which have AC1 or Executive chair class.  For most people, an AC2 pass is the best bet.  With an AC2 pass, you will be booked in an AC2 sleeper for overnight trips or an AC chair car on a daytime journey if it's available, unless you specifically ask for the now-very-rare ordinary non-air-con 1st class.  Travelling in the grubby and basic Sleeper class is undoubtedly an experience, but a 2nd class pass is probably only for the more adventurous or extremely budget-conscious traveller.  See the section above about the 8 classes on Indian trains.

How much does an IndRail pass cost?  See www.indiarail.co.uk

A 7-day AC2 pass costs $135 (£90), a 15-day pass $185 (£125), a 21 day pass $198 (£132).  This gives unlimited travel for the relevant period, including all reservations, sleeper berths and bedding, so there are no supplements or surcharges to pay.  You can check prices for all pass durations & classes at www.indiarail.co.uk (SD Enterprises in Wembley).  You can make reservations at any station when in India, withy places taken from the Foreign Tourist Quota, or SD Enterprises can make any reservations you want from the UK free of charge.

How to buy an IndRail pass in the UK...

You can buy an IndRail pass, complete with any required train reservations, from the UK IndRail agency, SD Enterprises of Wembley - call 020 8903 3411 or see www.indiarail.co.uk.  I can personally recommend SD Enterprises as an excellent and long-established family firm, who know their subject and go out of their way to advise and help their clients.  If you can, visit them in person, as it is an experience in itself.  You may even get to see Dr Dandpani's video on visiting India...

How to buy an IndRail pass in other countries...

You can buy an IndRail pass, complete with any required train reservations, via the UK's IndRail agency (SD Enterprises, www.indiarail.co.uk).  Although they are the UK agency, they are normally happy to arrange passes and reservations for people from overseas, although they will only  sell 4-day and longer passes to people living outside the UK, not one-day or half-day passes.  For a list of IndRail pass agencies in other countries, go to www.indianrail.gov.in, click 'Information' then 'International Tourist'.  There are IndRail agencies in Malaysia, Finland, Germany & South Africa, but surprisingly not currently in the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand.  If you're from one of these countries, try contacting the UK agency.

A suggested itinerary...

India is vast, and first-time visitors often wonder where to start.  One strategy is to tour only a small area, for example Rajasthan or the beaches of Goa.  But I'd suggest using the Indian train network to see a varied cross-section of India, picking one example from each type of place:  One big city, one colonial hill station, one or two princely cities in Rajasthan, Agra (for the Taj Mahal) and perhaps Varanasi, the classic Hindu holy city on the Ganges.  This way, you'll see some real highlights and total contrasts, with overnight trains minimising the number of daytime hours spent travelling and hotel bills.  Here's a suggested itinerary that works well, and easy fills 2 or 3 weeks depending on how much time you have and the pace you want to set.  I recommend sketching out your own itinerary using the technique explained here.

• Delhi 1-3 days.  Contrast the bustling old city with Lutyens' gracious New Delhi.

• Take the Shiv Ganga Express leaving New Delhi at 18:55 arriving Varanasi Junction at 07:30 next morning. AC1, AC2, AC3, Sleeper class.

• Varanasi 2-3 days.  Formerly called Benares, Varanasi is the must-see Hindu holy city on the Ganges.  Make sure you stay in a local Indian riverside hotel such as the Hotel Alka, www.hotelalkavns.com.  Western chain hotels are usually located in the new town, well away from all the amazing riverside action.

• Take the Marudhar Express from Varanasi Junction at 17:20 (17:45 or 18:15 on some days) arriving Agra Fort at 05:55 next morning. AC2, AC3, Sleeper class.  No AC1.

• Agra 2 days, remembering to visit the fantastic deserted royal city of Fatephur Sikhri 30km away by bus or car.  Agra may be the most touristy place in India, but the Taj is utterly beautiful and well worth the tourist tout hassle.  Agra fort and the ‘baby Taj’ are also worth a visit.

• Take the Marudhar Express from Agra at 06:20 arriving Jaipur at 11:20 the same day. AC2, AC3, Sleeper class (No AC1).

• Jaipur 2-3 days.  The 'Pink City' is one of the most wonderful princely cities in Rajasthan, and indeed in India.

• Take the Delhi-Jaisalmer Express leaving Jaipur at 23:45 arriving Jaisalmer at 11:00 next morning. AC1, AC2, AC3, Sleeper class.  On the day of departure from Jaipur, negotiate a rate to keep your hotel room until you leave for the station.

• Jaisalmer 2-3 days.  This is Rajasthan’s fairytale city and one of the most beautiful cities in India, in the desert close to the Pakistan border.  It has no airport, so only those who make the effort get to experience it.

• Take the Jaisalmer-Delhi Express leaving Jaisalmer at 17:15 and arriving at Delhi (old Delhi station) at 11:10 next morning. AC1, AC2, AC3, sleeper class.  Spend the day & night in Delhi.

• Take the Kalka Shatabdi leaving New Delhi at 07:40 arriving Kalka at 11:45. AC Executive chair class and AC Chair class, meal included served at your seat. Change onto the waiting narrow-gauge Simla toy train leaving Kalka at 12:10 arriving Simla at 17:20. The journey to Simla by narrow gauge Toy Train is an absolute delight.

• Simla 2-3 days.  Cool relaxation and colonial mock-Tudor charm in this lovely Himalayan hill station from the days of the Raj.  The ideal final destination for your trip!

• Take the toy train leaving Simla at 18:15 arriving Kalka at 23:20. Change onto the mainline Kalka Mail leaving Kalka at 23:55 and arriving Delhi (this time old Delhi station) at 06:30. AC1, AC2, AC3, Sleeper class.

• Delhi.

You can make this itinerary on either a 15-day ($185) or 21-day ($198) AC2 IndRail pass, depending on how long you take.  However, as you can see from the classes available on each train, you would get little use from paying the extra for an AC1 pass.  If you had more time, Udaipur is the place to add.  Alternatively, how about:

• Calcutta-(overnight sleeper train to New Jalpaiguri then the famous Darjeeling Toy Train)-Darjeeling-Varanasi-(overnight sleeper train)-Agra-(daytime train)-Jaipur-(overnight sleeper train)-Calcutta.

Use www.cleartrip.com or  www.indianrail.gov.in to find train times & fares, as explained above.  Here are some suggested places in each category:

The big cities...

The royal cities of Rajasthan...

Old Colonial hill stations...

Other places to see...

Two personal favourites:  A ride to Darjeeling...

A personal favourite is the ride to Darjeeling on the narrow gauge Darjeeling Himalaya Railway (DHR), and a night or two at the Windamere Hotel.  The DHR is now a UN World Heritage Site.  Take the broad gauge 'Darjeeling Mail' from Calcutta (Sealdah station) to New Jalpaiguri ('NJP'), leaving Calcutta Sealdah around 22:05 and arriving NJP at around 08:40 next morning.  The 'Darjeeling Mail' conveys AC1, AC2, AC3, sleeper class and 2nd class accommodation.  When it was running, the DHR 'toy train' connected with the Darjeeling Mail, leaving NJP at 09:00 and arriving Darjeeling at 15:30.  However, major landslides have blocked the line in a couple of places since 2010.  Check the status of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway at www.dhrs.org/page4.html - part of the line is working and with luck the full line should be reinstated by the end of 2013.

Some guide books recommend taking the bus from NJP to Darjeeling (a 4 hour journey, so much quicker than the 'toy train') and treating the railway as a theme park ride for a quick trip over a short section - ignore them!  Four hours on a bus is cramped and uncomfortable, and hardly a world heritage experience.  The leisurely day spent on the toy train through the Himalayan foothills is a day well spent.  The 09:00 train from NJP is diesel-hauled (if and when running) except for certain days when the diesel is being maintained, but other services are still hauled by steam locomotives.

Once in Darjeeling, if you can stretch to £95-£130 a night for a single or £125-£145 for a double (including all meals), the place to stay is the Windamere Hotel, www.windamerehotel.com.  Originally a boarding house for bachelor tea planters, it became a hotel in 1939.  Meals are served by white-gloved, turbanned waiters and eaten by candlelight to the sound of Cole Porter tunes on the piano.  Even if you can't afford it, make sure you come along for afternoon tea - probably the best cup of tea you will ever drink...  The hotel's phone number (from the UK) is 00 91 354 22 54 043.

A journey on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway...		The wonderful Windamere Hotel, Darjeeling...

...and a ride to Simla.

A little bit more robust than the line to Darjeeling, the similar toy train up to Simla in the Himalayan foothills is the way to reach Simla, once India's summer capital.  Take a fast broad-gauge train from New Delhi to Kalka and change there onto the Toy Train up into the hills.  The train ride to Simla is one of Simla's highlights on its own.  If you get the chance, use the Shivalik Deluxe Express on the way back down from Simla (it connects with the overnight express to New Delhi going forward next day to Calcutta).  The Shivalik Deluxe has plush fabric-covered first class armchairs, and a meal is served at your seat, included in the price.  Although it gets dark as you descend, at stations without electricity the signalmen hand the single-line token to the driver whilst holding burning torches, the shimmering flames lighting up the side of the train.  It's wonderfully atmospheric.

Simla station.		A wonderful ride up to Simla on the Toy Train...

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Tourist cruise trains...

There are now several luxury 'cruise trains' catering for tourists and offering sightseeing itineraries around Indian cities.  All of these trains are basically 5 star international hotels on wheels.

The Palace on Wheels...

The Palace on Wheels is India's first and most celebrated 'cruise train', voted as the world's 4th best luxury train by Condé Nast Traveller magazine.  Prices range from $2,750 for a 7-night 8-day tour around key cities in Rajasthan such as Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Udaipur & Jodhpur with all meals, off-train tours and on-board accommodation included.  All suites feature private shower & spotlessly clean toilet, TV & CD player, and the train's two elegant restaurant cars offer both Indian and international cuisine.  See www.palacesonwheels.com to browse itineraries and prices.

Other cruise trains...

The Palace on Wheels is no longer the only cruise train in India.  A number have sprung up, though prices are sky-high.  Be warned that most of these companies misleadingly quote a rate per night, not for the whole tour!

• Indian Maharaja, www.theindianmaharaja.com.  Offers 8-day 7-night 'land cruises' between Delhi & Bombay in either direction on various dates between October & April, with stopovers & tours at Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ellora & Ajanta Caves, starting at around $4,095 per person for two people sharing or from $5,229 single occupancy.

• Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, www.royalsrajasthanonwheels.com.  Offers 8-day (7-night) itineraries with weekly departures from Delhi back to Delhi, stopping at Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ranthambore National Park, Jaipur, Khajuraho & Varanasi.  From around $4,130 per person for two people sharing, $5,775 single occupancy for the least expensive suites.

• Deccan Odyssey, www.deccan-odyssey-india.com.  A luxury train offering weekly departures from Bombay for a week-long tour to Goa, Pune, and the caves at Ajanta & Ellora.

• Golden Chariot, www.goldenchariot.org.  A luxury train offering weekly departures from Bangalore for a week-long tour to Goa & southern India.

• Maharaja's Express, see www.themaharajasexpressindia.com.  Runs various 3 or 7 night tours from Delhi back to Delhi or between Delhi & Bombay, via places such as Agra, Jaipur, Varanasi, Lucknow, Khajuraho.  From $3,580 per person.  This train is run by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), originally as a joint venture with Cox & KIngs.  You can now book the Maharaja's Express through reliable train holiday specialist www.railbookers.com (UK office), www.us.railbookers.com (US office) or www.railbookers.com.au (Australian office)

Inclusive luxury train tours...

If you'd like a deluxe train-based holiday to India, but would like to do this as part of an organised tour, Great Rail Journeys (www.greatrail.com) is a well-known company offering inclusive upmarket escorted tours to India, including the Palace on Wheels or a number of other special Indian 'cruise trains', five star hotels plus flights to/from the UK.  There are a number of different tours available, departing on a range of dates throughout the year.  Check the holiday details online, then call 01904 527120 to book or use their online booking form.  Seat61 gets some commission to help support the site if you book your holiday through this link and phone number.

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International train, bus & ferry links...

There are international trains to Pakistan & Bangladesh, and buses to Nepal.  Here's a quick summary:

	The border closure ceremony at Atari.  You can attend this if you use buses or taxis to cross. Photo courtesy of Koen Berghuis.
	The Samjohta Express crosses the India/Pakistan border.  Photo courtesy of Sudhir Mehra.

India to Pakistan:  Delhi - Amritsar - Lahore

• Take a train from Delhi to Amritsar, there are lots to choose from.  See www.indianrail.gov.in for times & fares. 

• Take a bus or taxi the 26km from Amritsar to the India/Pakistan frontier at Atari.  Walk through the border posts to Wagah on the Pakistani side.  You may want to hang around Wagah to see the spectacular ceremony at sunset when the border closes.  Indian and Pakistani guards try to outdo each other with their performances, watched by Indians and Pakistani crowds!

• Take another bus or taxi the remaining 20km to Lahore.  Allow plenty of time for this deceptively short journey. 

• Alternatively, twice a week on Mondays & Thursdays (these are the confirmed departure days as at November 2008) the Samjhota Express leaves Amritsar at 07:00 for Atari (on the Indian side of the frontier).  The train departs Attari at 14:30 arriving Wagah (on the Pakistan side of the frontier) 20 minutes later.  After frontier formalities it leaves Wagah usually around 17:50 arriving in Lahore in practice around 19:00.  The fare from Attari to Wagah is 16 Indian rupees.  You buy another ticket from a counter in the Wagah departure hall, 130 Pakistani rupees.

• For details of the eastbound Samjhota Express from Pakistan to India, and for details of train service within Pakistan, see the Pakistan page.

India to Pakistan:  Delhi - Jodhpur - Karachi

A new weekly international train called the Thar Express started on 17 February 2006 from Jodhpur to Karachi via the border at Munabao. 

• Eastbound:  The Thar Express leaves Karachi every Friday at 23:00, arriving at 'Zero Point' on the Pakistan/India frontier at around 08:00 next morning.  After customs checks, the train goes forward to Munabao on the Indian side, arriving around 11:00.The Indian train departs Munabao at 19:00 after customs formalities, arriving Jodhpur (Bhagat Ki Kothi station) at 23:50 Saturday.

• Westbound:  The Thar Express leaves Jodhpur (Bhagat Ki Kothi station, about 4km from the main station) every Saturday morning at 01:00 arriving Munabao at 07:00, leaving Munabao at around 14:30 on Saturdays, reaching Karachi at 02:15 on Sunday morning. 

• The sleeper fare from Jodhpur to Munabao/zero point is about Rs170, and from Munabao/zero point to Karachi is about Rs230.  No more information is yet available, but feedback would be appreciated!  The train has one sleeping-car and several economy cars.

India to Nepal:  Delhi to Kathmandu

It's quite easy, cheap, and an adventure to do this journey overland.

• Take a train from Delhi to Gorakhpur.  The Vaishali Express leaves Delhi at around 19:45 and arrives at Gorakhpur Junction at 09:10 next morning, or there's another train from New Delhi at 17:20 arriving Gorakhpur at 06:35 next morning.  The fare is around Rs 2440 in AC1, RS 1240 in AC2, Rs 785 in AC3 or Rs 315 in Sleeper Class - see www.indianrail.gov.in for times and fares. 

• Take a bus or jeep from Gorakhpur to the Nepalese frontier at Bhairawi/Sunauli.  Journey time about 2 or 3 hours, Rs 30.

• Walk across the frontier, it's then a few minutes walk to the Sunauli bus station.  Take a bus or jeep on to Kathmandu.  Buses take 9 to 12 hours, cost about 120 Nepalese Rupees.  There are many buses daily, either daytime buses leaving regularly until about 11:00 or overnight buses leaving regularly from about 16:00 until 19:00.  If you have more information on travelling this route, please e-mail me.

India to Nepal:  Varanasi to Kathmandu

• It's also possible to travel via Varanasi.  Direct buses from Varanasi to the Nepalese border at Sunauli take 9 hours and cost about Rs 100.  No info about timetables is available.

India to Bangladesh...

A new direct train from Calcutta to Dhaka started in April 2008, see the Bangladesh page.  There are also air-con buses every day from Calcutta to Dhaka in Bangladesh, taking 8 or 9 hours, fare about $12.

India to Sri Lanka...

After many years of being cut off from each other, a new ferry service now links Colombo in Sri Lanka with Tuticorin in India as from June 2011, see www.flemingoliners.com.  The modern cruise ferry 'Scotia Prince' sails twice a week leaving at 18:00 and arriving at 08:00 next morning, but sailing days change from week to week so see www.flemingoliners.com for dates.  All passengers get a sleeping berth in a cabin, fares range from 2243 Indian rupees (about £47 or $77) in an economy class single-berth cabin to 2,760 Indian rupees (£58 or $95) in a super deluxe single-berth cabin, all fares include a non-alcoholic 'welcome aboard' drink and a fixed-menu dinner.  They have aspirations to make it a daily service in due course.  A second ferry service, between Rameswaram and Talaimannar is rumoured to be starting by the end of 2011, but again no details are available.  For train service within Sri Lanka, see the Sri Lanka page.

India to Burma (Myanmar)...

The India/Burma border is closed to foreigners.  It is not possible to travel to Burma overland from India.  For train and river steamer service within Burma, see the Burma page.

India to China...

The direct route from India into China is difficult and mountainous, there are no trains, you need some serious permits to be in that part of India, and most if not all border crossings are closed to foreigners.  If you wish to travel this way, do your research before attempting it!  For most practical purposes, you are better off going from India to Kathmandu in Nepal (see the Nepal page), then taking an organised tour from Kathmandu to Lhasa in Tibet (see the Nepal page), then a train to Beijing.  For train service within China, including Lhasa to Beijing, see the China page.

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Europe to India overland

It's possible to travel from Europe to India overland by train and bus via Turkey, Iran & Pakistan.  It will take a minimum of 2-3 weeks, and you should consider it as an adventure or expedition than a routine way to travel there.  Administratively, the main issue is getting an tourist visa for Iran, although this is becoming easier - see the London to Iran page for agencies to contact to get one.  The logistical problem is building an itinerary around the weekly train from Istanbul to Tehran and the twice-monthly trains towards to Pakistan border.  Finally, there are security problems in southeast Iran to be aware of - see the official travel advice for Iran and Pakistan at the British Foreign Office website, www.fco.gov.uk.  If you are still interested, here's how to do it.  I'd suggest planning the trip out carefully before you start to book anything - this may help:  How to plan an itinerary & budget.

See the Europe to India overland page...

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Hotels & accommodation in India

◄◄◄◄ Search all the main hotel booking sites at once... I'm a big fan of www.hotelscombined.com as it checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia, Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, LateRooms etc.) to find the widest choice of hotels & the cheapest rates.  Try it and see!

A few personal recommendations...

• Delhi:  Metropolis Tourist Home, a cheap but clean place with good cheap restaurant in Paharganj, convenient for New Delhi station; 

• Darjeeling:  Windamere Hotel, an experience straight out of the Raj; 

• Jaisalmer:  Mandir Palace, if you get an upstairs room these are straight out of Arabian Nights, a bargain;  

• Udaipur:  Lake Pichola Hotel, an excellent mid-range choice right on the waterfront;  

• Varanasi:  Hotel Alka, cheap, simple, clean, and overlooking the Ganges where all the action is.  Not bookable using mainstream hotel sites, but book direct at www.hotelalkavns.com.

Tripadvisor hotel reviews...

www.tripadvisor.com is a good place to find independent travellers' reviews of the main hotels.  It also has the low-down on all the sights & attractions too.

Backpacker hostels...

www.hostelbookers.com:  If you're on a budget, don't forget the backpacker hostels.  Hostelbookers has online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most Indian cities at rock-bottom prices.

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Flights...

Overland travel by train around India is an essential part of the experience, so once there, don't cheat and fly, stay on the ground!  But if a long-haul flight may be unavoidable to reach India in the first place.

Check out Virgin Atlantic who now fly from the UK to India, a top choice for price and service.

Use Skyscanner to compare flight prices & routes worldwide across 600 airlines...

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Guidebooks

Lonely Planet & Rough Guides...

For independent travel, the best guidebook to take is either the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide.  I gave Sarah the Lonely Planet and Karen the Rough Guide and we road-tested both of them head-to-head across India.  The result was a tie, with similarly excellent levels of both practical travel information and historical and cultural background.  I personally prefer the Lonely Planet, but Karen preferred the Rough Guide.  Just make sure you take one of these two guides with you..!  If you buy anything at Amazon through these links, Seat61.com gets a small commission to help support the site.

Buy Lonely Planet India at Amazon.co.uk

Buy Rough Guide India at Amazon.co.uk

Alternatively, you can download just the chapters you need in .PDF format from the Lonely Planet Website, from around £2.99 or US$4.95 a chapter.

Also for your reading list...

OK, so Rudyard Kipling's 'Kim' is a novel, not a guidebook - but you'll need a reading book for your trip, right?  Trust me on this - 'Kim' is a magical tale, that captures the feel of Northern India even today.  Buy Kim online - it costs all of about £1.25..!

Once hooked, you'll probably want to get Peter Hopkirk's book, 'The Quest for Kim', which tells you about the real people and places on which the characters and places in the novel are based.  Buy 'The Quest for Kim' online.

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Travel insurance & health card...

Get travel insurance, it's essential...

Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover cancellation and loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings.  An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip policies even for just 2 or 3 trips a year (I have an annual policy myself).  Here are some suggested insurers.  Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these links.

In the UK, try Columbus Direct or use Confused.com to compare prices & policies from many different insurers.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over 65 (no age limit), see www.JustTravelCover.com.

        If you're resident in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try Columbus Direct's other websites.

    If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try Travel Guard USA.

Get a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...

It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.  If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're not left stranded if your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself.  In addition, some credit cards are significantly better for overseas travel than others.  Martin Lewis's www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which UK credit cards have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when you use an ATM abroad.  Taking this advice can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your normal high-street bank credit card!

You can avoid ATM charges and expensive exchange rates with a Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or their multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card, see www.caxtonfx.com for info.

Get an international SIM card...

Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're not careful you can return home to find some huge bills waiting for you.  I've known people run up a £1,000 bill in data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a simple trip to Europe.  However, if you buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company such as www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid.  It cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide, and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries.  It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills when you get home.  It also works for laptop or PDA data access.  A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't expire if it's not between trips, unlike some others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone number' for life.