The platform at Amritsar before departure of the Shane Punjab Express for Delhi... See advice & full details on buying Indian train tickets

Getting around India by train...

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.  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 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 long distance expresses in an AC Chair Car or an AC1 or AC2 sleeper, all seats and berths are reserved and it’s a safe, civilised, inexpensive & comfortable way to get around India.  Even long distances such as Bombay to Delhi, Delhi to Varanasi or Delhi to Udaipur can be covered time-effectively using overnight AC Sleeper trains, city centre to city centre, saving a hotel bill too.

You can book Indian train tickets online at 12go.asia

Train times, fares & tickets...

  Train routes & maps

  How to check Indian train times & fares

  Tourist Quotas, RAC, Waitlists & Tatkal

  How to buy tickets at the station

 How to buy Indian train tickets online

  Tips for train travel in India

  The 8 classes of seat & sleeper on Indian trains

 Where to go:  A recommended 2-week itinerary around northern India

  Custom-made tours of India by train

  IndRail passes - now discontinued

  Tourist cruise trains including the Palace on Wheels

  International train, bus & ferry links from India

  Overland travel from Europe to India

  Hotels in India - some personal recommendations

  Guidebooks 

  Flights to India

  Travel insurance, Curve card & VPN

Useful country information

Train routes & maps

The third biggest passenger rail network in the world...

With 63,000 km of rail routes and 6,800 stations, the passenger rail network in India is the third biggest in the world after Russia and China, and the biggest in the world in terms of passenger kilometres.  Indian Railways are the world's biggest employer, with over 1.5 million staff.

• The trains in India go almost everywhere, and it's generally safe to assume that you can travel between any two Indian cities or major towns by train, the length and breadth of the country

• For an Indian railways route map see www.irfca.org/faq/faq-map.html or www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/india-railway-map.htm.

• There's currently no railway to Kashmir, but a line to Srinagar and beyond is under construction, part has now opened but the remainder is unlikely to open before 2016.  The line heads through tough terrain, and will feature the highest railway bridge in the world.

• Khajuraho (a much-visited temple complex) now has a station, with a daily overnight train from Delhi's Nizamuddin station at 20:15 arriving 06:35 next morning.  It  returns from Khajuraho at 18:20 arriving 05:30.

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How to check train times & fares

See www.indianrail.gov.in or 12go.asia 

• It's easy to check train times & fares for any journey in India at www.indianrail.gov.in, one of the official Indian Railways websites.  This is an amazing site, but a little bewildering, not helped by there being another official site, www.indianrailways.gov.in.  It's a good training course for your travels in India!  There are some tips for using www.indianrail.gov.in below. 

• It can be easier to check train schedules & fares at agency website 12go.asia.

• To buy tickets online I'd use 12go.asia, read the full low-down here about buying Indian train tickets online.

Example train times & fares...

Indian trains are a very practical way to get around, and even long journeys can be done overnight by sleeper train more time-effectively than a flight.  As an example, here are some train times & fares from Delhi to key tourist destinations:

£1 = 90 rupees.  $1 = 70 rupees.

Child fares on Indian trains from April 2016:  Children aged 0 to 4 inclusive travel free.  Children aged 5 to 11 inclusive travel at half fare if they do not take up a reserved seat or berth, but as from April 2016 they must pay the adult fare if they travel with their own reserved seat or berth.  I do not recommend that any child aged 5 to 11 travels without their own seat or berth in AC1, AC2, AC3, AC Chair car or Sleeper Class, so this effectively means you must now pay the adult fare for children aged 5 and over.  Children aged 12 and over pay the adult fare in all cases.

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. 

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 means foreigners may find a limited number of places available on trains which are sold out for Indian travellers.

When do reservations open?  Usually 120 days before departure

• Bookings for most Indian long-distance trains currently open 120 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, reduced again to 60 days in 2013 to make ticket 'scalping' by agencies harder, but restored to 120 days as from 1 April 2015.  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.  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 can now book tickets from the Foreign Tourist Quota when booking online but please don't waste these precious and limited FT places if General Quota places remain available.  Anyone can book from the General Quota.  The only point in using FT places is if all other places have sold out.  Note that only Indian citizens can use the senior quota.

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.

• Should I go ahead & buy a WL ticket?  How likely is it that a given WL ticket will be confirmed?   There are now several websites that claim to predict how likely it is that a given WL ticket will indeed be confirmed and allow you on the train, based on historical data.  Try entering your PNR into http://trainman.in, or use it to see what the current availability of a given train is, and how likely it is that if you bought WL tickets they'd be confirmed by departure.

• 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_Enq.html 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.

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.

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How to buy tickets at the station

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 & opening times, visit www.indianrail.gov.in, select 'Information' then 'International Tourist'.

New Delhi International Tourist Bureau...

• The International Tourist Bureau at New Delhi railway station makes it easy for foreign visitors to buy tickets.  They can often sell you places out of the tourist quota, even when a train is fully-booked for Indian passengers.  It's open 06:00-23:00 every day.

• How to find it...

  Enter New Delhi main station entrance on the Paharganj side (shown in the photo below left), veer slightly to the left and go up one flight of stairs to find yourself outside the International Tourist Bureau, as shown in the photo below right.  It's above platform 1.  If it doesn't look like the photo below, it isn't the real International tourist office. 

• Don't be fooled by touts or scammers:  Ignore anyone telling you it has moved or is closed...

  If someone even with an official-looking name badge tells you the office is closed, or says the office has burnt down, flooded, melted, been abducted by aliens, eaten by giant elephants or has been relocated across the road and he can take you there, or that all the trains are cancelled but he can arrange a car and driver (etc. etc, yawn), or you need to go to the Ministry of Tourism on Connaught Place (which will actually turn out to be the tour agency he is touting for), laugh, ignore him and continue to the real International Tourist Bureau inside New Delhi station, as shown in the photo below.  Similarly, ignore tales of Muslim riots, the area your pre-booked hotel is in being unsafe, etc. etc.  Or if someone looks official and asks you for your ticket before you get to the reservation bureau, and says you can't pass without a ticket, think 'scammer' and push past him.  All scams.  Welcome to India! 

  Stop at nothing, listen to no-one, whatever they say, however official, press on regardless to the International Tourist Bureau shown below.

New Delhi station.  Photos courtesy of Eric Barchas		New Delhi tourist reservation bureau.

Bombay CST foreign tourist counter...

In Bombay, you can easily buy tickets from the foreign tourist quota at the Foreign Tourist counter, counter 4 downstairs in the Reservation Centre at Bombay's CST - the beautiful former Bombay Victoria station in the heart of the city.  It moved from counter 20 upstairs in 2018, do let me know if it changes again!

Mumbai CST (Bombay Victoria) reservation centre.  Photos courtesy of Tom Whitehead		The Foreign Tourist counter.

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How to buy train tickets online

Indian trains often get fully-booked weeks in advance as demand usually exceeds supply.  So if you have a fixed itinerary and limited time I recommend buying tickets online in advance before you get to India.

Which website for Indian train tickets?

• I recommend ticketing agency 12go.asia as option 1 below for a good reason.  It's the quickest, easiest & most painless way to buy Indian train tickets, as easy as booking a flight.  You can check prices & availability online, pay with an international credit card and get the same e-ticket you'd get if you booked directly with irctc.co.in, just without the frustration.  12go don't sell Waitlisted or RAC tickets, only confirmed places, but if you're booking well in advance this may not be an issue.  There's an agency mark-up and small booking fee, but Indian train tickets are so cheap you probably won't care.

• If you want complete access to all tickets & quotas including waitlisted & RAC tickets, you'll have to run the gauntlet of registering with the official Indian Railways booking site irctc.co.in.  I provide detailed instructions on how to register in option 2 below, although the process drives people nuts.  It's bureaucratic to put it mildly, involving a one-time password sent to your email address and another password texted to your mobile phone, with a small fee to be paid to for the text to be sent to a non-Indian mobile number.  Some people find that the irctc website won't accept payment for the text, others pay successfully but never get the text, others pay and get the text but find the irctc website has mysteriously changed their phone to an Indian dialling code and they can't change it back or they can't log in as they keep getting error messages.  Some people give up, some manage it in the end, often after much frustration.  However, once registered you can book anything.  If you don't want the hassle or can't get it to work, simply use 12go.asia instead.

Option 1:  Buy online at 12go.asia - easiest way, international credit cards accepted...

• The quickest & easiest way to book Indian train tickets online with an international credit card is through reliable ticketing agency 12go.asia.  They've been selling train tickets for Thailand & Vietnam for several years and in 2018 started selling Indian train tickets too, with no need to create an account or register at irctc.co.in, saving hours of frustration.  It makes booking a train as easy as booking a flight.

• 12go charge a small fee and mark-up, but Indian train tickets are so cheap it makes little difference.  Given the time & aggravation you'll save compared with trying to register at irctc.co.in (option 2 below) I recommend booking with 12go.asia if it sells the journey you want.

• Benefits...

  12go.asia's system shows fares & availability in real time, taken from IRCTC's system.  You select your train & class online and simply click to buy.  Tickets are then manually secured by 12go staff using IRCTC's business-to-business booking system.

  You can choose to see prices & pay in Indian Rupees, USD, GBP, Euros & several other currencies.

  You'll be emailed an e-ticket, the same official IRCTC e-ticket that you'd get if you booked direct with irctc.co.uk.  You simply print this out and board the train, you show the e-ticket and your passport to the conductor.

• Tips...

  Demand for tickets exceeds supply and Indian trains get fully booked weeks ahead, so book as far ahead as you can to be sure of a place.

  Booking opens 120 days ahead, although some short-distance inter-city trains have a shorter booking horizon.  You can't buy tickets before reservations open.

  Indian trains have 8 different classes of accommodation, read the guide to the 8 Indian classes below.

• Limitations...

  12go.asia only sell confirmed tickets, they don't sell waitlisted or RAC tickets (waitlisted & RAC tickets are explained above).  If all confirmed places on the train you want are sold out, you'll need to use irctc.co.in to buy WL or RAC tickets, see option 2 below.  Or choose another train.

Option 2:  Buy direct from www.irctc.co.in - now accepts MasterCard & Visa

	irctc.co.in for Indian train tickets:  Now accepts overseas cards....

• You can buy train tickets direct from Indian Railways at the IRCTC website www.irctc.co.in.

• Registering to use www.irctc.co.in can be a time-consuming and frustrating process, but once registered you'll have access to all routes, trains, classes & ticket types.

• Until 2016, irctc.co.in didn't accept overseas (non-Indian) credit cards, but it now does.  You simply select International cards powered by Atom at the payment stage.

How to register & activate an IRCTC account...

• First you need to register.  Only one person needs to register for an account.  He or she can then buy tickets for themselves and their family or travelling companions, for a maximum 6 train journeys in any given month, each journey including up to 6 passengers.

• Go to www.irctc.co.in and click REGISTER top right.

  Now enter the details to create an account.

  Choose a username and click to see if it's available, some trial and error may be needed.

  Enter your mobile number with country code - after many years of having to have an Indian mobile, it will now accept other country codes.  Do not use a '+' or a leading zero, just the country code e.g. for the United Kingdom, 44.

  Pin code means postcode.  Use 123456 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 Register.

• Now check your emails, as you will have been sent an email IRCTC' s Online Rail Ticket Reservation User Registration Confirmation

  Click on the link in Please Click Here to login in your account.

  You'll see the usual irctc login form.  Enter your chosen user ID and password to log in.

• When you log in, you'll be asked to pay a small fee to have the necessary SMS OTP (= One Time Password, a 6-digit verification code) sent to your phone.  For a non-Indian mobile the fee is Rs 122, about $1.50. 

  After paying, you'll see two fields, one asking you to verify your mobile number, the other asking to verify your email address.

  Start with your mobile number.  When you receive the text message on your phone, enter the 6-digit verification code in the mobile phone field and this will verify your mobile.

  Now verify your email address.  Click to have the Email OTP sent to your email address (you can also edit your chosen email address here, but if you entered the right one in the first place this shouldn't be necessary).  Check your emails to find the email headed Your email id Verification activation OTP code and enter the 6-digit verification code to verify your email address.

• You are now registered and you can book Indian train tickets at www.irctc.co.in.  Feedback is always appreciated!

• Troubleshooting...

  I tested this new registration system in late 2017, as it finally does away with the need to email IRCTC customer care with a scan of your passport as the system will now text non-Indian mobile phone numbers with the one-time password (OTP) needed to activate your account. 

  If the SMS text doesn't arrive... 

  It worked fine for me, I received the SMS OTP on my UK mobile phone no problem, but some people say that no text arrives and I don't know why.  One correspondent says a text finally arrived after a week of trying repeatedly to get an SMS sent.  So persevere!

  One report suggests that they cannot process 'profile updation' 09:30-11:30 Indian time, so avoid requesting SMS texts in these two hours.  11:30-17:30 Indian times seems to be the best time to register.

  Payment problems paying the SMS verification fee... 

  Just after I test-registered they imposed a fee for sending the OTP to a non-Indian mobile.  A few people have had credit card acceptance problems in paying this fee, but others find paying the fee works fine.  Again, I don't know why, but it could be problems with your own bank detecting and blocking a 'suspicious'  foreign transaction.  Give them a call!

  Phone number country code changes...

  Some people report that when they log back in their mobile number has reverted to an Indian '91' country code which they can't edit.  Again, I did not experience this so don't know why.  But others seem to have no problem.

  Try a different browser... 

  One correspondent kept getting error messages when registering with correct data, this was solved when she tried a different browser.  It likes some browsers better than others!

  'Email already in use' error message... 

  I'm getting a lot of feedback about this error message when trying to verify your email address at the moment!  Solution:  On the verification screen, edit your email account to another account, if necessary setting up a new temporary email just for this purpose (e.g. gmail).  Use that to verify the account.  Once logged in and verified you can change your details to your usual email address if you want.

  If you still have problems, are you sure you can't book your tickets with 12go.asia?  I did warn you that would be easier!

How to buy tickets using www.irctc.co.in...

• Reservations for most long distance trains open 120 days before departure...

  This was extended from 90 days to 120 days in 2012, reduced again to 60 days in 2013, restored to 120 days in April 2015.  They'll probably change it again!  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 isn't 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).

• 6 ticket limit...

  You can book a maximum of 6 train journeys per calendar month using this website, each involving up to 6 passengers so bear that in mind if you expect to book a whole series of trips through this system.

• 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', see the explanation of Reservation Against Cancellation & Waitlisting here.

  Available means there are tickets available for confirmed seats or berths on that train. 

  Reservation Against Cancellation (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 (WL) 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.

• Which quota to use?

  Use tickets from the General Quota or if booking at short notice within 48 hours of departure, the Taktal Quota.  There's no need to select Tourist Quota unless the General or Taktal Quotas have sold out.  Important:  Only Indian nationals qualify for the senior quota.

• Ticket delivery...

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

• The e-ticket option...

  This is the recommended option, available for most trains.  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 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.

• Payment options:  Select international cards powered by Atom...

  It will offer you several options to pay securely by Visa, MasterCard or Amex, offering a choice of which Indian bank you want to process your payment.  Overseas visitors must select international cards powered by Atom.

  Tip:  If you don't immediately see International cards powered by Atom, try clicking My profile then Preferred Bank List list then scroll down and select international cards.

• 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.

• Tip:  Get the IRCTC app...  Download the IRCTC Rail Connect app onto your smartphone from the Google or Apple app store.  You'll probably find you can't buy tickets with overseas credit cards using the app, but tickets bought online at the IRCTC website will show up in the app and can be shown to the conductor.  You can check train times, and see the current status of your booking if you are waitlisted or RAC.  Feedback appreciated.

Option 3:  Buy from www.cleartrip.com or www.makemytrip.com..

• www.cleartrip.com & www.makemytrip.com are private agencies which connect to the official irctc.co.in system to sell Indian train tickets in print-at-home e-ticket format, at the official price with a very small extra fee.  However, Makemytrip doesn't accept non-Indian credit cards, so they are no use to overseas visitors.  Cleartrip now wants you to register for an IRCTC account before even showing you train times, so you may as well buy directly from IRCTC and avoid an extra layer of complexity.  If you need to buy Indian train tickets simply and quickly without the hassle of registering at IRCTC, use 12go.asia.

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Tips for train travel in India...

Checking your reservation...

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

The reservation system is very efficient and the days of finding your reserved berth already occupied by several passengers are long gone.  Your train, coach & berth number will be printed on your ticket - unless you're travelling in AC1 in which case the reservation list with your allocated berth numbers is only compiled a few hours before departure.

Reservation lists for each class in 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.  A reservation list for each coach also used to be pasted next to the entrance door on the train itself, but this is no longer done.

If you need to check your reservation, you can do so on your smartphone or laptop by entering your PNR (= booking reference) a PNR status-checking website such as www.railyatri.in or etrain.info/in.

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'.

Food and drink on Indian trains...

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

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.

Pre-order your food from a restaurant of your choice!  Alternatively, there are now several Indian websites that allow you to pre-book food to be delivered to your seat on the train from various vendors along the way.  If you have a confirmed train booking you can go to http://railrestro.com, enter your PNR, select a vendor you like the sound of who is located at a station where your train calls at a suitable time, and select specific items from their menu to be delivered to you on board the train at that station - reports so far have been very positive, but feedback is always appreciated!

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 always find specific power sockets for this purpose on Indian trains.  One tip is to invest in a Anker or Power Monkey backup battery, which can recharge your phone several times over when necessary, 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!

Make sure you research when to visit India carefully - in summer it can be unbearably hot, and you also want to avoid the monsoon rains.  And in January & February in Northern India that there can be major disruption to road, rail & air due to thick fog, so bear that in mind.

Finally, forewarned is forearmed...

In India, if someone asks which hotel you're going to, then announces that this hotel has been flooded, burnt down, or abducted by aliens, they are of course trying to get commission from sending you to another hotel - that's often painfully obvious and it's almost funny!  Smile, ignore them, and persist in walking to your own hotel, which will of course be open as usual.  But similarly, especially at big stations such as New Delhi, if an official-looking person (they may even show you a badge) says your train has been cancelled, or says you can't board without a boarding pass (with an e-ticket you can get on the train, there's no such thing as a boarding pass), smile, ignore them, walk past, and persist until you see the actual departure indicators and get your train.  If necessary, go and see the station master!  Although this has never happened to me, there are occasional reports of travellers being conned into buying new tickets from a nearby travel agency, being sent to a nearby travel agency when they wanted the genuine New Delhi foreigners booking office, or being conned into hiring a private car and driver for hundreds of dollars when they already had trains booked, which of course weren't really cancelled.  So smile, ignore, persist, go and see the departure boards with your own eyes, find and get on your train, and have a giggle about it later!  If you encounter any of this, feedback (and a good laugh) is always appreciated!

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The 8 classes on Indian trains...

There are 8 classes of accommodation on Indian trains, although only a selection of these classes will be available on any given train.  Here are the classes, in roughly descending order of cost, together with the usual 2- or 3-letter abbreviations...

A request:  If you get any clear interior photos of AC1, AC2, AC3, AC Chair or Sleeper class which would better illustrate these classes, please do get in touch!

Air-conditioned first class (AC1 or 1A)

AC1 is a comfortable and civilised way to travel, although it's only found on the most important long-distance trains and costs twice the price of AC2.  In AC1 you're typically mixing with bank managers and army officers.  A corridor runs down one side of the car, off which open a number of fairly spacious, carpeted and lockable 4-berth & 2-berth sleeper compartments with washbasin.  All necessary bedding is provided, and berths convert to seats for daytime use.  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 irctc.gov.in, the AC1 sleepers shown here and AC Executive Chair class (available on certain short-distance inter-city trains) may both be shown as AC1, with no distinction between these two classes.

Click for car plans & berth numbering in AC1, AC2, AC3, AC Chair, Sleeper Class.

Regular AC1 cars have a side corridor off which open two or three 2-berth coupés and (above right) a number of fairly spacious 4-berth sleeper compartments.  The 4-berth AC1 sleeper pictured above right has the usual brown leatherette seats/berths.  Clean sheets, pillow and blankets are provided.  Interior photo courtesy of Peter Pitt.  See larger photo.

Rajdhani Express AC1 cars:  The Bombay to New Delhi and New Delhi to Calcutta Rajdhani Expresses are front-rank trains which have newer cars like this.  Above left, the Bombay-Delhi Rajdhani Express boarding in Bombay, and above right a spacious carpeted 4-berth compartment on the same train.  Photos courtesy of Sunil Mehta.  See larger photo.

Air-conditioned 2-tier (AC2 or 2A)

AC2 is relatively clean, comfortable and not crowded, a good choice for most visitors to India. It's found on almost all decent long-distance trains, and it's the class typically used by middle class Indian families.  AC2 provides padded leatherette seats by day, convertible to flat padded bunks at night.  AC2 coaches are not divided into separate compartments, but are open-plan with berths arranged in bays of four on one side of the aisle (two upper, two lower, transverse across the car width), and in bays of two on the other side of the aisle, arranged longitudinally along the coach side above and below the windows.  Each bay is curtained off for privacy, and an attendant distributes pillows, sheets and blankets in the evening.  If you're tall, you want a transverse berth.

Click for car plans & berth numbering in AC1, AC2, AC3, AC Chair, Sleeper Class.

AC2 sleeper car...		AC2 aisle:  Bays of 4 transverse berths to the right, bays of 2 longitudinal berths to the left.  Larger photo.		A bay of 4 berths in an AC2 sleeper.  The seat back folds down to form the bottom bunk.  Larger photo.

Air-conditioned 3-tier (AC3 or 3A)

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 sometimes 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.  Click for car plans & berth numbering in AC1, AC2, AC3, AC Chair, Sleeper Class.

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 (FC)

Traditional non-air-con 1st class has now almost disappeared, as Indian Railways have progressively phased it out in favour of AC 2-tier.  But for the record, ordinary first class consists of non-air-conditioned sleeper 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.  It is much grubbier than either AC1, AC2 or AC3 as it is not sealed against the dirt.

AC Executive chair class (EC)

AC Executive Chair Class is only found on the most important Shatabdi Express trains.  Seats are arranged 2+2 across the car width, and on Shatabdi Expresses food & drink is included in the fare, served at your seat.  The more modern type of car is shown here, found on the morning Delhi to Agra Bhopal Shatabdi and the Delhi to Jaipur & Ajmer Ajmer Shatabdi.  Note that online booking systems don't distinguish between AC Executive Chair class & AC1 sleepers, both are shown as AC1 or 1A.  Photo courtesy of Simon Smidt.  Seat numbering plan, AC Chair cars.

If you see the term Anubhuti class, this refers to the very latest version of AC Executive Chair Class now replacing the original EC cars on some Shatabdi expresses.  This is similar but upgraded, with leg rests and seat-back TV screens.

AC Executive Chair class on a Shatabdi Express train.  Courtesy of Dan Stowell.

AC Chair class (CC)

AC Chair class is a good choice for daytime journeys.  Comfortable & air-conditioned, they have seats arranged 2+3 across the car width.  AC Chair Class is found on the Shatabdi Expresses and a number of other inter-city daytime trains, for example Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Kalka for Simla.  Seat numbering plan, AC Chair cars.

AC Chair class - newer type, as used on Shatabdi Express trains.  Courtesy of Dan Stowell.

AC Chair class - older type...

Sleeper Class (SL)

This is the way most of the less-well-off 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!

2nd class seats (2S = reserved or II = unreserved)

Open plan cars with wooden or padded plastic seats, sometimes reserved and shown online as 2S, sometimes unreserved and shown online as II.  Not recommended for long distance overnight journeys (you'll see the huge scrum of Indians all trying to bag a seat in unreserved 2nd class), but quite acceptable for daytime journeys of up to a few hours if you're on a budget.

2nd class seating car.		Some trains have padded plastic 2nd class seats...		...others wooden seats.

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Recommended itinerary:  Highlights of Northern India...

First-time visitors often wonder where to start in such a vast country, and they're sometimes told to tour only a small area, for example stick to Rajasthan or perhaps the beaches of Goa.  But I suggest a bolder approach.  Use the remarkable Indian train network to see a varied cross-section of India's highlights, picking one example from each type of place:  A big city, a colonial hill station, a princely city or two in Rajasthan, then Agra of course for the Taj Mahal, and also Varanasi, the classic Hindu holy city on the Ganges.  This way, you'll see some incredible highlights and complete contrasts, with overnight trains minimising both daytime travelling time and hotel bills.

Here's what I personally think is the absolute best itinerary around Northern India, taking you to an amazing variety of classic Indian cities in as little as 2 weeks.  Highlight after highlight in a 2-week itinerary!  If you have longer to spare, add an extra day or two here and there and/or add one more Rajasthani city, Udaipur.

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

• Take the Swatantrta S Express leaving New Delhi at 20:35 arriving Varanasi Junction at 08:30 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, with its terrace overlooking the Ganges.  Western chain hotels are usually located in the new town, well away from all the amazing riverside action.  The Hotel Alka is one of the better hotels in this top riverside location, and eating a Thai on the terrace as the Diwali fireworks went off overhead and Lilly pads with candles drifted down the Ganges was an unforgettable experience.

• 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 ultimate fairytale city and one of the most beautiful cities in the whole of India, in the desert close to the Pakistan border.  For many years it had no airport so only those who made the effort got to experience it, although sadly it may now have flights using the military airbase nearby.

• 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!  The upmarket colonial-style Clarkes Hotel is wonderful.

• 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.

How to book this itinerary...

Option 1 is to arrange it all yourself.  First sketch out your itinerary, perhaps using the technique explained here.  Then book each train journey at 12go.asia (hassle-free, although naturally they charge a reasonable agency mark-up) or get yourself registered with IRCTC and book as explained here.  Then book each of your hotels separately using Booking.com.  This is the budget option, if you don't mind the legwork and managing it yourself.

Option 2 is to have it all booked for you, hassle-free.  I've arranged for train specialists Railbookers to offer this exact itinerary as a package, with trains, hotels, transfers (and if you like, your flight to India) all sorted for you.  This costs more than sorting it all out yourself, but it saves a lot of effort (and possible frustration) and as it's then a package, if anything affects one part of the tour Railbookers will sort things out for you.  Their suggested tour can be customised to your own requirements, to spend more or less time in each place.  Railbookers is an ABTA member and holidays including flights are ATOL protected.

Alternative versions...

Alternatively, just pick on big city, one hill station, a couple of cities in Rajasthan, and a couple of places from the 'other' list below and create your own itinerary.  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?

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 has AC1, AC2, AC3, sleeper class and 2nd class accommodation.  The DHR 'toy train' connects with the Darjeeling Mail, leaving NJP at 09:00 daily, arriving Darjeeling at 15:30.  Major landslides blocked the line in a couple of places in 2010, but the line was reopened (barring temporary problems) in late 2014 so as at May 2017 was running daily.  However, all services suspended again by July due to local civil unrest.

You can check the current status of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway at www.dhrs.org/page4.html - it has it's ups and downs, if you'll pardon the expression...

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 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.  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...

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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Tours of India by train

Have your train tickets, hotels, transfers & flights professionally booked...

The cheapest option is to arrange everything yourself, independently, but this takes significant time and effort.  If you want a customisable itinerary with all your train tickets, up-market hotels and transfers arranged for you, you can do this through train specialists Railbookers.  Their website has various example itineraries including a one-week Golden Triangle one visiting Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, but have a look at the suggested itinerary above covering Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, Jaipur, Jaisalmer & Simla as I think it's the best 2-week itinerary around northern India that you'll find, and I've arranged for Railbookers to offer it.  Railbookers takes good care of their clients and gets very good reviews.

  UK call 0207 864 4600, www.railbookers.co.uk. 

  US call free 1-888-829-4775, see website.

  Canada call free 1-855-882-2910, see website.

  Australia call toll-free 1300 971 526, see website. 

  New Zealand call toll-free 0800 000 554 or see website.

Escorted tours in India by train...

If you'd prefer to travel with a group of fellow travellers escorted by a professional tour guide, check are Great Rail Journeys (www.greatrail.com, in the UK call 01904 527 120) and Rail Discoveries, www.raildiscoveries.com, 01904 730 727.  Both offer popular escorted tours covering India's 'Golden Triangle' of Delhi, Agra for the Taj Mahal and Jaipur in Rajasthan.  At the time of writing, Great rail Journeys also do an escorted tour covering Delhi, Amritsar for the Golden Temple, Agra for the Taj Mahal, Lucknow, Varanasi on the Ganges and Kathmandu in Nepal, with departures on various dates through the year.

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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 in effect 5 star international hotels on wheels, allowing you to see India in great comfort.

The Palace on Wheels...

• See www.palacesonwheels.com and see the Palace on Wheels video.  This is India's first and most celebrated cruise train, voted as the world's 4th best luxury train by Condé Nast Traveller magazine.  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.

• 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. 

• You can book the Palace on Wheels through recommended train holiday specialist Railbookers who can also arrange flights, hotels and other Indian trains for you.

    UK call 0207 864 4600, www.railbookers.co.uk. 

    US call free 1-888-829-4775, see website.

    Canada call free 1-855-882-2910, see website.

    Australia call toll-free 1300 971 526, see website. 

    New Zealand call toll-free 0800 000 554 or see website.

• If you'd prefer to use the Palace on Wheels on an escorted tour with friendly group of travellers and a professional tour guide are available from Great Rail Journeys (www.greatrail.com, in the UK call 01904 527 120).

Other luxury 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 quote a rate per night, not for the whole tour!

• Maharaja's Express, see www.the-maharajas.com - See the Maharaja's Express video.  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.  Gets very positive feedback, 'ten out of ten' from one correspondent.  You can now book the Maharaja's Express through train holiday specialist www.railbookers.co.uk.

• Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, www.royalsrajasthanonwheels.com - See the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels video.  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.  Has also had great feedback, and can also be booked through www.railbookers.co.uk.

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

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

• Indian Maharaja, www.theindianmaharaja.co.in.  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.

Book through train travel specialist www.railbookers.co.uk, 0207 864 4600...

Railbookers is a train travel specialist and a safe and reliable way to arrange a trip on the Palace on Wheels, Maharaja's Express, Golden Chariot or Royal Rajasthan on Wheels.  They take good care of their clients and I can recommend them.  They have offices or toll-free numbers in the UK, US/Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but can be used wherever you live.  On their website, select 'Private trains'.

  UK call 0207 864 4600, www.railbookers.co.uk. 

  US call free 1-888-829-4775, see website.

  Canada call free 1-855-882-2910, see website.

  Australia call toll-free 1300 971 526, see website. 

  New Zealand call toll-free 0800 000 554 or see website.

Inclusive luxury train escorted 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 trains, buses, ferries

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.

• Update 2020:  Tension in Kashmir means all India-Pakistan trains are suspended at the moment.

India to Pakistan:  Delhi - Jodhpur - Karachi

• A weekly international train called the Thar Express started in 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.

• Update 2020:  Tension in Kashmir means all India-Pakistan trains are suspended at the moment.

India to Nepal:  Delhi to Kathmandu

• It's quite easy, cheap, and an adventure to do this journey overland.  You take an overnight train from New Delhi to Gorakpur, then a bus.  For details, see the Nepal page.

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 linking Colombo in Sri Lanka with Tuticorin in India in June 2011, see www.flemingoliners.com.  Unfortunately it was suspended again in 2012, so there are currently no ferries at all between India and Sri Lanka.  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

Europe to India via Istanbul, Iran, Pakistan...

• It's possible to travel from Europe to India overland by train and bus via Turkey, Iran & Pakistan, along what in the 1960s & 70s was the hippy train.  However, these days there are serious security problems affecting this route in Turkey, SE Iran & Pakistan.  If you are foolhardy enough to brave these, it takes a minimum of 2-3 weeks and you should consider it as an adventure or expedition rather than a routine way to travel there. 

• Administratively, the main issue is getting an tourist visa for Iran - see the London to Iran page for agencies to contact to get one.  Finally, there are major security issues 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, see the Europe to India overland page.  I'd suggest planning the trip out carefully before you start to book anything - this may help:  How to plan an itinerary & budget.

Europe to India via Moscow, the Trans-Siberian Railway, Beijing & Lhasa...

• A safer though somewhat round-about way is London to Moscow by Eurostar and the Paris-Moscow Express (2 nights, £300, 3 departures per week), Moscow to Beijing via the Trans-Siberian Railway (6 or 7 nights, £500, two per week), Beijing to Lhasa by train (2 nights, £100, daily), then an organised tour by bus from Lhasa to Nepal (7 nights, maybe $400), then bus and train to Delhi.  Again, you may find this helpful:  How to plan an itinerary & budget.

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Accommodation in India

My personal hotel recommendations...

• Delhi:  Metropolis Tourist Home, a cheap but clean place with good cheap restaurant in Paharganj, convenient for New Delhi station.  Paharganj is the independent traveller hotspot in New Delhi, it has lots of cheap hotels with Metropolis Tourist Home is one of the best ones with private rooms, en suite shower & toilet and air-con.  I've used it at the beginning and end of a couple of trips, and I'm now quite fond of it...

• Darjeeling:  Windamere Hotel, one of my favourite hotels worldwide, staying here is an experience straight out of the Raj.  It's a 'must' if your budget will stretch, an experience in itself.  They serve the best Darjeeling tea I have ever tasted, so at least go there for afternoon tea...

• Jaisalmer:  Mandir Palace hotel.  Yes, a real palace, and if you get an upstairs room these are straight out of Arabian Nights.  It's an absolutely amazing place to stay and a real bargain.

• Udaipur:  Lake Pichola Hotel, an excellent mid-range choice right on the waterfront and ideal if you can't afford the famous (and very expensive) Taj Lake Palace Hotel, that's the famous one on an island in the middle of the lake!

• Varanasi:  Hotel Alka, cheap, simple, clean, and in a perfect location overlooking the Ganges where all the action is - most of the western-style hotels are miles away in the new town, you really want to be on the river!  I stayed here during Diwali, I will never forget having a meal on the terrace in the evening, overlooking the river with fireworks going off and lily pad lights floating down the Ganges.

• Simla:  Clarke's hotel, a quality hotel yet not too expensive, in classic building right in the heart of town, walking distance from all the sights.

My favourite hotel search site: www.booking.com www.booking.com is my favourite hotel booking site and I generally prefer booking my hotels all in one place here.  You can usually book with free cancellation - this allows you to confirm your accommodation at no risk before train booking opens.  It also means you can hold accommodation while you finalise your itinerary, and alter your plans as they evolve - a feature I use all the time when putting a trip together.  I never book hotels non-refundably.  I have also come to trust their review scores - you won't be disappointed with anything over 8.0. Tip:  It can pay to compare prices across multiple hotel sites:  HotelsCombined.com is a price comparison site which compares hotel prices on Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia, Accor, Agoda and many others.  Though if there's not much in it, I prefer keeping all my bookings together in one place at www.booking.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.

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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 you need a long-haul flight to reach India in the first place...

1)  Check flight prices at Opodo, www.opodo.com...

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

3)  Lounge passes...

Make the airport experience a little more bearable with a VIP lounge pass, it's not as expensive as you think!  See www.loungepass.com

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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

Always take out travel insurance...

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 and belongings, up to a sensible limit.  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, reliable insurers include Columbus Direct.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over 65, see www.JustTravelCover.com - 10% discount with code seat61.

You can use Confused.com to compare prices & policies from many different insurers.

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

  If you live in the USA try Travel Guard USA.

A Curve card saves on foreign transaction fees...

Most banks give you a poor exchange rate, then charge you a currency conversion fee.  A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month at time of writing.  The balance goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.

How it works:  1. Download the app for iPhone or Android.  2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to most European addresses including the UK.  3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app.  4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, just like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance onto whichever of your debit or credit cards you choose.  You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.

I have a Curve Blue card myself - I get some commission if you sign up to Curve, but I'm recommending it here because it's great.  See details, download the app and get a Curve card. Use code MAN61 to get £5 cashback after signing up and using your Curve card the first time.

Get a VPN for safe browsing.  VPNs & why you need one explained...

When you're travelling you often use free WiFi in public places which may not be secure.  A VPN means your connection to the internet is encrypted & always secure, even using unsecured WiFi.  In countries such as China where access to Twitter & Facebook is restricted, a VPN gets around these restrictions.  And lastly, you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geographic restrictions which some websites apply - for example one booking site charges a booking fee to non-European visitors but none to European visitors, so if you're not located in Europe you can avoid this fee by browsing with a UK IP address using a VPN.  VPNs & why you need one explained.  NordVPN & ExpressVPN are the two best buys and I use ExpressVPN myself.

 

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