Train travel in India

monty_python

I'm starting to plan and 6 weeks journey around the north of India in January/February and I'd like to travel by train as much as possible
From what I've read so far booking tickets for the trains is not very straight forward and need to be booked weeks in advance. I've traveled Myanmar by train and just went to the station the day before and got my tickets. Is this definitely not possible in India? Is there any travel agency that could book.the tickets for me??

rossie1977

I used these. They charge a fee above Indian rails original amount but its worth it to avoid the hassle of government site https://12go.asia/en/india

Intercity train travel in Indian is extremely popular thus extremely busy. Remember you are talking 1.3 billion people using a limited amount of trains. The 6am train I travelled from Delhi to Agra was completely sold out in advance and Delhi's main station itself was busy at 5am.

The local trains don't need to be booked in advance but can be chaos at peak times

Seat61 is a very good starting place for train travel in India https://www.seat61.com/India.htm

Vic_08

monty_python wrote: »

I'm starting to plan and 6 weeks journey around the north of India in January/February and I'd like to travel by train as much as possible
From what I've read so far booking tickets for the trains is not very straight forward and need to be booked weeks in advance. I've traveled Myanmar by train and just went to the station the day before and got my tickets. Is this definitely not possible in India? Is there any travel agency that could book.the tickets for me??

If you haven't already, thoroughly read the seat61 website advice, it is generally the best independent rail travel information.

https://www.seat61.com/India.htm

My advice would be to steer clear of the lower class rail travel in India, especially for long distance or overnight travel unless you are very keen on having an "authentic" experience.

loobylou

Was there last November, rocked up to the station the evening before traveling from Delhi to Agra and again from Delhi to Shimla. India Rail hold back a number of tickets which they sell through a dedicated “international travelers” office in the main train station, probably at a premium.
Being India, there’s a lot of palaver, form filling, passports, mothers maiden name etc. You can avoid all this too if you queue up downstairs with all the Indians, might take a lot longer though.
We shared a carriage on the toy train up to Shimla with an English couple. They had planned and booked everything months in advance and they almost accused me of lying when I told them I’d bought our tickets the day before. Their tickets had been a nightmare to book in advance.

Vic_08

You were probably a bit lucky, they do keep spaces for tourists but not unlimited spaces and they can often be booked out as well.

In most cases 3rd party websites and agencies are just a waste of money and it is better to go through the rail companies online or in person, India is an exception due to the unbelievable level of bureaucratic nonsense that anything government run applies.

It is a bizarre contradiction of the general chaos of the country, particularly the complete absence of any apparent rules around roads or the blasé attitude to rail safety with swarms of people on the tracks but that's India for you.

The website rossie1977 linked to and a few others listed on Seat61 are really the best option, the fees they add are more than worth the absence of hassle dealing with officialdom.

limerickabroad

Hey there,

Just saw this thread now. I did a 6 week North India trip recently, and used trains or buses all the time. Was pretty straightforward to use the Cleartrip website (although registering with the India Railways site, which you also have to do) was a pain in the a**e. I booked most trains in advance (i.e. before I left Ireland), and if trains weren't available, I used the buses. Had no major hassles.

I did Delhi-Udaipur-Jaipur-Jodhpur-Amritsar-Dharamsala-Shimla-Rishikesh-Haridwar-Varanasi-Delhi. If you have any questions about any of those places or routes, let me know!

monty_python

Thanks for the replys everyone.
I think I'll head over with nothing booked and just wing it.
A friend of mine says you can buy tickets 1 week in advance from travel agencys for 200 or 300 rupees commission