Which train station closest to Delhi Int Airport?

Sarah in Bristol

Hi there

We want to get the train straight out of Delhi as soon as we land at the international airport.

Can anyone advise as to which will be easire to get to by taxi from the international airport: Delhi Cantonment train station or New Delhi train station?

Also (and which is not necessarily the same question), which of these train stations is the closest to the internation airport?

And finally, what kind of taxi fare are we looking at for either journey?

many many thanks once again to anyone who can supply any info - this forum is fantastic!

Sarah

rahul__rahul__

just wondering...
where are you going to go by train?

Sarah in Bristol

Jaipur

What are you thinking...?

rahul__rahul__

Hmm well I dont know which is closer, I think the only station I have gone to in Delhi would be Hazrat Nizamuddin.

rahul__rahul__

most itineraries with delhi to jaipur by train say have new delhi train station as the station, so maybe there will be more trains that go to jaipur from there?

Sarah in Bristol

Thanks for your help so far.

The train I am looking at (Ashram Express) starts at New Delhi and the first stop the train makes on the way to Jaipur is Delhi Cantonment (CANTT).

I'm just thinking it might be less hassle for us to go straight from the airport to Delhi CANTT rather than trying to negotiate our way into central Delhi only to leave it immediately.

I've got a vague idea that Delhi Cantonment is in the South-West section of greater Delhi, which is roughly the direction we want to trave in, and is also roughly where the International Airport is located.

Another post on here said Delhi CANTT is about 12km away from the domestic terminal, and a further 8km from the international terminal. I could really use some orientation help here!

Many thanks

Sarah

capt_mahajan

for somebody not too familiar with delhi, go to new delhi railway station. take a prepaid taxi from the airport. dont know exact fare, but it should be around 250/300 rupees.

advantages.. new delhi rly station is closer, and if your train starts from there, you will have a little more time to find your compartment etc., or even the platform for the train!

rajeev1008

You are right that Delhi Cantt is much closer to the airport than New Delhi station. The ashram express starts from old delhi station which is even further away from the air port. But as Mr. Mahajan pointed out, one concern could be the short stoppage time at this station- its about 2 minutes - sufficient time to board it unless you are carrying quite a bit of luggage or are with children.
Otherwise taking a pre-paid taxi from the air port Delhi traffic police counter, will see you reach delhi cantt safely in about half an hour.

TimMakins

Have you considered the timings of all of this? You say you want to get on a train straight away, but sometimes it can be difficult to estimate how much time it takes to clear your luggage, how much time it takes to get across town by road, and then, after jet lag and the stress of arriving in a new country you want to get straight on to a train?! Or spend hours wiating at the station for the train to arrive?

Far better to spend at least one night in a nice hotel in Delhi, and then the next day you know for sure that you will make a particular train connection.

Anyway - why not stop and see the sights of Delhi. There are lots of great things there - even three days is not enough to see the best of them. I love Delhi.

Tim in Ireland

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Sarah in Bristol

Rajeev - thanks for your help.

Roughly how long would it take to travel by taxi from the international airport to the old Delhi rail station on a Thursday afternoon? (thanks for pointing out that it's the old rail station - we would have gone to the new one!!)

Hi Tim - thanks for good advice yet again! (enjoyed your website by the way).

Yes, we have considered the possibility of staying in Delhi for the night for the reasons you state. But we don't especially want to see Delhi unless we have time at the end of our trip (so many other places, and I'm not a fan of capital cities unless I have a couple of weeks to spend there).

The only reason we would stay overnight in Delhi would be for issues of timing and stamina as you say. Personally I would rather keep going all day and get to my first destination, and unpack/chill out properly, rather than extend the travelling experiencing with a one-night stopover. Often I feel worse after my first night with jetlag than I do on the day I arrive. But of course impossible to know how we'll feel (first time in India).

If we miss the train, we hope the chances would be reasonable of finding a room in a big international hotel in low(ish) season. Perhaps this could make a very stressful start to the holiday though?!

Sarah

rajeev1008

Congrats on the upcoming marriage !

I saw your itinerary - lovely one- very well thought out. As for the time gap between the flight arrival and train departure, my estimate is :
Arrival 11:15 am
Coming out of the airport after baggage claim + getting the prepaid taxi ticket about 45 mins
Taxi to old delhi - 1 hour
Train boarding - 20 mins
Add another 15 minutes for getting to the taxi and getting down and you are looking at about 2 hrs and twenty minutes of required time between the flight and train. You have provisioned for 3 hrs and 50 mins - a margin of one and a half hrs- normally this should be sufficient for any landing delays, short road blocks, or any other extra time at the unexpected places.
In case of an emrgency, u have the option of taking the taxi to Delhi cantt and boarding the train from there, that gives an additional buffer of an hour (you can board from delhi cantt even if your ticket is from Old delhi). And in case its raining when you arrive, i would suggest that you goto Delhi cantt only; as rains can play havock with the route to old Delhi station.

hitanshu

Excusez moi - Sarah, your original hunch was correct. You CAN board the train from Delhi cantonment station. Its a simple station to go to (no issue of getting lost or walkin long distances on the station - basically one platform).

AFAIK, Ashram exp reaches there at about 3:30pm and can be 5-10 min late (used it regularly last 2 years!) so you can make it comfortably. There is just ONE issue - train stops there for only two mins and you would need to know in advance where the particular AC coach would be. That you can enquire from the coolies (porters), food/book vendors!

However, here is how I see your itinerary:
Arrival: 11:15am (max +1 hour possible if the flights are delayed/rush)
Getting to taxi: 40-60 mins! (luggage charge applies only on >20kg items, read the prepaid taxi bill carefully, they have a tendency to fleece!)
Airport- New Delhi Cantt: 30-40 mins
Train Boarding: 5-7 mins! (u just walk out onto the platform from the parking!!)

So imo, this should be comfortable - only issue is delays in landing!

TimMakins

Make sure your reservation states Delhi Cant, then, so your berths are not re-allocated.

Tim in Ireland

hitanshu

Tim is right. However, on this particular train, the Ticket examiner typically doesnt come checking before 4-5pm. So even if your reservations aren't correct, you can manage to get by

Alternatively, you can called the station master/... of delhi station to tell them you'll board from Cantt - in any case, reallocation doesnt happen by 6pm post Rewari station

BenV

Good, detailed information!

Now we know we can definitely not make it in two hours! We will just spend the day + night in Delhi then