Orccha - Jhansi - Delhi train advice

sachinsoni

Hello again,

i have a few queries regarding our upcoming trip to MP. I have posted previously and sorted my itinerary now but need some advice on timings when travelling....

From Chitrakoot - Varanasi we will be travelling by train from Manikpur as the timings work out better.

We stay 2 days in Varanasi and then fly to Khajurhao, where we will spend a day and a half.

From K we will travel by taxi to Orccha, where we will stay 2 nights and 2 days.

From here we will travel by train to Delhi and then fly to Chennani.

We want to avoid staying a night in delhi so are looking at getting the:

23.37 from Jhansi - 6.20 delhi Grand Trunk Exp
or
21.57 - 4.55 Malwa exp

Our flight options are: 9.30/10.10 in order to arrive in chennai at a decent time and make the most of the day.

Are these trains reliable? If they do get delayed, by how much usually? We cant really afford to miss our flights. We have purposefully chosen longer trains from Jhansi in order to save a nights stay in delhi.

Is driving not even an option due to the distance??

Thanks in advance,

Sachin.

York_Katni

GT Express and Tamil Nadu express are usually very reliable and there is absoulutely no need to worry on that account, barring accidents and unforseen contingencies, there will be no engineering works but thankfully not the mess we had this week end!

steven_ber

Taking the Grand Trunk Express will require nerves of steel.

York_Katni's knowledge or train reliability has always been excellent, and I'm not suggesting this train will be late, but the train will have covered 2184kms in 35 hours before it gets to Delhi.

The train has been no more than 30 minutes late over the past few days, I'd still be worried though, enough to make me wonder if a night in Orchha was worth the worry, the Shatabdi departs Jhansi at about 18:00 (getting to New Delhi station at 22:30).

Keep an eye on the Grand Trunk Exp to see if it gets delayed, there's a number you can call (139 I think), or you can check on the net (Train Enquiry), try to find out how the train is doing at about 15:00, the Grand Trunk Exp will be 1600kms into it's journey by then, if it's delayed by more than an hour think about trying to get the Shatabdi, there's a very good chance of last minute tickets being available for the Shatabdi, though you'd have to get them from Jhansi station.

If you do use the Grand Trunk Exp, get off the train at Nizamuddin station, the train should get there 20 minutes before New Delhi and Nizamuddin is closer to the airport.

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York_Katni

Hi Steven,
It is an like instinct akin to the movie rainman and an accretion of past experience that drives one to hedge one's bet on the gt and the tamil nadu as they have been pretty reliable and could be in a manner of speaking assumed as the favorites of the section controller. There is a Bhopal Express that runs from Bhopal to delhi and the chances of delay going by the logic of distance could be lesser than the other 2.
Thanks
York_Katni

sachinsoni

thanks to your advice,

im thinkin the best option will be to wait till the day and not book in advance, this way we wont be restricted and if delayed we can get an earlier train and wait around in delhi.

The GT exp option would be ideal and will hopefully be on time. If arriving at 6.20 will we be pushing it for the 10.10 flight to chennai, how far is the airport from train station? as the flight is something we would preferably like to book in advance

thanks.

York_Katni

To be really safe you could also book a SL or 3AC worse comes to worse by 1057 Amritsar Express which gets to Delhi by 4.00AM and has a quite a bit of cushion or the 2721 Nizamuddin Express which is also not a bad train really. It gets to NZM earlier. The problem for most trains is the Mathura- Delhi section as so many trains have to enter Delhi[if you see the network map you will understand and the choices train controllers have before them at that time considering the traffic volume and they are a tribe who in many ways resemble each other be it in Crewe or in Jhansi ! If one could logically speculate of how trains are run in many ways the answer of what train to choose becomes easier] . The safest bet is a train which gets within the Mathura-Palwal- Delhi at around 1.30AM to 3.00AM[that way they will be in Delhi outer long before the traffic piles up between Jhansi and Mathura] in the morning; before other trains are lining up one behind the other for platforms and for entering Delhi as the morning and night times are the ideal arrival and departure times for many trains and many trains have to finish their final lap from Delhi, to end their long rides to either the Punjab, Dehradun or Jammu.

Go to www.indianrail.gov.in and type JHS to NZM and you will get the entire list.
The presence of freights, container rakes and rather slower trains upfront also may be the singular reason de etre for the delay of 30minutes or so in the New Delhi or Hazrat Nizamuddin to Jhansi section. But in spite of it is not bad, there is no reason I see for getting worried and veteran trains [which carry important people like politicians, bureaucrats etc and other office goers who have a day of work ahead in the capital] like the GT and Tamil Nadu usually, should have a decent run, especially at this time of the year. But your best bet is to stick to 2721 NZM Express and GT. So you can't be safer than that barring extraordinary contingencies. As Steven told you keep a hawk like eye on train enquiry.

Do avoid taking the Malwa another morning arrival which may not be a great train with a reputation for delays, if tickets are not available by GT the Amritsar Express and the 2722, go for the evening shatabdi. You also have the 2429 Rajdhani express which comes at 00.30hrs and reaches at Nizamuddin at 5.55AM. It's better you stick on with GT and as a back up reservation in SL or 3AC [that's your choice] the 2721 Nizamuddin Express which comes from Hyderabad. Go and enquire where the Station master's room is and it is a place you cannot miss, you'll see flashing lights and routes and the whirr of the telephone[Jhansi at that time whew, is a haven for a trainspotter just like Carlisle or Doncaster!]. He will sport a white shirt and trouser. He will tell you accurately about train position and is more reliable than many other people including sometimes announcers and he gets the information much earlier, before others and has an important role in dispatching trains. He is located I think in the 1st platform of Jhansi station and if you make enquiries before hand where he is you will, safely know well in advance where your train is, if he's a man of cheerful disposition he will use his motorolla or siemens handset and find out what the chief and assistant are up to in their locomotive pulling your train, how they're faring[ in a way we passengers are so selfish, we must think of the pressure these two people face and the guard {in england there are no guards but the EWS drivers of the scott rail sleepers also face the same predicament} in the small hours of the night pulling 2000 sleeping souls which may be less or more numerically in India, to Delhi on time, they bear the brunt of mistakes and rancor that are not really their fault, and it is not possible nowadays to drive deliberately slowly, with detailed logs being kept and their only company is bright signal lights and the track ahead, so it is not bad idea to take a moment to look at those two midget like souls with their metal trunk carrying that packed meal, safety kit, a flag, possibly a photo of a loved one, clambering into to the locomotive and if possible make an enquiry how their day at work has been and when they finish] and where they are cruising by either calling Bhopal or Bina; the station master can point out exactly when they'll be hitting the JHS home!


As for taxis always go for the prepaid ones which I think are available in front of the station. I have never flown out of India from Delhi so I can't really tell you about how far the airport is and Steven and other better informed members could guide you. I have contributed what little I am aware of here.

steven_ber

You can't book a ticket on the GT at the last minute, the latest you can book will be about 17:00 2 days before you board the train, and you'll have little chance of a reservation when booking so late.

sachinsoni

thanks katni for the detailed info...did what u said and the first train on the list is:

2447 U P SMPRK KRNTI leaving JHANSI JN at 23:05 arriving in H NIZAMUDDIN at 05:15

this is better timing but not sure about this train??

York_Katni

That should be ok! The other options being the same GT, Nizamuddin Express or 1057, But as Steven pointed out availability may be a problem.

steven_ber

Aqain, I'd be worried about the UPSK for the following reasons.

I got a train (2189, Mahakaushal Exp) from Chitrakoot to Agra last December, the 'train running update' at Chitrakoot still had info about the UPSK and that it had been running 30 minutes late, my train ran 45 minutes late arriving at Chitrakoot, but we got to Jhansi 2 hours late.

In Agra I decided to test the train enquiry website to see if it was accurate, it was, it had the times of my train, and the delays absolutely correct, I then checked the UPSK, and that train also departed Jhansi 2 hours late.

The problem is, the Manikpur-Chitrakoot-Jhansi line is single track, so the smallest of delays can throw the train off it's given slot, this often means the train will then have to pull into a small station to allow a train to pass, this can lose the train an extra 15-30 minutes each time it happens.

I checked on train enquiry again last night, the UPSK arrived in Delhi only 20 minutes late on it's last run, BUT, was 2 hours late the run before that.

The UPSK only runs 3 days a week (M, W, Sa)

One more thing, there is a reasonable chance that the timings of the UPSK will change soon, running later, Khajuraho will soon be connected to the rail network, a train to/from Delhi was announced in the budget, there were 2 clues about the new train, first, it will be a 'link' train, this means that carriages will run from Khajuraho to somewhere (almost certainly Mahoba) then be added to another train, and 2nd, the train will run on only 3 days a week, this means the carriages from Khajuraho are almost certain to be added to the UPSK.

This alone could change the timings of the UPSK, but there is also a chance the timings could change significantly, this is because the tourism minister has been proudly announcing a train connecting Khajuraho to Agra, and I don't think the minister will be too happy when he realises that the UPSK arrives in Agra at 02:20, so there may be a little pressure on the railways to change the timings of the UPSK.

All in all, I don't think I'd choose this train given your requirements.

By the way, it should take over an hour to get from Nizamuddin to the airport, maybe about 10-15 minutes longer from New Delhi station, though I don't know how long you should leave to check in.

York_Katni

Steven
There must be some train to travel needed! UP Smprk kranthi seems to be a good train. There are few other choices than what has been suggested by both of us!
York_Katni

sachinsoni

thanks steven,

seems like the GT express is our best bet, we'll book a sleeper carriage in advance so we'll hopefully get a nights sleep, arriving at 6.20 and then fly the next morning 10.10 to chennai

thanks again for being so helpful!

faustus77

Orchha is a small place i dont think u would need that much time.U can stay 1 nite at jhansi.What i gathered u r in transit at delhi.U can take a direct train viz rajdhani express twice a week and once a week garib rath exp.Jhansi to cennai 23hrs 30 minutes.Centre of the town to centre of the town .u save alot on cab fare.Both these trains are fully airconditioned.Rajdhani is very comfortable specially if u go by first ac.U hve 2nd ac and 3rd ac.Garib rath has 3rd ac and ac chair car.Another way would be to travel jhansi to Nagpur and catch a flight.I am not sure of nagpur chennai flights but there should be some.Ur way of going to delhi is going north and then going south east and my suggestion u r travelling in general direction of south east.pl look up the map .
PS Orchha means the hidden place and is 23 kilomtrs from jhansi.
Any more info pl email faustus77(at)gmail(dot)com

julesa

orchha is beautiful and there is so much to explore, a couple of nights is a good option in my view.

sachinsoni

thanks for the info faustus, we are actually planning to fly to chennai so have to go via delhi, 23hrs on a train is a bit too long, we dont have that much time to spare, if it was just overnight then maybe but we would be travelling during the day.

ive been going on peoples reccommendations and 2 days seems to be most common suggestion.

thanks.