Rishikesh to Shimla via Kalka - Advice

sidtim

Does the following sound OK?

Rishikesh to Haridwar by bus.

Haridwar to Ambala Cant. - Train#4631 - HW(21:40) Ambala(01:40)

Ambala Cant. to Kalka - Train#2311 - Ambala(2:30) Kalka(4:45)

Kalka - Shimla - by any of the many trains.

This seems perfect to me but I was confused mainly because this route has been discussed many times before and no one suggested the above before.

Is the connection too tight?? Or are the railways reliable nowadays?

There is another train Train£3008 from Ambala(4:20) to Kalka(7:00)
Is this a better option?

Any suggestions will be highly appreciated yaar.

Indizen

Sounds quite OK to me, unless Steven ji points out the pitfalls.

steven_ber

I think most people wouldn't suggest that route because of the train times, Ambala at 2 in the morning would seem crazy to a foreign tourist, but I'm confident the station would be full of soldiers and be as safe as anything.

I've no idea if the first train (or the 2nd) are reliable.

There is also the option of getting a taxi from Rishikesh to Roorkee (about 25kms from Haridwar), then catching train 2231 departing Roorkee daily at 06:30 and getting to Chandigarh at 09.55, the train starts from Lucknow and has 2A, 3A, and SL.

There are trains from Chandigarh to Kalka at 10:28 and 11:10, both get to Kalka in time for the last train to Shimla.

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Dilliwala

Haridwar-Ambala Cantt is good, Roorkee-Chandigarh is better.

sidtim

Thanks guys for your suggestions. I think I will go with my original plan except take the 4:20 train at Ambala so it gives me more time margin. Unless someone sees a fault here??
Thans

puchoo

u could skip the train all-together and catch a bus straight from Ambala to Shimla or alternatively to Chandigarh and then from there any of the many which go upto Shimla..

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sidtim

hi puchoo,

I would have taken a bus directly from Haridwar to Shimla except I definitely want to do the Kalka Shimla train ride.

Dilliwala

I wud wait till I got to Ambala Cantt.to buy the onward ticket. If your train is in time you cud then take the 2.30 one to Kalka, which connects onto the first train to Shimla. If you get late, then there's the second train.
And then there's always the bus or a taxi, which wud make you independent of the train schedule. Seeing that you're not going to get much sleep that night, I wud get the journey to Shimla over with earlier rather than later.
It might also be better to book the Kalka-Shimla train, if your trip is this summer. In which case I wud simply think of taking a bus or taxi to Kalka to catch the first train up, in case the 2.30 train Ambala-Kalka is missed.

BTW, the road-distance rom Ambala Cantt. to Kalka is 64 km, which a bus wud do easily in 90 mins.
All in all I don't think it's worth it to wait for the second train to Kalka.

capt_mahajan

Are there direct buses from Haridwar to Shimla?

sidtim

Thx Dilliwala for your suggestion.

So I can buy a ticket at Ambala Station at that hour of morning?
Would buses be available at that hour?

@mahajan I believe there are 5 HPTC buses direct from HW to Shimla (Mentioned somewhere in previous threads on this route - info may be out-dated)

Dilliwala

Plenty. At least 8 a day of HRTC (some on very roundabout routes though), if their website is correct.
Mind you, those are Shimla-Haridwar buses above, and I'm presuming they aren't ferried back empty, becos the site doesn't list a single bus for Haridwar-Shimla!

Yes, you can buy a ticket. Worst case if the counter's closed becos the guy's drunk and sleeping it off somewhere, just get on the train and talk to the TTE.

Ambala is a big place and a major transport hub. Yes, you'll get buses at night. Even if there are none originating, there'll be night-buses from other places passing thru.
Here's the Haryana Roadways website. Please note that it only shows terminating buses, e.g. if a bus goes Delhi-Shimla via Kalka, this one won't show if you enter destination as Kalka. Bit dumb, but there it is.
That a.m. bus leaves Delhi at 23.00 for Shimla, so shud hit Ambala around 3 am. But it won't be the only bus, so not to worry.

I must say, that's a bloody slow train you've picked from HW. There's a much faster train with a good connection during the day, gets you to KLK at 21.15. But then you'll have to take a hotel room, maybe you wanted to avoid that? You cud stay in the station retiring room if you like:
http://indianrailways.gov.in/retirin...g_rooms_nr.htm
Basic, but cheap . Very few beds too, and no advance res. Matter of taking a chance.