Do you need train information?

ddutta

Hallo,

Try the Shatabdi Express .2037 (SAT) or 2011 (Sun,Mon,Tue,Wed,Thu,Fri )
New Delhi Kalka Shatabdi 07:40 (DEP) 12:00 (ARR)
A super fast train & good /safe for ladies travelling alone.

ciona

thanks a lot for your reply, you guys really are invaluable...
/ciona

lobo

Amristar to Dehra dun by train? Anyone know if this is possible and how many hours it would take???

SHIMLA

The only direct train seems to be a passenger train, which leaves Amritsar at 20=55 and reaches Dehradun at 11=50 the next day.

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steven_ber

The Passenger train mentioned by SHIMLA is Northern Railways train number 330, it has the old First Class (not air-con), Sleeper Class and 2nd class.

Distance 464 Kms.

FC = Rs 495
SL = Rs 126
II = Rs 76

I'm not sure how you would book this train, Indian Railways doesn't allow booking passenger trains from abroad, I guess you would have to book it in a Northern Railways station (Varanasi, Delhi, and all stations north of Delhi).

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lobo

Thanks for your help guys, I will make enquiries when im in dehra dun Im sure a local travel agent should be able to get tickets. I have never travelled old first class whats it like???.

steven_ber

???????

I cant find a departure time for the train in the other direction (train 329), I would guess it departs Dehra Dun at 17:25, as it gets to Amritsar at 08:20.

I would say use FC whenever you get the opportunity, they are very good value for money.

As long as you wipe the seats with a cloth, FC is the best way to travel; there are no darkened windows to obstruct your view.

When you get the ticket from the travel agent, there will be no berth/seat number, only CNF (confirmed), berths/seats are allocated only hours before the train departs, there should be only one FC carriage on the train (it may be only half a carriage), when you get to the carriage look for the reservation sheet by the door (not 100 % sure you get reservation sheets on passenger trains.), or ask the ticket man on the train where your berth is.

ddutta

Posted By Steven [ I would say use FC whenever you get the opportunity, they are very good value for money.]



Steven, you are 100% correct. Old FC truly have some majestic / nostalgic memory. It is really a sad thing that IR is repalcing it with AC II & AC III. In near future we will see it (FC) in the Rail Museum only.FC is more comfortable & safe (bcoz of locked cabin facility) to travell specially in winter. Moreover you can enjoy the landscape through the window . Buying a cup of chai or hot samosas or local delicacies from the station vendor over the window is an added advantage.And mind it , all these fun will cost you very little.

lobo

Thanks guys, depending how easy it was to get between the two I was going to plan a route not going back to dehli. I may end up in dehra dun first or amristar I havent decided yet
Rough plans at the moment.

SHIMLA

[quote=steven_ber]I cant find a departure time for the train in the other direction (train 329), I would guess it departs Dehra Dun at 17:25, as it gets to Amritsar at 08:20./QUOTE]

Steven,
The IR website does show the timing of the train in the return direction - train no. 329 leaving Dehra Dun at 19=20

velure

Haven't read through the whole thread so don't know if this has been mentioned yet or not, but will do so anyway, for foreign tourists kicking off their adventure in Delhi, you can go to the Inernational Tourist Bureau in New Delhi station, the staff there are super-friendly and super efficient at sorting out travel arrangements for foreigners and NRIs alike. Best to give them a bit of notice to ensure your travel goes smoothly, but they have also been known to work miracles in short amounts of time. Also useuful for first timers trying to understand Indian Railways is Royston Ellis' book "India by Rail", a fantastic companion when trying to get your head around IR and its complexities.

steven_ber

SHIMLA

A 2-hour difference for the same train in opposite directions... Only on IR.

Have they upgraded the IR website? I never knew they had info on passenger trains.

I spent most of yesterday going through the Indian Bradshaw checking the 'slip coaches', (slow day at work) only to find all the info on the IR site this morning, there are some useful (for tourists) stations connected when using the slip coaches.

For others - Slip coaches are carriages that are hauled part of the way by one train then detached from that train and attached to another to complete a journey (normally between 2 stations that would otherwise not have a direct train connecting them).

steven_ber

Velure.

Thanks for the info.

I've seen the International Tourist Bureau in New Delhi station, it looks smart, I've never used it though.

A WARNING to others, You get (believable) touts on the ground floor at New Delhi station that tell you the Inernational Tourist Bureau is closed or has moved or eats tourists, anything to get you to the shop that pays them a commision, don't beleive them.

I used to have Royston Ellis' book "India by Rail", (when I wasn't interested in Indian Railways), I've lost it, I remember some useful stuff in there, E.G.

Measurements of berths and a list of extra charges for certain sections of the railway (Konkan, DHR, Ooty train etc.)

I will have to get the book again one day.

lobo

A WARNING to others, You get (believable) touts on the ground floor at New Delhi station that tell you the Inernational Tourist Bureau is closed or has moved or eats tourists, anything to get you to the shop that pays them a commision, don't beleive them.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

yes you are correct, a guy there almost caught me out by saying "its closed today" I didnt expect it but luckily some one I was with did!!!!

balajibr

Hi Steven/All,

We are planning for a trip from Bangalore to Delhi, Agra, Nainital, Mussoriee, Shimla, Kullu, Manali.

Here is the info of my draft plan:

•Day 1: Bangalore to Delhi by air (Dep. Bangalore:05:50, Arr Delhi:08:30)

•Day 1: Delhi to Agra by T2626 Kerala express (Dep. Delhi: 11:30, Arr. Agra: 02:12)

•Day 2: Stay at Agra

•Day 2: Agra fort to Lalkuan Jn by T5311 Kumaon Exp. (Dep. Agra fort: 21:30. Arr. Lalkaun: 08:30)

•Day 3: Lalkaun-Kathgodam-Nainital

•Day 4: Stay at Nainital

•Day 5: Nainital-Kathgodam-Dehradun (Doon exp. Dep: Kathgodam: 20:45 Arr. Dehradun: 09:00)

•Day 6: Dehradun-Mussorrie

•Day 7 : Sightseeing in and around Mussorrie

•Day 8: Dehradun-Shimla via Saharanpur, Ambala, Kalka – we could not find a good train/bus route for this direction. There is a train from Dehradun to Ambala to Kalka, but it reaches Ambala at 02:21, am not sure if it’s safe to change trains at this time in Ambala and don’t have any idea how safe is the train station. So alternate route is by bus, but we could not get any information on this in the internet!

•Day 9: Kalka to Shimla by T251 Kalka Simla Exp (Dep. Kalka:06:00, Arr. Shimla 11:00)

•Day 10: Stay at Shimla

•Day 11: Shimla to Manali by taxi/bus

•Day 12: Manali to Kullu by taxi/bus

•Day 13: Kullu to Dharamsala

•Day 14: Dharamsala to Pathankot

•Day 15: Pathankot to Delhi by T4034 Jammu Mail (Dep. Pathankot:18:40, Arr Delhi: 05:55)

•Day 15: Delhi to Bangalore by air (Dep. Delhi: 18:30, Arr. Bangalore: 21:00)


We are not interested in packaged tours, so thought of doing all ourselves with the places we wish to cover.

Problem in the above trip is the trip from Dehradun to Shimla – may be you could suggest an alternate plan.

Will it be a problem managing ourselves, what do you think?

We are open to any alternate plan – please free to add/remove any places!

We would be grateful if you could see if the above is feasible or suggest alternate routes/valuable tips.

Sorry for a long mail, and thanks in advance for reading this!

Best Regards,
Balaji