How to travel from Varanasi to Darjeeling

ammylulu

Dear all,

I want to go to Darjeeling from Varanasi on Oct. 3. I know there are trains from Varanasi to New Jalpaiguri. But when I checked the tickets on www.irctc.co.in, it seems there is only 1 train that day and all the AC berth have been sold out. Should I buy the waiting list ticket or I have other choose? Another question, from www.irctc.co.in, I find there are several railway stations in Varanasi, which one I should choose if I want to go to Darjeeling?

Thanks,

Amy

vonkla

Look at this http://erail.in?T=BSB::NJP:]Varanasi Jalpaiguri site for all the trains.

For the booking process you still need to use irctc.

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bonded

You can go to Darjeeling from either Varanasi Junction (BSB) or Mugal Sarai Junction (MGS) which is around 20 kms from Varanasi.

You can also try getting ticktes on Tatkal. http://www.irctc.co.in/tatkal.html

vsp27759

##There are three trains from Varanasi to New Jalpaiguri, namely,

**5636 Okha-Guwahati Weekly Express on TUESDAYS
**2436 NDLS-DBRT Rajdhani on THURSDAYS & SUNDAYS
**5934 ASR-DBRT Weekly Express on SATURDAYS.

##I don't advise a waitlisted ticket on 5934. Please look at this:
----
5934 ASR DBRT EXPRES 3-10-2009 VARANASI JN NEW JALPAIGURI GENERAL
S.No. Date (DD-MM-YYYY) Class - SL Class -3A
1 3-10-2009 WL 24/WL 16 WL 5/WL 5
2 10-10-2009 RAC 11/RAC 11 WL 2/WL 2
3 17-10-2009 AVAILABLE- 0006 AVAILABLE- 0014
4 24-10-2009 AVAILABLE- 0012 WL 3/WL 3
5 31-10-2009 WL 15/WL 12 WL 8/WL 7
6 7-11-2009 AVAILABLE- 0108 WL 4/WL 4
.............................. ............
5934 ASR DBRT EXPRES 3-10-2009 LUCKNOW NR NEW JALPAIGURI GENERAL
S.No. Date (DD-MM-YYYY) Class - SL Class -3A
1 3-10-2009 WL 3/WL 3 WL 10/WL 5
2 10-10-2009 AVAILABLE- 0013 WL 3/WL 3
3 17-10-2009 AVAILABLE- 0030 AVAILABLE- 0004
4 24-10-2009 AVAILABLE- 0026 WL 3/WL 3
5 31-10-2009 AVAILABLE- 0012 WL 2/WL 2
6 7-11-2009 AVAILABLE- 0030 WL 1/WL 1
.............................. ............
5934 ASR DBRT EXPRES 2-10-2009 AMRITSAR JN NEW JALPAIGURI GENERAL
S.No. Date (DD-MM-YYYY) Class - SL Class -3A
1 2-10-2009 RAC 45/RAC 38 WL 29/WL 11
2 9-10-2009 WL 85/WL 64 WL 30/WL 17
3 16-10-2009 WL 36/WL 18 AVAILABLE- 0021
4 23-10-2009 AVAILABLE- 0195 AVAILABLE- 0020
5 30-10-2009 AVAILABLE- 0249 AVAILABLE- 0039
6 6-11-2009 AVAILABLE- 0150 AVAILABLE- 0060
==================

vsp27759

(...contd...)
5934 ASR DBRT EXPRES 3-10-2009 SHAHJEHANPUR NEW JALPAIGURI GENERAL
S.No. Date (DD-MM-YYYY) Class - SL Class -3A
1 3-10-2009 RAC 45/RAC 38 WL 29/WL 11
2 10-10-2009 WL 85/WL 64 WL 30/WL 17
3 17-10-2009 WL 36/WL 18 AVAILABLE- 0021
4 24-10-2009 AVAILABLE- 0195 AVAILABLE- 0020
5 31-10-2009 AVAILABLE- 0249 AVAILABLE- 0039
6 7-11-2009 AVAILABLE- 0150 AVAILABLE- 0060
.............................. ...................

and please look at this:
---------
5934 ASR DBRT EXPRES 5-12-2009 VARANASI JN NEW JALPAIGURI GENERAL
S.No. Date (DD-MM-YYYY) Class - SL Class -3A
1 5-12-2009 AVAILABLE- 0029 AVAILABLE- 0006
..........

##So, your chances for confirmation, if at all you take a waitlisted ticket, would be confined to the cancellations within these Berths which are already booked.

ammylulu

Thank you very much, Vonkla, bonded and vsp27759.

After study all the train booking situation, I have two options:

Train no. 2424 1A 4WL/1WL
or Trian no.0556 SL Available-0076

which one I should choose? any suggestion?

bonded

Train 0556 is a special train and there are seats available is SL. So if you can travel in SL then you can book the ticket.

Train 2424 there are only 2 1A seats available on that train and you are #1 in Waiting List. So your ticket would be confirmed only if one of the confirmed booking is cancelled.

ammylulu

thanks for your advise.
i decide to book 2424. Do I have to pay for the waiting-list ticket?

vonkla

If you must travel that day I should book both trains, so at least you have a seat.

You have to pay for the WL ticket but you get automatically a refund when it is not confirmed.

If it is confirmed you cancel the other ticket, you get a refund minus a small the amount for the administration costs.

ammylulu

Thanks, bonds and vonkla.

But, when I book 1A or 2A of 2424 from MGS to NJP, it always says:

"BOOKING NOT ALLOWED FOR GIVEN PAIR OF STATIONS" and "Unable To Retrieve Fare Due To Communication Failure."

How should I do?

arunganpath

It will get automatically refunded if it is an e-ticket and you cannot even board the train

steven_ber

Try booking Allahabad to New Jalpaiguri, then changing your boarding station (at the time of booking) to Mughal Sarai, I havn't tried this for a while, but I'm confident it will still work.

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ammylulu

Thank you very much!

I finally bought the Trian no.0556 SL, arriving NJP at 0:05.

Is there any guesthouse for me to stay overnight, or any car to Darjeeling at that time?

vsp27759

Dear ammylulu,

##The following is the schedule of 0556:
---------------
0556 NDLS KYQ SPECIA 14/09/2009 NEW DELHI FRI
SNo Stn Code Stn Name Route No. Arrival Time Dep. Time Distance Day Remark
1 NDLS NEW DELHI 1 Source 23:55 0 1
2 GZB GHAZIABAD 1 01:00 01:02 26 2
3 CNB KANPUR CENTRAL 1 06:40 06:45 440 2
4 ALD ALLAHABAD JN 1 09:35 09:40 634 2
5 MGS MUGHAL SARAI JN 1 11:50 12:00 787 2
6 PNBE PATNA JN 1 15:00 15:10 999 2
7 KIR KATIHAR JN 1 20:40 20:50 1288 2
8 KNE KISHANGANJ 1 22:21 22:23 1384 2
9 NJP NEW JALPAIGURI 1 00:05 00:20 1471 3
10 NOQ NEW ALIPURDAUR 1 03:10 03:17 1616 3
11 KOJ KOKRAJHAR 1 04:11 04:13 1695 3
12 NBQ NEW BONGAIGAON 1 04:53 04:55 1723 3
13 KYQ KAMAKHYA 1 08:20 Destination 1924 3
.............................. ..

##Officially, this train has got just three stops between Mughalsarai and NJP.

steven_ber

Officially.....but it goes through Bihar during the day.