Is there heat in Indian trains?

I booked DLI JSM express for myself and my g/f I wanted to experience India and interact with the locals so I chose to book SL. For all other sectors we are travelling in 1A or 2A. Now that I think about it, we won't have beddings/blankets in SL and Since we are travelling in January, it might be cold. What are you guys thoughts? If you were me, would you cancel your tix and book 2A? We will board the train from DLI at 1725 and get to JSM at 1330. All suggestions/comments welcome.

Easy to buy a really cheap sleeping bag for 200 or 300IR and when you've finished with it you can give it to someone for a gift. Phara Ganj is a good place to buy one near the New Delhi railway stn.

Why not book 2A, keep the SL tickets and move between the two as it suits you? Alternatively book 2A for the night journey and the SL for the last few hours.

I agree with Leith. You can perhaps cancell the sleeper tickets while in Delhi. It will be bitting cold in the SL class.
The sleeping bags davey has mentioned are useless against cold so dont count on it.
Good luck.

FWIW, it's cold on Indian night trains in the summer, too. You're barreling through the countryside, wind is coming in despite the shutters . . .

Yeah, I thought about it as well since the SL is too cheap. I checked the availability and it looks like that they still have some seats available in 2A and 3A.

How cold can it really get in SL though? My g/f and I used to Wisconsin Winters. For those who don't know where wisconsin is, It's waaaaaayyyyy up north in US. Some southerners think that we are part of Canada. So, if we are used to that type of winters, are we really gonna have problems in SL? I was just really looking forward to travelling like the locals.

It's difficult to say, I guess it depends on the person, I’d say stick with the Sleeper class tickets and buy a couple of blankets.

I travelled with a friend round Rajasthan, a couple of journeys were overnight in FC (not air con) and a daytime journey in unreserved 2nd class (Jaisalmer - Jaipur), we had bought a couple of blankets just in case (as we were wearing only sandals, thin bottoms and t-shirt in late Dec/Jan).

My friend felt cold sometimes, but I gave him my blanket, as I always felt comfortable with the temperature, though I must confess, I can sleep anywhere and don't often use blankets.


Now 1A, that’s when you need to worry about feeling cold, my friend still blames the air con (fixed on MAXIMUM) in a 1A compartment on a train from Trivandrum to Chennai for him being ill for 4 days, and I must admit, even I felt cold (first and only time in India), some people think I'm exaggerating when I tell them my friend used to sit in the toilet for half an hour to warm up, but it's true. (no air con in the toilet)

You won’t be able to keep both Sleeper class and other berths, the ones not being used at the time of departure will be given to RAC passengers.

The temp. will be around 2-3 degree Cent. (apprrx) during that time on average. Beside that the chill wind. If you have good woolen garments / blankets with you Sl Class wont be a problem bcoz local people also dont have very hi fi wollens too. Or you can buy the tickets for 3AC instead of 2AC. Nowadays lot of middle class people travel in this class. It is very common & popular to middle class people here. Thus you can travel with locals as well as will get the bedding too.

Just to help you, I wear a jumper in London when the temperature drops below about 12 degrees, and a warm coat when it drops below about 6 degrees, I'm not as tough as I used to be, I remember when I first arrived in London about 23 years ago (from the colder north), I used to walk around in t-shirts when it was -3 degrees.

Agra recorded 0.8 degree Centigrade, 4 people already dead in Uttar Pradesh!

Travelled by 2AC earlier this year on the Rajdhani Express from Margao to Delhi. At night, the people sleeping on the upper bunks had to cover the AC vents with towels to prevent the cold air from being pumped in becuase it was freezing. Finally they convinced one of the attendants to adjust the temperature.

That part of the country can get really cold..Since there is no heating on SL it can get rather uncomfortable, apart from being cold, there is constant rattling sound of train wheels plus the occassional sound of passing trains at fast speed can wake you up from your sleep (if you get one). It's good for an experience but not for spending a night if you can travel 1A

Yes, in summers, if u r travelling in the non-ac compartments, it can get really hot.