Train fares.

How long is a piece of string....?


You don't say how long you will be in this part of India? (Less than a month would not be enough time)

What date will you arrive in Delhi/India? (Close to festivals normally mean it's difficult to get berths on trains)

Are you arriving and departing from Delhi?

JIT? Do you mean CJT (circular journey ticket)?

A CJT has to be booked in India, you would need to allow a couple of days in Delhi to book it, then probably a couple of extra days to allow enough time to make sure that berths would be available.

What class of accommodation would you prefer?

Do you want the trains you use to be mostly overnight trains?

Would you be OK travelling in a second-class unreserved carriage? (Possibly crowded)


I am happy to spend hours doing a reply for you (I am a very slow typist), all I ask is that you meet me halfway and give as much info as you can to help me make the reply as useful as possible.

Dear Steve, thank you for your quick reply.

My planned length of travel is nor more than 25 days. I wish I could stay for 1 month, but I cannot get such a long vacation.

Yes, Delhi should be my first and last stop in India, and I will arrive in early February 2005. Is it easy to book berths in February?

Yes, I mean CIT (sorry for the typo). Will CIT be suitable for my trip, or should I buy some rail pass instead? Or are there other choices for me to travel in India efficiently? I don’t mind traveling by bus occasionally.

As to the class, if it is not very hot in February, I don’t mind if the cabin has air-con or not, but I hope I can get at least SL or AC chair class for overnight travel. I do not mind traveling overnight train, besides, it can save me time since my schedule is so tight. In circumstances when I cannot get ticket of other classes, I don’t mind traveling in a second-class unreserved carriage for several hours, so long as not overnight.

I look forward to your valuable advice (hopefully it does not take too much of your time). Thank you very much.

Sorry for the late reply.

Your preferred route is as follows: -


Delhi, Agra, Khajuraho, Varanasi, Jaipur, Pushkar, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Amritsar. ????

I would suggest you drop Bikaner & Amritsar.

I haven’t been to Bikaner, but I’ve heard that if time is short it is not wise to go to both Bikaner & Jaisalmer, I've been to Jaisalmer and it is absolutely one of the places you must visit in India.

If Bikaner is dropped, then Amritsar is really out of the way, I myself have always wanted to visit Amritsar but still haven’t got there.



I would then do the tour in the following order: -

Delhi, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Pushkar, Jaipur, Agra/Fatehpur Sikri, Khajuraho, Varanasi, Delhi.

You could also include Orchha on your way to Khajuraho, Orchha is close to Jhansi.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Train 4059 departs Delhi (Sarai Rohilla) daily at 18:00 and gets to Jaisalmer at 12:45.

Train 4809 departs Jaisalmer daily at 23:15 and gets to Jodhpur at 05:15.

A change of train at Marwar Junction is necessary to get between Jodhpur and Udaipur, parts of the journey between Marwar and Udaipur are said to be very scenic.

Train 1JM departs Jodhpur daily at 10:45 and gets to Marwar Jn. at 13:15.

Train 483 departs Marwar Jn. Daily at 14:25 and gets to Udaipur at 22:00.

These 2 trains have only 2nd class unreserved seats, if you try to get a circular journey ticket you will have to get a Sleeper class ticket from Jodhpur to Udaipur, though no reservation, then you will have to buy a 2nd class unreserved ticket in Jodhpur for the trains to Udaipur. (Rs 42)


Train 432 departs Udaipur daily at 19:00, part of this train is then connected to another train (9672) at Chittaurgarh and arrives in Ajmer at 07:40.

Train 9770 departs Ajmer daily at 10:55 and gets to Jaipur at 14:15.

Train 2308 departs Jaipur daily at 23:10 and gets to Agra Fort at 05:35.

Train 6218 departs Agra Cant (Mondays) at 09:25 and gets to Jhansi at 12:50.
Train 2646 departs Agra Cant (Tuesdays) at 09:25 and gets to Jhansi at 12:50.
Train 2804 departs Agra Cant (Wednesdays) at 09:25 and gets to Jhansi at 12:50.
Train 1054 departs Agra Cant (Thursdays) at 09:25 and gets to Jhansi at 12:50.
Train 2644 departs Agra Cant (Fridays) at 09:25 and gets to Jhansi at 12:50.
Train 2642 departs Agra Cant (Saturdays) at 09:25 and gets to Jhansi at 12:50.
Train 2804 departs Agra Cant (Sundays) at 09:25 and gets to Jhansi at 12:50.

Train 1107 departs Jhansi daily at 21:35 and gets to Varanasi at 10:25

Train 2559 departs Varanasi daily at 18:45 and gets to New Delhi at 07:45.



--------------------------------------

Delhi - Jaisalmer = 919 kms (Rs 324)
Jaisalmer - Jodhpur = 294 kms (Rs 152)
Jodhpur - Udaipur = 300 kms (Rs 124)
Udaipur - Ajmer (for Pushkar) = 304 kms (Rs 157)
Ajmer – Jaipur = 135 kms (Rs 121)
Jaipur - Agra/Fatehpur Sikri = 358 kms (Rs 192)
Agra - Jhansi = 217 kms (Rs 148)
Jhansi - Varanasi = 531 kms (Rs 235)
Varanasi - Delhi = 761 kms (Rs 313)


Total distance = 3819 kms.

Cost in Sleeper class if single tickets were purchased. = Rs 1766

A Circular Journey Ticket (CJT) to cover this route would allow you 28 or 29 days, though less is OK, and would cost Rs 1118, a saving of Rs 648. (US$ 15)

Although this route is ideal for a CJT, I would advise against it, I don’t think the savings are worth the hassle of purchasing the ticket, if you were to travel in 2A the savings would have been massive, enough to get a travel agent to get the ticket for you (if that’s allowed).

I would recommend that you book your first 2 trains over the internet, then buy the rest when you get to Delhi.


If you do take this route, train 1107 departs Mahoba at 00:10, Mahoba is a lot closer to Khajuraho (about 2.5 hours on a bus).

Also, a bus may be more convenient between Ajmer and Jaipur.

The information will assist me during my ensuing visit in India.

Steven, thanks a lot for such detailed information. Your reply is very helpful for me to plan my trip.

Dear Jarman,
Your observation:-
""Day 1: Train Delhi - Agra (train no 2430). Night Agra.""
-----------
@@@2430 is Nizamuddin-Bangalore Rajadhani Express which departs from Nizamuddin at 20.50 hrs. on every Monday/Tuesday/Friday/Saturday whose next stop is Jhansi. On every Sunday, you have 2437 Nizamuddin-Secunderabad Rajadhani Express which also departs at 20.50 hrs.
===========
Kindly have a look at this:-
TRAIN ROUTE

You Queried For Train No Train Name Date Runs From Source Runs On
2430 BANGLORE RJDHNI 07/05/2005 H NIZAMUDDIN MON TUE FRI SAT


SNo Stn Code Stn Name Route No. Arrival Time Dep. Time Distance Day Remark
1 NZM H NIZAMUDDIN 1 Source 20:50 0 1
2 AGC AGRA CANTT 1 22:00 22:05 189 1 Train doesn't halt at this station, presently
3 JHS JHANSI JN 1 01:14 01:24 403 2
4 BPL BHOPAL JN 1 04:50 04:55 694 2
5 NGP NAGPUR 1 10:22 10:32 1083 2
6 BPQ BALHARSHAH 1 15:10 15:12 1295 2 Train doesn't halt at this station, presently
7 KZJ KAZIPET JN 1 16:43 16:45 1528 2
8 SC SECUNDERABAD JN 1 19:10 19:25 1660 2
9 SEM SERAM 1 21:32 21:34 1807 2
10 RC RAICHUR 1 23:43 23:45 1951 2
11 ATP ANANTAPUR 1 02:58 03:00 2172 3
12 DMM DHARMAVARAM JN 1 03:45 03:50 2215 3
13 SSPN SAI P NILAYAM 1 04:20 04:25 2257 3
14 SBC BANGALORE CY JN 1 07:25 00:00 2454 3
============================== ============
If you are so particular for a night journey from Nizamuddin to Agra, perhaps, you can choose, 2156 Habibganj Express which departs at 21.00 hrs. and reaches Agra at 23.37 hrs.
(or)
9368 Malwa Express which departs from New Delhi at 19.20 hrs. and arrives in Agra at 22.50 hrs.
----
But the best option is 1104 Nizamuddin-Agra Intercity Express - NZM/18.10-AGC/21.35

I have a question about the BOJ rules. I read the thread on how to book BOJ in the Understanding Reservations thread. Lets say I decide the break the journey at Varanasi (en route from Delhi to Howrah) and on the booking form I fill in "Reservation up to Varanasi". Do I need to put a date (in the onward journey details section) when I intend to depart Varanasi and continue the rest of the train ride to Howrah?

I see I can get up to 3 nights at a 'break-journey destination'...but what if Im not sure if I just want to stay for the one night or two nights or all three? do I have to put a date down? basically, I still want to have flexibility in some sense. Also what happens if there is no availability to leave on either of those nights? are you allowed to push to the fourth night?

thanks

Dear Kanbe,
Your observation:-
""and on the booking form I fill in "Reservation up to Varanasi". Do I need to put a date (in the onward journey details section) when I intend to depart Varanasi and continue the rest of the train ride to Howrah?""
-------------
@@@Definitely no need because you can book your onward reservation even after landing in Varanasi. But it is always advisable to make the Onward Reservation also at the time of original reservation itself, because NDLS-BSB-HWH is a very crowded route.

Yes, you must put the date and train details of the onward journey.

You would either be issued with waitlisted tickets, or if the waitlist is used up and there is no alternative train, you wouldn't be issued with a 'Break Of Journey' ticket, you will not be allowed a 4th night.


If you want to be flexible, you are best to stick with single tickets.

You can get your reservation for Delhi to Varanasi, then book (in Delhi) a couple of tickets for the onward journey from varanasi for different nights, you will soon know how long you want to stay in Varanasi, then cancel the ticket you don't wish to use, the cancellation fees can be very small.

See following post (separate post so that I can do direct links to the 'Refund post'.

The following are the basic refund rules for single ‘un-travelled RESERVED tickets’, there are many more rules, but I feel that these are the only rules a tourist will normally need to know.


You can get a refund a ticket as long as you pay a cancellation fee, but the fee varies.

More than one day in advance (excluding the date of the journey), the cancellation fees would be: -

1A = Rs 50
2A = Rs 30
3A = Rs 30
CC = Rs 30
FC = Rs 30
SL = Rs 20
II = Rs 10

One day in advance (excluding the date of the journey), and up to 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the trains, the cancellation fees would be 25% of the fare paid.

Less than 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the trains, the cancellation fees would be 50% of the fare paid.

You can also get a refund after the train has departed, if you were going to travel less than 200 Kms. You can get a refund up to 3 hours after the actual departure of the train, 201 – 500 Kms. = 6 hours after departure, and over 501 Kms. Would allow you to get a refund up to 12 hours after departure, the cancellation fees would be 50% of the fare paid.

Are you sure?

I've been told otherwise.

Whatever the rules, the risk of not getting an onward reservation would be high.

Thanks for all the above replies.

Im confused though. I would be submitting just the one form to the counter guy. So how can I then book for multiple onward journey dates? or is that possible on the one form?

Im guessing it follows, that these BOJ rules is really relevant only on those popular frequent routes (i.e. trains that run most days).

Check out the following thread.

Understanding Reservation Forms.

You can put the details of 2 trains on one reservation form, if you have 2 'breaks' of journey (so 3 trains) you would fill in a 2nd reservation form but write across the top 'Reservation Only'.

The break of journey rules can be used for most routes (well, all routes really) as long as your onward journey IS going in an 'onward' direction.

This post is definately aweseome ... kudos to Steve.

I heard that during the months of June and July the train routes in Uttar PRadesh / BIhar are quite empty.
Confirm?

Dear Steve,
Your observation:-
""Yes, you must put the date and train details of the onward journey.""
---------
@@@Strictly speaking, you need not indicate your onward journey details, more so, when you are uncertain about your date of departure from B/J Point.
------
@@@But to have a hastle-free journey, it is always advisable to make Onward Reservation also.
============
Given an opportunity, it is always better if we purchase through tickets instead of individual tickets.
===========
But, the most important point to be noted is, YOU MUST INDICATE YOUR INTENTION TO BREAK JOURNEY AT AN ENROUTE STATION (***OFCOURSE AFTER CROSSING THE 500 kMS. BARRIER) AT THE TIME OF MAKING ORIGINAL RESERVATION ITSELF.
(****This was not the Rule in the past)