Train tickets: Mumbai to Rajkot

I am arriving in Mumbai at 4:50 AM after a long long trip from Canada. I want to skip Mumbai by going to the train station directly and getting the next train to Rajkot in Gujarat (on my way to Diu). Maybe I can catch up on sleep on the train.
Does anyone know if this is doable? What is the train schedule going north in the morning? (3AC or 2Sleeper class) From which Mumbai station? and can I book tickets online (e-tickets?) without having a Mumbai address to deliver the tickets to (ie pick them up at the station where I want to board the train)

(there is no sleepy icon to add here so this will have to do

Hi Shirley

It is certainly possible to do as you suggest. However, if you are planning to book train tickets on the internet - it is very easy (look at the search for brilliant train advice from Steven, Shimla and Beach among others)-don't cut things too fine.

You will not necessarily arrive at 4.50am, and you have to reckon on time from the airport to the railway station.......

However, there is much good news. Assuming that you clear customs before 6am, you will have no problems in getting a taxi to Bandra Station - it is a relatively short journey (prob 10km from the int terminal) and will take a lot less time to get to the CBD.A lot of the trains to Gujarat leave from there. If you are travelling on a really tight budget, you can get a free shuttle bus from the international terminal to the domestic terminal about 3km closer to Bandra and an auto rickhaw from there to the nearest railway station on the suburban electric train network - it is only about 3km and shouldn't cost you more than $US1. Get a train to Bandra - fast and frequent service- and walk about 1km to the "other" Bandra Station just to the north which does the long distance runs to Gujarat.

Jet lagged as you will undoubtedly be, it will be a much better idea to get a taxi to Bandra Station - just make sure that the driver takes you to the northern station. Show your ticket and you can leave your bag in the cloak room (left luggage) for the day for 10/- and fill in a bit of time until your train leaves.

There are good services to Rajkot and I can recommend the train which leaves at about 4pm and rolls into Rajkot the following morning at about 7.30.

When you do the internet booking, I think that you can designate Bandra Station for the pick-up point for your tickets - normally, it is the hotel where you are likely to spend the first night. The Indian Railway HQ in Delhi couriers the tickets and it is a very efficient service. Then again, you could just take your chances and hope that a ticket might be available on the foreign quota.

Have a great trip and enjoy Gujarat.

http://www.rajkot.com/services/flight_train.html.

Use the train number's from the links above (9006 for example) in the train enquiry link below to get details of the train .

http://www.trainenquiry.com/TrainsBetwImpStation.aspx

Thank you both for the good advice....What is the CBD?
Also when you say. Tstsan that we could take our chances, do you mean that we could arrive at Bandra Stn and hope to buy our tickets that same day.....I didn't think this as possible given the busy.ness of the trains....or is that only likely if we were willing to travel 3A/C....are you sure there is a tourist quota lineup at that station?

Hi Shirleyart

Tourists with tourists with tourist passports can get train tickets for the same or next day depending on the availability (check site to see availability)
There are special counters at VT(CST) station counter No 52 on the first floor only for foreigners .You would need to pay in $/euros/credit card. not sure about bandra terminus as far as i know its only at VT station and opposite churchgate station.You could ask the hotel where you are living to do the reservations too.But I would presonally go to VT to get it done.

Hi again, Shirley

The CBD is the central business district, where all the main offices, banks and railway stations are found.

Normally if you can arrive by air at a major city and travel directly to the railway station - say 8km away (using the free shuttle and travelling from the much closer domestic air terminal) - without having to fight your way against the horrendous traffic, then you are very lucky.

I will defer to Navin because he(?) has fresh local knowledge. If it is the case that your pre-purchased e-tickets can only be picked up from CST (formerly known as Victoria Terminus) or a nominated hotel then you will have to come into the CBD with all your luggage.

It is pretty important to get things right for your first day in India so it might be unnecessarily risky to chance getting a ticket on the day at Bandra Terminus and be left standing on the platform with no available trains for the next two days.

There is another possibility. I have bought train tickets at the Indian Railways office at the international airport in Delhi - it is open till 8pm - and that has been mighty convenient - no queues,pleasant surroundings as well as immediate and friendly attention etc. Some of the other people on IM might know if there is such an office at Mumbai's int terminal. Then getting a taxi to Bandra Terminus would be a breeze - probably about $US6!

If you do decide to travel into CST to collect tickets, you will have to lug all your baggage with you and then you will have to make your way to Bandra Terminus. However, I notice you speak in the plural. Why not go together as I originally suggested to Bandra Terminus and get one person to sit in the safe waiting room (supervised) looking after the gear. It is a simple matter to go to the other Bandra Station and catch a frequent train (about every 5 mins) for about 50 cents to Churchgate Station. This is the last station on the line.

Then leave the station and walk to the left heading North East - a surprisingly pleasant walk - about 2km to CST station. The locals are very friendly and will direct you if are lost. Collect tickets (don't forget passport) and retace your steps back to Bandra.

Bonne route!

Dear Shirleyart,
Your observation:-
""I am arriving in Mumbai at 4:50 AM after a long long trip from Canada.""
--------------------
@@@On which Date?

Dear Shirleyart,
You said you will land at 4.50 hrs.
-------
Is it possible for you to get clearance from Customs before 6.50 Hrs or atleast 7.20 hrs.?
----------
If this is possible, from Airport, you straightaway drive upto Borivalli and just get into 9215 Saurashtra Janata Express:-
---
You Queried For Train No Train Name Date Runs From Source Runs On
9215 SAURASHTRA EXP 28/10/2005 MUMBAI CENTRAL MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN


SNo Stn Code Stn Name Route No. Arrival Time Dep. Time Distance Day Remark
1 BCT MUMBAI CENTRAL 1 Source 07:55 0 1
2 DDR DADAR 1 08:05 08:07 6 1
3 BVI BORIVALI 1 08:38 08:40 30 1
-----
.....which arrives in Rajkot at 1.50 hrs. next day.
==============
If you miss this, the next train is 9017 at 16.55 hrs. from Borivali
=====
If you miss this, the next train is 9005 at 21.18 hrs. from Borivali
====
V.Srinivasa Prasad
28.10.2005/15.10 hrs.

Thanks again all. You are very helpful.

VSP asked which date we arrive. Leave Canada on Nov 28, arrive, I believe ,on Nov 30, a Wednesday. I don't know how long it will take to get bags and clear customs even if we land at scheduled time...there are no guarantees with air travel are there?... ....if I book a train too close to my arrival time and can't make it, what happens to the tickets I have puchased online??? and can I revise my itinerary ie book a later train at the station if I have missed the one I booked. Boy this seems complicated (and i haven't even arrived yet and am not suffering major jet lag!!!). Maybe I should just book into a hotel in Mumbai for one night (which I would rather not do as I have already been there and don't particularly like big cities. ) However, if I stayed overnite, previously made my train reservation for the Thurs Dec 1, I would be sure to get the one I booked???? is this the way to proceed?

Dear Shirleyart,
Your observation:-
""However, if I stayed overnite,
previously made my train reservation for the Thurs Dec 1, I would be sure to
get the one I booked???? is this the way to proceed?""
***************
@@@@If you have Reservation for 1st Dec., then stick to it, because it is a very difficult job to secure accomodation in the Rajkot-bound trains.
=============
V.Srinivasa Prasad
29.10.2005/9.25 hrs.

Thanks VSP. I don't currently have any booking. Could you tell me what happens to the tickets I have puchased online if i don't get to use them??? Can I get a refund? and can I revise my itinerary ie book a later train at the station if I have missed the one I booked?
PS wish I hadn't given away my Trains at a Glance the last time I was in India...then I could answer many of my own questions even tho' the train times might be out of date.

First of all I'm not sure if you can pick up your tickets in Mumbai as Mumbai never offered a pick up service (unlike Delhi who did, withdrew the service but still let some foreign tourist pick up their tickets after e-mailing Indian Railways??? India is like this only) so getting your tickets sent to your hotel of choice would seem the best option!!
This is a tried and trusted method and I am yet to hear of anyone who has been let down using the courier service!!!
So a night in Mumbai would seem best get your tickets and depart the following morning!!

If you don't use the tickets you can get a 50% refund upto
4 hours after the train has departed!!

You caan rebook for a different date but your relying on getting a new reservation, there is no advantage to someone with a confirmed ticket trying to rebook for the next day, you are still "subject to availability"

Dear Shirleyart,
Your observations:-
""I don't currently have any booking.""

"" Could you tell me what happens to the tickets I have puchased online if i don't get to use them??? Can I get a refund?""
--------------
@@@If you have reserved your tickets ""on-line"", you can cancel them-
i) ""on-line""
OR
ii) by presenting those tickets any in any of the PRS Locations physically;
-------but in both these cases, the amount will be credited back to your Bank Account only.
====================
""and can I revise my itinerary ie book a later train at the station if I have missed the one I booked?""
-----
@@@Preparation of itinerary is always in your hands. :-)
----
@@@Still you can make an attempt for reserving the tickets in any one of the three direct trains indicated above. But as pointed by cyberhippie, perhaps, you can give your journey particulars & options to your Hotelier and ""request"" him to keep the Journey Tickets ready.
-------
@@@Perhaps, it would be fine, if you select a Hotel which is in the vicinity of Airport and I presume they will be equipped to undertake bookings on behalf of their ""prospective foreign clients""!!!!!

I havn't read every post in this thread, so sorry if the following info has already been given.

It seems to me that the main problem is getting hold of tickets, otherwise....get the Shatabdi (train time link to follow) from Borivali to Ahmedabad, have a look around Ahmedabad and then get the overnight train to Veraval.

Ttain 2009 departs Mumbai Central at 06:25, then Borivali at 07:00 and gets to Ahmedabad at 13:35. This train does not run on Sundays and has Executive Chair Class and Air Con Chair Class.

Ahmedabad to Veraval.

Train 9221 departs Ahmedabad daily at 21:25 and gets to Veraval at 06:35.

Veraval to Ahmedabad.

Train 9222 departs Veraval daily at 20:05 and gets to Ahmedabad at 05:25.

2A = Rs 813
SL = Rs 197


If you have to spend one night in Mumbai (and have your ticket sent to the hotel), you could consider the following 2 train options. (I give extra info for others)

Mumbai to Bhavnagar.

Train 9271 departs Bandra (Mumbai) daily at 21:20, gets to Ahmedabad at 06:00 (departs at 06:20) and gets to Bhavnagar at 11:40.

Bhavnagar to Mumbai.

Train 9272 departs Bhavnagar daily at 18:25, gets to Ahmedabad at 22:30 (departs at 22:55) and gets to Bandra at 10:35.

2A = Rs 1251
3A = Rs 801
SL = Rs 295

Or...

Mumbai to Rajkot.

Train 9017 departs Bandra (Mumbai) daily at 16:15, gets to Ahmedabad at 02:30 (departs at 03:00) and gets to Rajkot at 08:00. (2A, 3A, SL.)

Train 9005 departs Mumbai Central daily at 20:25, gets to Ahmedabad at 05:20 (departs at 05:40) and gets to Rajkot at 10:25. (1A, 2A, 3A, SL.)

1A = Rs 2286
2A = Rs 1200
3A = Rs 769
SL = Rs 284


Rajkot to Mumbai.

Train 9018 departs Rajkot daily at 15:30, gets to Ahmedabad at 20:15 (departs at 20:40) and gets to Bandra at 05:50. (2A, 3A, SL.)

Train 9006 departs Rajkot daily at 17:50, gets to Ahmedabad at 22:25 (departs at 22:45) and gets to Mumbai Central at 08:10. (1A, 2A, 3A, SL.)

Look for posts by member Indiawise for details of how to get to Diu from Veraval, Bhavnagar and Rajkot.

Thanks all for the help..... We obviously have many choices.
I found another option after cruising thru some other recommended threads. We can fly from Mumbai to Bhavanagar for only 1500R per person on Deccan airlines...then a 4-5 hour bus ride will get us to Dui. What a great website!