Off to India - DHR possible? And other ideas appreciated

[gazthomas]

Hi all,

I'm off to India for a working week in May and I've decided to have 10 days off afterwards. I will be based in Kolkata (Calcutta)

An long standing ambition has been to ride the the Darjeeling Himalyan Railway (DHR) but I understand that some if not all of this isn't running. Can any of you confirm this please?

If the DHR isn't an option would you recommend the Shimla railway instead?

I will also be going to Delhi, so have in mind a trip to Agra by train, again thoughts appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Gary

 

[Gordon]

English support society has all the gen:

http://www.dhrs.org/


MY mate did India last year and managed some linesiding near Delhi, by using local transport. This was much safer he said then photting in stations (and the lineside action was superb.

He told me that, apart from seeing the Taj Mahal, Agra is not a nice city to visit.

 

[gazthomas]

English support society has all the gen:

http://www.dhrs.org/


MY mate did India last year and managed some linesiding near Delhi, by using local transport. This was much safer he said then photting in stations (and the lineside action was superb.

He told me that, apart from seeing the Taj Mahal, Agra is not a nice city to visit.

Took a look at the DHRS site before difficult to decode!

 

[Gordon]

Took a look at the DHRS site before difficult to decode!

The timetable page has been updated this weekend:

http://www.dhrs.org/page4.html

This needs careful reading but should be understandable.

 

[gazthomas]

The timetable page has been updated this weekend:

http://www.dhrs.org/page4.html

This needs careful reading but should be understandable.

Thanks Gordon, this makes much more sense to me.

 

[stut]

I find erail.in quite a decent source for train times in India (it's linked to the central booking system, so can also tell you if there's reservable availability on any of the services). Note that Darjeeling services are currently only running to/from Kurseong.

If you do want to pre-reserve seats, register on irctc.co.in - it's an awful website, but it does work.

Other hill railways worth considering are Shimla-Kalka and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. Or, if you want a really obscure one, the Araku Valley railway from Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The Shimla railway is pretty stunning. Different (less lush) scenery compared to DHR, but well worth the journey. Shimla's a very pleasant place too - and a welcome escape from the heat!

Do book reservable trains, especially the long distance ones, in advance. At about 2 weeks out, the AC classes tend to fill up, with a few exceptions (AC Duronto Expresses tend to have more spaces for longer). If you miss a booking, there's always the Tatkal (last-minute) quota, which opens at 10:00 IST the day before travel, and results in the IRCTC website falling over. You do also have the option of going on waitlists, which can be painful to watch (I recently had a waitlist fail, which everyone expected to go through) but do move quite a lot - cancelling tickets has a minimal penalty.

If all else fails, and you don't want to sit in General class on a long journey (believe me, you don't) then you can buy a general ticket and chance your arm with the TTE (travelling ticket examiner) who has the ability to upgrade you based on no-show berths and his own quota.

 

[gazthomas]

Thanks Stut!

 

[stut]

Do make sure you have a potter on the Kolkata suburban railway as well. Indian suburban railways are quite the experience - you quickly learn that hanging out the door is the prime spot, and you have to fight for it!

Oh, I missed the Delhi bit, too. Delhi to Agra is an incredibly popular route so again, book early. The most comfortable way to travel is on the Shatabdi Express service (these are the premium AC daytime trains). FC is very comfortable, but will be choc-full of tourists.

If you're going from Kolkata to Delhi with your time somewhere in the middle, you're going through some of the best tourist country in India. A Howrah-Varanasi-Lucknow-Agra-Delhi trip by train would be a right treat!

 

[Glenmutchkin]

Bhopal shatabdi from New Delhi (NDLS) to Agra is a great train. Fastest in India. Fare includes breakfast on the way to Agra and dinner on the way back.

If you are interested in NG stuff this might be of interest. http://www.indiamike.com/india/indian-railways-f10/visiting-narrow-gauge-railways-in-india-t197779/


Same forum has details on how to sort out an account for buying rail tickets before you go.

http://www.indiamike.com/india-articles/booking-indian-rail-tickets-from-abroad

Leaving booking until 2 weeks out is a bit chancey. There is a Foreign Tourist Quota that you can book in India but it doesn't cover all trains.