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Welcome to my blog! I am Lucia, and I would like to share my passion for the World with you.

Travelling by train in India: a complete guide

Travelling by train in India: a complete guide

Try telling someone, Indian or not, that you want to explore India by train: grainy eyes, puzzled faces, hidden giggles, expressions like "are you kidding?", "I really want to see if you'll survive", "we'll talk about it after the first trip, when you will decide to throw away the other tickets and take a taxi".

When we first arrived at an Indian station at 5am in Jaisalmer, we weren't very confident. We had carefully planned every move so that there would be no surprises, and all our itinerary in Rajasthan would have been by train. However, in addition to the opinions of some friends who had already embarked on a train trip to India and some reading on the information websites, talking with the local guests of the wedding that inaugurated our trip to India, we collected very negative opinions about the opportunity to undertake any train trip between Indian cities, except perhaps the busiest route to Agra and the Taj Mahal. We, after all, seriously wanted to live a totalizing experience, and to move with the most common and widespread means of transport in the Indian state was certainly part of it. The famous Indian railways could take us almost anywhere, at any time, for very little money. 

We moved to almost every city in Rajasthan, and then to Agra and Delhi, with short or long-distance trains, in bunks or wagons with seats, and we can assure you that it is an unmissable experience, without bad surprises, and that you will experience an important slice of Indian culture. 

So here are a few tips to enjoy your trip.

PLAN YOUR TRIP IN ADVANCE

The Indian railways have one of the largest and most extensive networks in the world. It's not surprising, then, that they are the most widely used means of transport for locals too. And if you have any idea how large the Indian population is, you can understand why we recommend that you secure a place on the train in advance if you can plan your trip.

It is not possible to get on a train without having reserved a seat, and these are often sold weeks before the trip. Reservations usually open 4 months before.

It is quite difficult to buy a ticket outside India, and definitely impossible on the official railway website www.indianrail.gov.in: you will almost certainly give up when they start asking you for identity papers, long registrations for each purchase, and sometimes an Indian phone number as a reference. We used the website https://12go.asia/en/india  , where you can also check the taxi routes. 

TOO MANY CLASSES TO CHOOSE FROM

Forget the intuitive distinction between first and second class. Choosing a train seat in India is a real rebus.

Tickets are priced according to class, and not all trains have the same type of class. Trains are categorized according to the journey and the type of equipment on board, and each car is different. When you start to see incomprehensible abbreviations like XC, CC, AC, SL, take a breath and consult this mini list:

AC1: first class wagon with air conditioning. Separate compartments and meal included. They are equipped with beds, mostly for long distance travel. Sheets and blankets are included in the fare.

AC2: air-conditioned car. The compartments are not separate and the code '2' refers to the fact that there are 2 bunk beds. Sheets and blankets are included in the fare.

AC3: air-conditioned wagon with 3 bunk beds, all foldable to sit on the lower bed used as a seat during the day. Sheets and blankets are included in the fare.

AC Chair (EC): executive chairs are express trains with 2 or 2+2 seats, equipped with air conditioning. Meal is included.

AC Chair (CC): chair classes are air conditioned trains with 2 or 2+2 seats.

SL: sleeper class is the most popular train for the population that does not belong to the wealthiest castes. It runs very long distances and is equipped with beds on two or three levels, foldable, without air conditioning. Sheets are not provided.

2S or II: second class cars, with or without reservation, equipped with fake leather or wooden benches, obviously without air conditioning.

We traveled in CC and SL, the tickets are really cheap and even if the routes are very long (for example 6 hours of travel between Jaisalmer and Jodhpur in SL class), you travel in a spartan but comfortable way.

The only class we don't recommend is the 2S, as it is the most frequented by the less well-off families, which are a big slice of India and therefore it is typically very full. It can be accessed without reservation, which means that the standing room is likely to be completely saturated as well.

BEWARE OF WAGONS CODES

Indian stations are unexpectedly organized. The directions are all in English, of course, and the tracks, any (likely) delays, stops and journeys are clearly indicated on the screens. In addition, on each track it is clearly indicated in which position a certain wagon will stop.

Very convenient, except that sometimes the wagon indicated on the screen does not correspond to the one that will actually stop in that position. We happened to get into a second class car, full of people, and after reaching our supposed place, dragging backpacks and suitcases through the crowd, we had to go back and cross half a train to find the exact one.

The class of the train is written on the outside of each car, and you better check it before boarding.

THE CURIOUS WORLD OF TRAVELLERS

Our trip would have been missing something if we'd never got on a train. The world that orbits around train travelers is really curious.

The rusty blue cars, with bars on the windows, from which the children peep out. The sleeping cars, where the windows are barred to create darkness. The fans with cords dangling from the ceiling, above the cots with fake leather pillows, on which some sleep barefoot, some wrapped in a sleeping bag, some read and some watch outside the window. Stacks of woollen blankets, sacks of sheets with the logo of the Indian railways, lying on worn out linoleum floors.

At each station a boy gets on the train with a huge thermos of tea, to be dispensed to travellers. In the most important stations, on the platforms, there are street food vendors: passengers get off for a moment, and come back with their breakfast of hot fried peppers, the chilli bajji, and a steaming round kachori, wrapped in greasy newspaper.

We were the only westerners, together with a lonely traveler who spent the 6 long hours of the trip sleeping wrapped in his sleeping bag, and we shared cots with an Indian soldier (the only one who could speak English) and his father, who were on their way home. After a few hours spent observing each other, we chatted at length about our respective countries of origin, and I'm sure you will find interesting people on your train trip with whom this experience will be worth sharing.

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