Train Travel in Rajasthan and Gujarat

In Rajasthan, if you want to travel overnight, it's safer and more comfortable to take the train than a bus or car. Trains offer classes of service for all budgets (seats and sleepers, air-conditioning and nonair-conditioning, reserved and unreserved).

The Shatabdi Express, an air-conditioned chair-car train, travels every day but Sunday from New Delhi to Jaipur, roughly a five-hour trip. The Pink City Express covers the same ground in about six hours. The Shekhavati Express runs daily from Delhi to Jaipur, stopping at Jhunjhunu, Mukungarh, and Sikar. The Shekavati Express runs overnight and arrives in Jaipur around 7 am.

The daily Bikaner Express from Delhi passes through Shekhavati en route to Bikaner. The overnight Superfast Express leaves New Delhi at 8 pm and reaches Jodhpur at 5:30 am. A separate Superfast Express connects Jodhpur with Jaipur in four hours; contact the Tourist Information Center in either city for more information.

Daily trains connect Udaipur with Jaipur, Ajmer, Chittaurgarh, Ahmedabad, and Delhi; for more information, call the Tourist Reception Center. Trains also run out to Jaisalmer from Jodhpur but they're significantly slower than the road routes.

There are also trains leaving from Jaipur that pass through the wildlife destinations of Ranthambhore and Bharatpur. Of course, for the ultimate rail experience in Rajasthan, you would have to take the famous Palace on Wheels, a luxury train that runs across the state, connecting its major sights.

In Gujarat, Ahmedabad and Vadodara are connected to Mumbai, Delhi, and Rajasthan by good, fast trains, including the Rajdhani Express. The air-conditioned Shatabdi Express connects Ahmedabad with Vadodara in 1½ hours every day except Friday, and Vadodara with Mumbai's Central Station in 5½ hours. It is possible to reach Junagadh, near Sasan, by overnight train from Ahmedabad.

Because Gujarat was ruled separately from British India (by various local princes), its rail network has yet to be fully integrated into the Indian grid—many lines are on slow, meter-gauge tracks. You can book train tickets on the Internet or through your hotel. A comfortable but expensive way to see Ahmedabad, Sasan Gir, Diu, and Palitana is the Royal Orient luxury train. It makes a seven-night round-trip from Delhi, stopping for sightseeing in both Rajasthan and Gujarat. Rates in season are

US$200 per person per night for a double-occupancy berth, $175 for triple occupancy.

Two express trains run daily between Bhavnagar and Ahmedabad, and there is slower service on the meter-gauge line between Palitana and Ahmedabad. The station nearest Diu is at Veraval, near Somnath, on the Gujarati mainland 90 km (56 mi) to the northwest. Overnight trains connect Ahmedabad with Veraval and Junagadh, and taxis outside the Junagadh station can take you the final 60 km (37 mi) to Sasan Gir for about Rs. 500 if you haven't arranged to be picked up by your hotel.

Train Information

Palace on Wheels (Rajasthan Tourism Development Corp., Palace on Wheels Division, Bikaner House, Pandara Rd., near India Gate, New Delhi, 110011. 11/2338-1884 in Delhi; 888/463-4299; 609/683-5018 U.S. and international. www.palaceonwheels.com). Royal Orient Train (Tourism Corporation of Gujarat, Ltd., Ashram Rd., Ahmedabad. 132 train information; 132; 131; 135 ticket information. www.gujarattourism.com). Shatabdi Express (131 for inquiries; 135 reservations anywhere in Rajasthan). Superfast Express (291/131; 291/132 in Jodhpur). Jodhpur Tourist Information Center (291/244-010). Udaipur Tourist Reception Center (294/241-535; 294/131 general train information).