Train Travel in Rajasthan: Udaipur and Jaipur

Train Travel

Rajasthan is still in the process of converting all its lines to broad gauge, a change that is improving train service but which is also altering routes and schedules. If you want to travel overnight, it's safer and more comfortable to take a train than a bus or car. Trains offer classes of service for all budgets (seats and sleepers, air-conditioning and non-air-conditioned, 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.

For reliable train information, create an account at www.irctc.co.in, a government-run Web site. It's the best way to find out accurate details about rail travel without having to call a travel agent.

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). 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).