Rajasthan by train

Rajasthan by train

Trains, plains and automobiles: how to travel around India’s largest state.

Jaisalmer is the end of the line. Rajasthan’s ‘Golden City’ is in the middle of the Thar Desert, more frontier town than metropolis – head west from here by road (there is no train line) and eventually you’ll reach Pakistan.

Jaisalmer is the remotest point on our Rajasthan train vacations, a sandstone city topped with one of the world’s only ‘living forts’ – a massive castle in which people still live, and where you can hang out in (very heavily defended) tea shops.

To get here in the first place, you have to travel through the desert. Rajasthan’s desert capital is linked to Delhi by train. Journeys – it’s around 650km as the crow flies between the two cities – go via Pokhran, India’s nuclear testing area, a testament to the landscape in which you travel. The site was chosen for 1970s tests for its remote location, and because sandstorms obstructed the view for foreign satellites.

Jaisalmer is the end of the line, but Rajasthan’s rail network is easy, fun and connects a lot of the state – though many journeys take a few hours.

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In Rajasthan, the long train journeys provide a fitting foil to all those forts – a time to relax, recharge and experience modern life in the state.

Rajasthan’s trains – from royal lines to luxury rail

In this ‘land of kings’, it’s the train that rules. Rajasthan has India’s second longest rail network, with around 6,000km of tracks serving cities like Bikaner, Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur.

The Maharajahs of Rajasthan had their own private rail networks; now, the tracks are open to all.

The royal legacy continues: it’s telling that many of India’s best known luxury trains operate in Rajasthan. These services feature butler service, teak interiors and Art Deco furnishings. Some even strew petals on the platform for embarking travelers. Services include the oldest luxury train, the Palace on Wheels, some routes taken by the luxurious Deccan Odyssey, and the Maharajahs’ Express a luxury tourist train whose routes are mostly within the state. There are also heritage trains, like the Valley Queen Heritage Train, which snakes through the mountains. Alongside this royal rolling stock, Rajasthan can be explored by its regular trains, of which there are many.

What to see in Rajasthan by train

Rajasthan contains some of India’s most admired architecture, including magnificent forts, chhatris and havelis. Natural wonders include the Aravalli mountain range, the Rajasthan plain and the Thar Desert, as well as plenty of scenic agricultural land and countryside.

Rajasthan’s capital, Jaipur forms part of the popular Golden Triangle route (the other two vertices are outside the state: Delhi and Agra in Uttar Pradesh). This route is very train-friendly, and you can add in a stop at Rajasthan’s tiger-stalked Ranthambore National Park (train station: Sawai Madhopur, on the line from Jaipur).

Lesser visited stops include alighting at Churu, a city on the edge of the Thar Desert, heading on to Jaisalmer, or taking a local train from Bundi to Bassi across the countryside. Our vacations also include tours that go off the beaten track. Our partner, Reality Tours, runs rail vacations but also includes opportunities to visit underprivileged communities in Delhi and Mumbai. Some 80 percent of their profits benefit their NGO, which runs educational programmes for underprivileged communities in places including Sanjay Colony in Delhi.

Visiting Rajasthan is an exercise in avoiding fort fatigue – it seems nearly every city has at least one, and they are massive, monstrous, and can take a while to tour. Visiting the enormous Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur involves entering through a series of seven (yes, seven) gates.

The train provides a fitting foil – a time to relax, talk to others, and see the mundane weirdness of normal life. It was on a train, sharing a carriage with a government official, that I really talked to someone about India for the first time on my own travels in the country. We talked about citrus fruit, because that was what his family grew. Why not?

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What to expect from a train journey in Rajasthan

In the ‘land of kings’ it’s the train that rules

Indian trains famously have many classes – 11 at last count – and journeys can range from the rough and ready (sleeper class, second from bottom, with no air conditioning) to the luxurious. Expect to carry your own luggage, and to padlock your suitcase and secure it to your berth. Navigating India’s slightly confusing class system for trains, our vacations will book the right carriage for you. Sleeper trains provide bedding, and you can get meals on board, as well as plenty of chai at station stops.

Train classes can easily sell out at popular times of year on popular routes. Rajasthan is the fifth most popular state for domestic tourists – and popularity is growing apace. Our vacations will book all your tickets in advance.

Train travel can be an imprecise art, but that’s part of the fun. Some of Rajasthan’s trains can get very delayed. They are traveling vast distances: for example, the 14853 train travels from Varanasi to Jodhpur, a distance of over 1,200km, in just over 24 hours. A train that arrives late may well make up the time on the onward journey.

Car vs train in Rajasthan

Our tours often use a mix of transport, depending on train schedules and planned activities. You might decamp to a minibus or private car to get to Ranthambore National Park, the Sam Sand Dunes outside Jaisalmer, or go by road between Bikaner and Jaisalmer – there are only one or two trains a day between the two.

Rajasthan is India’s largest state – roughly 850km wide and across – and traveling distances are long. The train trumps the car if you’re traveling at night. Driving after dark on Indian roads isn’t recommended, whilst India’s sleeper trains can be really fun.

When to visit Rajasthan by train

You can visit the state by train year-round but note that the core zones of Ranthambore National Park close between July and September, during the monsoon, and the Maharajahs’ Express only runs from October to April. It’s very hot by May in Rajasthan pre-monsoon: perhaps too oppressive to be enjoyable (and you should definitely book into an AC class of train carriage!). Whilst Ranthambore is closed, monsoon can be a fine time to visit the cities.

Rajasthan railway map

Train itineraries across Rajasthan

Most trips use Delhi as their gateway into Rajasthan, which is outside the state. You can also go by train from Mumbai. Our tours usually give you a bit of time in your gateway city first to experience it – two days, for example, to see both Old Delhi and New Delhi, before your onward travel into Rajasthan.

From Delhi it’s five and a half hours to Jaipur. There are other direct routes into the state from Delhi: it’s 10 hours by train to Pushkar, 13 hours to Udaipur and around 12 hours by train direct to Bikaner. From Mumbai, it’s a longer journey, and you’ll usually take an overnight train.

Sand is the enemy of trains, eroding rails and wheels – but it makes for a wild and desolate view out of the window. Rajasthan’s Thar Desert is one of the world’s most populated deserts.

To do the Golden Triangle, and see Ranthambore National Park by rail, you could take a route that goes from Delhi to Agra, Uttar Pradesh (three hours), then on to Jaipur (five hours by train). Ranthambore is south of Jaipur, and it’s just over two hours by train from Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur station, just outside the park.

To see Rajasthan’s highlights by rail, you could take a train from Delhi to Bikaner, and then head on to Jaisalmer by car. After spending time in Jaisalmer, you can get a train to Jodphur and spend a day exploring the famous ‘blue city’ before heading on to Jaipur. From Jaipur, you can nip out of the state to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.

Journey times by rail in Rajasthan

Travel times depend on the rail service used; the below times are a rough guide.

Delhi – Bharatpur (Keoladeo Ghana National Park, a birding area): 2.25hrs Delhi – Jaipur: 5 hrs Delhi – Churu: 5 hrs Delhi – Bikaner: 7.5hrs Delhi – Bundi: 7.5 hrs Churu – Bikaner: 3hrs Jodphur – Jaisalmer: 5hrs Jodphur – Dhundhara: 45 minutes Jodphur – Jaipur: 4.5hrs Jaipur – Agra (Uttar Pradesh): 5 hrs Jaipur – Udaipur: 7 hrs Jaipur – Shahpura (pretty countryside near Jaipur): 1.5hrs