Indian Railways (IndRail) Rail Passes
Indian trains are very busy and often get booked up weeks in advance. Foreign visitors can make use of the special tourist quota, but even so, you may find the train you want fully booked. The great benefit of an IndRail pass is that you can ask the UK IndRail pass agency to pre-book some or all of your trains before you get to India, saving time, hassle and possible disappointment. If you have limited time in India, this is a very good way to get all your train travel pre-booked before you leave home. On the other hand, if you intend to stay flexible and make reservations as you go, you can still do this with an IndRail pass, but there is little advantage in having one and ordinary tickets may be cheaper.
IndRail passes come in three classes: AC1, AC2, and 2nd class. You can buy one for any time period from ½-day to 90 days. You can use a ½-day or 1-day pass to book a single one-off train trip or you can arrange a complete pre-booked itinerary all around India using a longer period pass or a combination of passes.
Will an IndRail pass cost more than normal tickets ?
An IndRail pass will probably cost more than buying normal point-to-point tickets, depending on your exact travel plans, but not necessarily that much more. A normal ticket from Delhi to Varanasi costs 1,272 rupees ($29) in AC2 class, whereas a 1-day AC2 IndRail pass costs $43. A recent trip to Delhi, Varanasi, Agra, Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Simla all booked in advance from the UK using a 15-day AC2 pass cost £132, whereas normal point-to-point tickets would have been about £118. Of course, if you want to stay flexible and not pre-book anything before you get to India, you can still do this with an IndRail pass (passholders qualify for places from the tourist quota), but in that case there is little advantage in having a pass and normal tickets may be the better bet.
Which class of pass ?
There are 8 different classes on Indian trains (see the on board Indian trains section), but IndRail passes come in just 3 types: AC1, AC2 and 2nd class (AC = air-conditioned). With an AC1 IndRail pass, you can travel in AC1, AC executive chair car class, or cheaper accommodation where there is no AC1 available. With an AC2 IndRail pass, you can travel in AC2, ordinary 1st class sleepers and AC chair cars. With a 2nd class pass, you can only travel in sleeper class and unreserved 2nd class. AC1 is most comfortable, but it's only found on the most important long-distance trains and a handful of shorter distance ones, so an AC1 pass is not worth it unless you're sure you are going to use trains which have AC1 or Executive chair class. For most people, an AC2 pass is the best bet. With an AC2 pass, you will be booked in an AC2 sleeper where available, or an AC chair car on a daytime journey where one is available, unless you specifically ask for ordinary (non-air-con) 1st class. Travelling in sleeper class is an experience, but a 2nd class pass (which allows travel in sleeper class as well as 2nd class seats) is probably only for the more adventurous (or extremely budget-conscious) traveller.
How to buy an IndRail pass - in the UK ?
You can buy an IndRail pass, complete with any required train reservations, from the UK IndRail agency, SD Enterprises of Wembley. I can personally recommend S D Enterprises as an excellent and long-established family firm, who know their subject and go out of their way to advise and help their clients. If you can, visit them in person, as it is an experience in itself. You may even get to see Dr Dandpani's video on visiting India...
How to buy an IndRail Pass - in other countries ?
You can buy an IndRail pass, complete with any required train reservations, via the UK's IndRail agency (SD Enterprises). Although they are the UK agency, they are normally happy to arrange passes and reservations for people from overseas, although they will only sell 4-day and longer passes to people living outside the UK, not one-day or half-day passes. There are IndRail agencies in Malaysia, Finland, Germany & South Africa, but surprisingly not currently in the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. If you're from one of these countries, try contacting the UK agency. Travel Guide India
