Survival on an Indian Railway Sleeper Train

Ideal for the Budget Conscious Traveller

As mentioned in my previous blog Incredible India – Delhi, we were booked on a ‘Basics’ Intrepid Tour.  If you are wanting to travel on a budget in India, then at some stage you will be travelling by train.  More than likely, it will be an overnight Sleeper Train.

We’ve all seen the photos of trains in India where the carriages are so tightly packed that it seems that people are bursting out of windows, doors and even on the roof.  Just the thought of this was enough to induce visions of claustrophobia, heat stroke and unimaginable stress.  Just a few hours of this would be enough to have to survive let alone an overnight journey!

There are 8 different classes to choose from and is the 4th largest railway network in the world.  It carries more than 20,000 passengers daily, on both long-distance and suburban routes across 7,350 stations.  Check out their website if you want to know more on booking and train timetables.

Keeping my Expectations Low

I knew that the three sleeper train trips were going to be quite the challenge.  Luckily, we’ve travelled on sleeper trains in Thailand and Vietnam so we sort of knew what could be in store for us.

If I didn’t have high expectations, then there is a good chance that I won’t be disappointed if these expectations weren’t met.

I’m pleased to say that we lived to tell the tale of our 3 experiences on sleeper trains in India.  The first journey was the longest so it was good to get that out of the way first.

Delhi to Jaisalmer is expected to take around 19 hours/750km.  The trick word here is ‘expected’.  India Railways are notoriously running late, sometimes not at all.  Our guide breathed a sigh of relief just to see the train pull into the station.  Yes, we did run over time but there were no less than 32 stations to stop at along the way so no wonder!

Our second overnight sleeper journey would be a few days later which was from Agra to Varanasi (12hr/700km) and our 3rd and final sleeper train took us from Varanasi to Delhi (15hr/800km).

First Time is Always the Worst

After each journey I learnt something new so by the time we got to our 3rd trip, I was feeling like I was much more confident in how best to handle travelling on this mode of transport.

However, there is always having to get through that first journey.  After all, this is the real India!

The longest journey, with 32 stops was never going to be a walk in the park.

3rd Class AC

Our beds were booked in 3rd class AC.  There are cubicles of 6 bunks, 3 each side.  Thankfully I was on the bottom bunk and Scotty was opposite in the middle bunk.  The top bunks were really heavenwards! Across the walkway were two bunks lengthways.

There are no guarantees that you will be bunked with anyone you know, or of the same sex.  The first journey had Scotty and I in the same cubicle with one other from our group.  Two locals shared our cubicle with us.

The second journey had me on my own.  Scotty was well down the carriage and I was sharing my cubicle with 5 local men…….just great!  By the time we boarded the train for the last trip, we knew what was in store for us.  This time though, Scotty was once again close by in the same cubicle.

Over the 3 journeys, I had the bottom, middle and top bunk so I got to experience all three levels.  Apart from needing to be a gymnast to clamber to the top bunk, it was the best of the three.  It was challenging to climb up and down without standing on the feet of the person sleeping in the middle bunk!

None of the bunk beds offers you any head space so you are unable to sit upright so you need to be in a fully reclined position the entire time.

Always Book a Ticket in Advance

Of course, there are the classes that you can just turn up to, buy the ticket then hope like hell there is a seat (or bed) for you.  You can then join the rest of the chaos at the station platform just to get on the train!

Just keep in mind that even if you have booked a ticket, there is no guarantee that your bunk/seat will be empty.  I felt like Goldilocks on our second journey as there was a sleeping body already in my bunk – snoring his head off.  It happened to be on the very top bunk and not easily accessible.

Our guide came to my rescue, rousing the slumbering man who gruffly removed himself from my bunk and wandered off down the carriage, no doubt to try and sleep in someone else’s bunk!  He kindly left behind the pillow, blanket and sheet!  Oh well, I suppose the pillow may have already had 965,000 heads on it but I did get a clean sheet out of the wrapped packets that are in each cubicle!!  I just had to turn the pillow over!!

Safety Should Be Your Priority

We were briefed on some safety instructions from our guide prior to our train journey.

He explained that we will not be together as a group so everyone should be aware of where our nearest ‘travel buddy’ is – particularly the males in the group. 

We were warned that we shouldn’t make a trip to the bathroom during the evening on our own.  It was important to take someone from our group with us – preferable one of the guys.

It was also important not to leave any of your belongings on your bunk.  Our (padlocked) large packs were stored under the bottom bunk but we slept with our small packs and hand luggage.  Never leave any device plugged in charging while you are asleep as there is a chance it won’t be there when you wake up.

Bathroom Situation

Okay, it’s a topic no one wants to talk about but it is something that everyone wants to know.

Now I have squatted over some of the most challenging toilets known to mankind during my touring days around Asia.  The toilets on the train would have to be on a whole different level to the ones I’ve previously experienced.

Depending on which end of the carriage you head for, there are both squat and western toilets available.  There are no storage tanks so you are staring at the tracks whizzing past below.  Mental note to oneself…….never, never, never walk along the railway tracks in India!!!

Limit Fluid Intake

My first advice is to start limiting your liquid intake a few hours before a sleeper train trip.  I would rather be in a slight state of dehydration than make multiple trips to the toilet on an Indian train.

The Western toilet rated slightly higher than the state of the squat toilet.  Be prepared to stand in a pool of urine swirling around on the floor of the loo in time with the rocking of the train.  I also try to breath through my mouth to spare myself the smell.  This only resulted in me being able to taste it as it caught in the back of my throat.  I would suggest a smear of tiger balm on the nostrils before paying a visit.

There also doesn’t seem to be a need for locals to hose down the squat toilet after doing No 2’s so towards the end of the trip, there was quite a bit caked onto the sides of the bowl.  Best not to look down!

It is quite a descriptive encounter but best you’re prepared for this in order to deal with it if you’re ever faced with such a situation.

Wear Earplugs and Eye Mask

No one believes in whispering as they boarded and disembarked all through the night.  The lights would be switched on and off at all hours and conversations had between groups of passengers.  Remember, we had 32 stops on our first journey!

Earplugs muffled some of the noise and the eye mask helped when the light was only centimetres from your eyes when sleeping on the top bunk.

Keep Yourself Entertained

The great part of travelling on 3rd Class A/C is that you do certainly get to meet the locals.  We were lucky enough to be sharing with some lovely families.  They understood enough English to have some interesting chats.

Some were returning home from weddings, holidays or travelling for work.  Some, however, were not interested in holding any sort of conversation and wanted the bunks up early in the trip so there was no space for sitting around chatting.

Luckily I had downloaded a few programmes and movies off Netflix so was quite happy munching away on my chips with my earplugs in watching these on my iPad.

Refreshments Onboard

There are food and drink vendors wandering up and down the carriages.  They call out their wares but there is no way of knowing what it is they are actually selling.  That is, except for masala chai (tea).  The sweet spicey tea was certainly welcome at around 6 am in the morning when sleep had been eluding me the entire night.

We had purchased a few snacks to munch on during the trip rather than purchasing anything onboard.

Wouldn’t Have Missed it for the World

I think that if you are travelling India, travelling on a Sleeper Train at least once, is almost a ‘right of passage’.

Yes, it was less than ideal but as our lovely Tour Guide, Kush would say “it depends if you are a glass half empty or half full” type of person.

We have always believed in experiencing all that a country as to offer.  This means often it is not the poshest, expensive or safest of situations but it has always been worth every moment.

We look back at our time on the Indian Railways and smile.  We laugh about who and what we had to put up with and it is truly one of the memorable highlights of our visit to Incredible India……..and we survived!

As usual, click on the link below for a short video.  It was a bit difficult to capture the moments.  There were usually strangers surrounding me so it wasn’t appropriate to film in such close quarters.