Page 755 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

TR A VEL INFORM A TION  753

foreigners, called “Tourist buying individual tickets. Note DIRECTORY
Bureaus”, within the main that even with a pass, you will
booking offices. These provide still need to reserve your seat. Railway Enquiries
information regarding ∑ indianrail.gov.in
reservations, itinerary and ∑ irctc.co.in
other inquiries. Payments Services
may be made in US dollars or At the station, look for the Chennai
pounds sterling, or the rupee licensed porters, who wear Tel (044) 139.
equivalent, and you must show a red shirt and an armband Delhi
your passport. You receive with a metal tag bearing a Tel (011) 139.
priority reservation and are licence number on it. Porters
exempted from reservation fees. are always well-informed Kolkata
At New Delhi Railway Station, about delays and platform Tel (033) 139.
the International Tourist Bureau changes, which may not be Mumbai
is located on the first floor of announced on the board. Tel (022) 139.
the main hall. Note your porter’s number
because you could lose Booking Centres for
sight of him in the Special Trains
Indrail Pass crowds. His tariff varies
To travel extensively according to weight, Darjeeling
around India, the Indrail although ₹40–50 per Himalayan Railway
Pass is a convenient item is acceptable. Indian West Bengal Tourist Centre,
option. It offers unlimited stations are crowded and Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Delhi.
travel across the country, con fusing. Keep your cool Tel (0987) 457 4766.
and is available for and keep an eye out for Fairy Queen
second or first class pickpockets, who take National Rail Museum, Delhi.
and for different periods advantage of the chaos. Tel (011) 2688 0939.
(half-day, 2 days, 4 days Railway waiting rooms Kalka–Shimla Railways
and anywhere between (especially first-class ones) Divisional Railway, Ambala.
7 and 90 days). It can are good places to
be bought in India or Official porter in spend the night, if Nilgiri Mountain Railway
abroad, but must be his red jacket you are stranded. You Chennai Central Railway,
paid for in US dollars or need a valid ticket Chennai. Tel (044) 2535 3816.
pound sterling. Indrail Passes or Indrail Pass to use this Palace On Wheels
are available from sales agents facility. There are also waiting 151, Rajindra Bhawan, Rajendra
abroad. They are also available rooms only for women Place, Delhi. Tel (011) 4686 8686.
at tourist counters and Tourist travellers. Left-luggage ∑ palaceonwheels.net
Bureaus at major railway facilities, called cloakrooms,
stations, and from travel agents are offered at most stations. Royal Rajasthan on Wheels
in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Station canteens are Tel (011) 2338 3837.
Chennai. Unless you do a lot of reasonably clean and provide ∑ rtdc.in ∑ royalrajasthanon
travelling, the pass may work mineral water and hygenically wheels.co.in
out more expensive than packed meals.

Special Trains
You can travel in style on board some of India’s luxury trains, particularly the Palace on Wheels
and the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels. Both operate week-long tours from September to April.
The former covers mainly Rajasthan, and includes Jaipur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer and Agra. The latter
goes through Rajasthan to Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The Fairy Queen, a 150-year-old restored
steam engine, is the oldest in the world, featuring in
the Guinness World Records. It runs from Delhi to Alwar
between October and February. India’s quaint “toy
trains”, connecting numerous hill stations with tracks
laid across precariously steep slopes, include the World
Heritage Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (see p298),
which goes from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling. The
Kangra Valley Railway connects Pathankot and
Jogindernagar (see p125). The luxurious Nilgiri
Mountain Railway, built in 1898, offers spectacular
views of the Nilgiri Hills, up to Ooty (see p609), and
Kalka–Shimla Railways runs trips on three deluxe
rail motor cars. Royal service in the Palace on Wheels

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