My first overnight train journey was when I was twenty-two — Chennai to Delhi, not in Rajdhani, but in Sleeper class. Thirty-two hours. My mother had said — 'Take a flight.' I said — 'No, I'll take the train.' And those thirty-two hours — which seemed boring, uncomfortable, and unnecessary at first — became the richest thirty-two hours of my life. If you want to truly see India? Look through a train window.
The Magic of Sleeper Class — Not Available in AC
Sleeper class is uncomfortable — that's a fact. The seats are hard, the fan runs but it's still hot, the lights stay on in the middle of the night. But what Sleeper class offers that the AC coach doesn't — is democracy. Every kind of person. On one berth a retired professor reciting Urdu poetry. On another a young couple planning their wedding. Below, a grandmother distributing khichdi — which she packed from home.
On that first journey my seatmate was Gopaldas ji — sixty-eight, retired teacher. From Agra, going to Jaipur. In the first five minutes he had asked about my entire family background. I was a little irritated — then he talked about his wife who had passed away two years before. 'She always said — go by train, don't hurry.' His eyes filled. Mine too. Train journeys have conversations like that.
The Philosophy of Three in the Morning
Three in the morning on a train journey is a special time. When most people have fallen asleep, the train's sound becomes monotonous, and occasional lights flash outside the dark windows — the conversations that happen then are surreal. On one of my journeys there was a nineteen-year-old boy going away from home for the first time — for engineering. At three in the morning he said — 'I'm scared.' I said — 'That's a good sign.' He asked — 'Why?' I said — 'When you're not scared, either nothing new is happening, or you've become too comfortable. Both are dangerous.'
At 3am, a fellow traveller on the Howrah-Delhi Express"The conversations that happen on trains — they don't happen anywhere else. Perhaps because here we are all strangers. And it's easier to speak the truth to strangers."
Platform Food — Changing at Every Station
India's train journeys have a separate dimension — platform food. Litti-chokha at Mughal Sarai. Oranges at Nagpur. Pesarattu at Vijayawada. Poha at Bhopal. Every station is a culinary stop. Once I got off at a station in Rajasthan — Marwar Junction — just to eat the mirchi bada there. There was a four-minute stop. I came back, the train was moving. A friendly uncle grabbed my hand and pulled me on board. That moment — almost missing the train for mirchi bada — is now a family story.
Konkan Railway — When the Train Becomes Poetry
India's most scenic train journey is the Konkan Railway — Mumbai to Goa, or further. Going through the Western Ghats — tunnels, bridges, waterfalls, dense green forests. Once I went during the monsoon — and as the train crossed a waterfall, a little water came through the window. That splash of cold water — for a few seconds — was impossible to feel without actually being there.
There is a tunnel on the Konkan Railway — Karbude tunnel — 6.5 km long. Complete darkness for five full minutes. And when you come out the other side — suddenly the sea appears. That contrast is so sharp that breath literally stops. This moment cannot be recreated in any theme park.
Train Delay — An Adventure in India
Train delay — this is the feature of Indian railways that every traveller is familiar with. But experienced travellers know — there is magic in delays. Once the Puri Express was four hours late at Allahabad. I was sitting on the platform — frustrated. Then a family shared with me — food, stories, and a little girl who had started calling me 'didi' within ten minutes. Those four hours didn't stay frustrating — they became unforgettable.
Rohit, a frequent long-distance train traveller"I have travelled every major route in India. Flights are faster, yes. But what you get on the train — that is India itself. Its smell, its sounds, its people. On a flight you go over India. On a train you go through India."
Toy Trains — Nostalgia and Adventure Both
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway — or any toy train — is a time machine. Narrow-gauge tracks, slow speed, mountain views — and that chug-chug of the steam engine that takes you to another era. Shimla's Kalka-Shimla Railway, Ooty's Nilgiri Mountain Railway — these are all UNESCO heritage. Journeys on these trains are a destination in themselves — the experience of being on that train is the purpose.
India's railways are not just transportation — they are a living, breathing institution. More than 67,000 km of track. 22 million passengers every day. It is a country-within-a-country. And if you truly want to feel India — take an overnight train. In Sleeper class. Window seat if you can get it. Eat from the platform. And that stranger who talks to you at three in the morning — listen to them. Their story may be more interesting than yours.
