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India Survival Guide

Buses and Trains in India Explained w/ Safety Tips

Buses, and more so trains, are the most common method of public transport for visitors to India when flights aren’t available or you just want to experience an Indian train adventure.

Maybe you want to fly… Here’s my guide on flights in India.

Trains are a fun, comfortable, and economical way to travel between cities. A smooth train ride through the deserts and villages of Rajasthan is very charming.

Likewise, on bumpy buses, interactions with locals will bring a smile to your face.

In this post, I’ll explain how it all works and what you can expect from buses and trains in India.

Indian train classes 101

When buying train tickets, you must choose your class: AC-1, AC-2, AC-3, AC Chair, Sleeper and Second Sitting. The main difference between them is that your privacy decreases and nearby passengers increases.

  • The first four air-conditioned (AC) classes are all comfortable and recommended for a foreign visitor.
  • Sleeper class does not have AC and is the area where stowaways will enter to hitch a free ride.
  • Second Sitting is for locals on short journeys and not suitable for long trips as there are no beds.

Indian train journey safety tips

  1. Always lock your suitcases to the train with a cable lock.
  2. Sleep with your handbag and valuables beside you.
  3. If slightly dirty sheets make you squirm, bring a sleeping bag. In winter it gets cold at night, especially if you’re in sleeper class (you can always ask for extra blankets too).
  4. The toilets of the Sleeper Class and sometimes in AC-3 can be unclean. Always carry with you toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Also, try to use the bathroom in the early morning before everyone starts to crowd near it.
  5. And finally, trains are social places in India. Talk to your fellow passengers. You never know who might be of help to you and what you can learn about India from them.

Indian bus types & tips

There are local non-AC buses that you can catch any time of the day from the nearest central bus station and then there are sleeper AC buses that can be booked by travel agents or online via RedBus.

Here’s exactly how to catch a bus in India. We’ll take a trip from my father-in-law’s home in Haansi, Haryana, to Delhi.
  1. Buses are fine during the day but I’ve found bus drivers on overnight journeys more dangerous, to the point where I won’t take overnight sleeper buses anymore.
  2. The local non-AC buses between cities are a more authentic and cramped experience.
  3. The non-AC buses are not very comfortable but bearable and safe for short day trips.
  4. In AC buses, you can book a bed birth or a standard reclining seat. It’s much easier to sleep in a bed birth if you’re under 5’5″.
  5. When travelling by bus remove all valuables from your luggage and carry them in your backpack on the bus.
  6. Your luggage will be stored either on top of the bus or below it during the ride.
  7. Beware of counterfeit water being sold at train stations! It’s everywhere.

Or maybe you want to drive yourself in India? It’s completely possible!

If you want to take a motorcycle, here’s my tips for hiring one too.

Here’s the rules for riding a motorcycle in India.

India Survival Guide Table of contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Travel Essentials: Before You Travel to India
  3. Arriving in India: Getting to Your Hotel & Airport Amenities
  4. Tourist Scams to Avoid in India
  5. Avoiding Fake Money & Ripped Notes in India
  6. Avoiding Bad Accommodation
  7. How to Bargain, Get Refunds, and How Much Rickshaws Cost
  8. Avoiding Counterfeit Souvenirs in India
  9. How to Be Street Smart in India
  10. Buses and Trains in India Explained
  11. Food and Drink Safety for Travellers
  12. What to Do If You Get Sick in India
  13. How to Deal with Air Pollution in India

By Karl Rock

Karl Rock, is a Hindi speaking Kiwi ex-pat who take viewers behind the scenes of incredible India and its neighbours. He has visited every state and union territory in India, and its culturally similar neighbours – Pakistan and Bangladesh, and aims to make others fall in love with India and the subcontinent.

8 replies on “Buses and Trains in India Explained w/ Safety Tips”

Thank you man for the great videos. Good to learn these things before going to a country so that the culture change is not too overwhelmingby knowing what to expect. You’re a legend. Keep up the great work!!!

I’ve heard good and bad things. You have to package the bike up nicely and remove anything than can get broken – because things always get broke. I haven’t tried it yet.

Hi Karl, just to give you our experience: we did the Jhansi-Madgaon-jct this week with the bikes and the indian way of packing is now way good enough to get undamaged bikes back.
– one bike had a flat tire caused by a ripped off valve of the inner tube(!)
– the other one had twisted licence plates (although covered and protected), steering wheel pushed down, broken indicator light
The way Indian Rail is handling parcels and luggage should already given us some idea what could have happen to our bikes and how they put heavy stuff on top of the bikes.

Both bikes were delayed, got of the wrong station and were separately with 1 day in between arriving to Madgaon Junction.
All fixable of course, but we were disappointed that no support was available at the end station. It is never somebodies fault, ‘ít wasn’t me’. We paid 3750 roepies per bike (RE Himalyan) which is 50% more than the comfortable first class sleepers we had for ourselves.

Hi Karl
Thank you so much for the explanation.
Where we should hide the Extra money we don’t use while going in the market.

Hi Abbas. I leave it in the hotel room locker. Or I have a backpack with a security pocket where I keep all valuables (including my phone because pickpockets usually want that). I’ve only ever lost my phone to pick pockets once, and that was on the Delhi Metro.

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