So over the weekend, when my idle mind was playing devils workshop, I asked myself, if I had to do a Phileas Fogg type Around India in 80 Trains type of challenge, where I had to touch all the states and UTs of India only via trains, what would be the best way to do it?
I wondered, is it even possible?
Turns out, it is.
So in case if you are ever asked on a date on "How can you touch all the states in India thru train journeys alone?" Here is your answer
This journey starts in the South of India. Tirunelveli to be precise.
Start by praying to to Nelliyappar swamy and have the famous Iruttu Kadai Halwa and then get on the 19577 - Tirunelveli Jamnagar Express.
Over the next 54 hours, you will pass thru the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Once you reach Jamnagar and touch the Capitalism Capital of India, get on board the 12477 - Jamnagar - Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express.
You will cover Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
Take the blessings of Mata here, because from now the journey is going to get arduous.
From Vaishno Devi, you take the 14503, Vaishno Devi - Kalka Express, because Kalka is one of the few places in Himachal Pradesh which has a rail network.
While at Kalka, If you have the chance, do take the Kalka - Shimla hill railway as well. It is an amazing train journey, with 100 odd tunnels and will tell you what extreme steps the British took, to run away from Indian heat.
Once you are back, board the 12005 - Kalka - Delhi Shatabdi to get to Delhi and prepare for the most challenging leg of the journey.
A journey that will take you thru the Gangetic plains, the Badlands of Bihar, the bustle of Bengal and the beauty of the North East. However, is is nothing as compared to breathing the 1574 AQI Delhi Air.
You first start with the 22457 Delhi - Haridwar, Vande Bharat, to tick Uttarakhand off your map.
Use this chance to spiritually recharge yourself by visiting Haridwar and Rishikesh. You can also take a dip in the holy Ganga to wash all your sins away. And breathe some nice clean mountain air. After Delhi, you need it.
Once you have cleansed yourself, internally and externally, board the 13009 Haridwar - Howrah Doon Express.
This will take you thru, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal to drop you off at Kolkata.
Eat Rasgollas, Mishti Doi, Jhal muri and the taste of Communist poverty before you embark on the tour of North Eastern seven sisters.
For me, this was the toughest leg to plan in the entire journey.
We first start with a 28 hour journey on the 13125 - Kolkata - Sairang Express. Sairang is the new expansion of Indian railways that will take you via Assam, right to the hills of Mizoram.
Get down at Bairabi and take the Bairabi - Silchar Passenger to Silchar for your next North Eastern journey.
From Silchar, take the 15663 - Silchar – Agartala Express, to tick off Tripura.
From Tripura, take the 12097 - Agartala – Khongsang Jan Shatabdi, and get down at Jiribam, to touch the soil of Manipur.
Then you need to circle back to Silchar with the Jiribam - Silchar Passenger.
Now you need to hop, skip and jump to the next nodal point of the North East - Guwahati via the 15616 - Silchar – Guwahati Express.
This is a 13 hour journey which will allow you enough time to recuperate.
This journey also kind of showed me the extent of Assam as a state. I never knew you could have a 12 hour train journey entirely within Assam.
Now while you are in Guwahati. Take some rest here. Visit the Kamakhya Devi Temple and get her blessings.
If you did that, you would have had the privilege to visit both Mata Devi in Jammu and Kamakhya Devi in Assam. Few visit one. Rarer are those who visit both.
Also, use one day to take the Guwahati – Mendipathar Passenger and come back to Guwahati. This will tick Meghalaya off.
To summarize, till now you have completed Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Jammu And Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya.
That is 26 in total.
5 more to go.
From Guwahati, take the 12087 - Guwahati - Naharlagun Jan Shatabdi to Naharlagun. Now you have covered Arunachal Pradesh as well.
Only one North East State remains - Nagaland.
Finish that by taking the 15818 - Naharlagun - Sukhovi Donnyi Polo Express. That is another 14 hour journey that I didn't think was possible in the North East.
When you get down at Sukhovi, you will have covered all the North Eastern States of India.
I don't know the exact timings, but to do the NE states of India, you would need at least a week if not more. That's how expansive these states are. Unfortunately for us, these states used to be covered in two seconds in the old DD Weather report.
One more fact, we have taken a 11 train journeys in the North Eastern region of India.
8 of them didn't exist before 2017.
This shows stellar work by the current govt in bringing Railways to the North East.
But I digress
From Sukhovi, get back to Guwahati on the same Donnyi Polo express, because post the hills of North East, now we head to the sea at Vizag.
For that you have 2 options
Either take the longest train in India, the 22503-Dibrugarh-Kanyakumari Vivek Express.
Or if you seek more comfort - the 12504-Agartala-SBC Humsafar Express
This way you will cover Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
You are now close to the end of your epic journey.
And In case you are keeping track, we are now at 29/31.
Only 2 more states remain.
After enjoying the sea breeze and sea food if you are into it, get on the 20811 - Vizag - Raipur Vande Bharat Express.
That will tick off Chhattisgarh.
After this epic journey of 20 trains, only one state remains. Telangana
You can tick this off in two ways.
Either you can take the 12772 - Raipur - Secunderabad Super Fast express and land in Hyderabad for a nice Biriyani and call it a day.
If you feel you feel you deserve a sunny and sandy break after a journey that rivals Philieas Fogg in length and complexity, you can take the 17322 - Jasidh - Vasco Express which will take you all the way to Goa via Hyderabad.
There you can heartily celebrate your epic journey across 31 states of India.
A journey that was kind of impossible 10 years ago.
PS 1 - The only state which is not covered in this itinerary are Sikkim. Currently Sikkim has no railway, but one is under construction. The day it is completed, we can add a small leg there too.
PS 2 - It is my plan. But I am not saying it is the only plan. If you can do this better, suggestions welcome
PS 3 - Almost all types of trains are covered in this journey. Passenger trains, Normal Trains, Express Trains, LHB Coach, ICF Coach, Vande Bharat, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi and Humsafar. I think only Rajdhani and Double Decker was missed out. But you can't have everything.
PS 4- I could've shortened the North Easter Journey by taking Dimapur as the station for ticking off Nagaland. But the name Donyi Polo Express was too awesome to ignore.
PS 5- The entire journey would take approximately 21 days. So if any Youtuber wants to use this plan for their journey, they are welcome.
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