Its a very old design. IR doesn't really pay a lot of attention to aesthetics and just keeps pumping out locomotives like a photocopy machine. It's still a great locomotive. While it is restricted at 160 km/h for regular operations due to track conditions, it is capable of hauling 18 coach passenger trains at 200 km/h. It's a shame that it looks so dated.
@@thetechnocrat4979 bcz of our people's careless attitude! Those vimal lover's cost our western railway alone 18 core last year to keep them clean 🤧😂! When our people's will grow up who knows! If they keep it normal then than cleaning budget can send to colouring the locomotive lol
I rode Indian trains in the 80s. Making a first class reservation meant going to the station and telling the agent where you want to go. He goes to get the ledger for the correct train and writes your name in the seat number location. He hands you a small chit of paper with train, car, and seat number. On the day of travel I wasn’t expecting to actually get the correct seat on the correct train. I went to the correct platform, found the correct carriage which had a piece of paper under glass at the door with the names of the passengers assigned to that carriage. Lo and behold, my name was on the list. I was amazed that such labor intensive system actually worked efficiently. The family sitting around me was so nice they invited me to visit them in Calcutta.
@@SebastianDeVries-ol5iq Netherland is such a small country with only so few routes possible. So you cannot actually compare the two. In about a decade, Netherlands total train route would be smaller than India's high speed route which hasn't even started operation yet and the average speed of those trains would be much higher than this.
@@anshul6168the size of the netherlands is irrelevant when 3/4 of the trains that operate their go to other countries, netherlands is basicaly a transport hub for people going to other countries by train.
WAG-9HH is the most powerful locomotive. WAG-12B is not a locomotive, but two permanently coupled locomotives, and is less powerful than two WAG-9HH locomotives.
As an avid watcher of your channel, and also as an Indian, I was pleasantly surprised to see you are in India and experienced this. Of course we are far far away to reach the spanish or italian high speed railways. The priority has always been to serve all sections of society than technical implementation. Love your videos.
Agree, the Indian Railway is a service for the masses, and seeing as it always sells out so far in advance, I think that it's successful! Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed!
@savvi3128 I have a question I've always wondered about the Indian railway: why do many trains, especially the regional ones, have bars on the windows?
I rode this line back in March 1970. We travelled in first class in an old-style six (6) seater compartment on corridor stock. Breakfast was brought onboard at an intermediate stop. The train was steam-hauled and took three (3) hours. As a nineteen (19) year-old, I really enjoyed the experience but of course it was not in the same league as the Taj Mahal.
Why do you take the time to write out numbers if you're just going to put the number symbols as well? Genuine question by the way, I actually kinda like the way it looks.
@@grootsChannel It was the way my mother who was a nurse taught me so that the meaning was clear. BTW, she also wrote in single characters for clarity; she said the handwriting of doctors was often illegible. Thanks for the enquiry : hope my answer makes sense.
@@SuperalbsTravels India HAs More faster than that trains now RRTS Namo Bharat Operational speed - 160 km/h Maximum Recorded Speed - 200 Maximum run Speed - 280+ (if we didn't stop it on every station) Vande Bharat Maximum Speed (recorded) - 200 km/h operational speed - 120-150 km/h Maximum Run Speed 220 km/h Vande Bharat 4 Operational speed - 280 - 300 km/h Maximum Speed (expected) - 380 km/h Maximum Run Speed - 320 km/h Mumbai Ahmedabad Bullet train Operational speed - 350-380 km/h Maximum Speed (expected) - 430 km/h Maximum Run Speed - 400 km/h Ahmedabad - Delhi - Varanasi - Kolkata Bullet Train Operational speed - 350-380 km/h Maximum Speed (expected) - 450 km/h Maximum Run Speed - 415 km/h
In August 1978 I got myself an Indian Rail pass for 3 weeks. Great train system. When I traveled again in India 1979, I took mostly second-class sleeper trains. When tired you could just jump off. The station masters were very helpful to find a hotel. I had a 60 W light bulb in my luggage. Most hotels had a single 25 W bulb in the 2 Dollar rooms I stayed in. I always filled the bucket when there is water in a hotel. There could be no water for many, many hours... In the south of India, you could get a great, unlimited vegetarian meal at the railway station. Served on a banana leaf...
You should come now, many things have changed.. though many things you westerners relish may have been disappearing slowly.. like hawkers and chatters, the noise!
@@Silverwarhawk Because that is where content is and vlogers will always go after content. If you are travelling in general class coach there's gonna be too much chaos for sure. If you travel in first class you'll be fine. Also 1.4 bn people and everyone got a mouth so what can you do...
I have travelled there back in 2012 on an early morning train (Bhopal Shatabdi) that was also the country's fastest train at the time. Also from Hazrat Nizamuddin which required a very early start from our hotel, but we got some good breakfast on board. I see the trains haven't changed much since then, and the WAP5 are still built in the same shape.
You must have caught the Bhopal Shatabdi from New Delhi Railway station as that train doesn't start at Hazrat Nizamuddin and doesn't have a halt there either.
Wondering why a locomotive design would change in 10 years time. Indians have plenty of time. High speed trains are not vital here. Live slow and easy.
Nice report ! All these rakes are atleast 10 years old ! They all are set to be replaced by Vande Bharat Rakes by next year. VB rakes are multiple units equipped with modern furbishment the only reservation being cramped Chair car seating arrangements as compared to existing chair car coaches. Washrooms are also more Morden in those sets. ❤
Yes, rake is used in India to refer to a set of carriages (although unlike in the UK which uses the term for loco-hauled sets, it also seems to be used in India to refer to multiple units).
Who said that though? I can't find anything about the trains being replaced. For the LHB rake to be replaced by a VB rake, they'll have to get rid of the Gatimaan brand.
@@dls-nandanabad5868 Gatiman is not a brand or series as such ! It’s classified as a Shatabdi type of train by IR… IR will upgrade all the shatabdis with VB train sets …
I really love train travel in India. The noise, the chaos. It's a real adventure which you remember years afterwards. I have been on the Shinkansen dozens of times but hardly remember any of those train rides, unlike the train trips in India.
It is the assault on your senses that you remember: the noise, the chatting of passengers, the hawkers selling tea and snacks, the coolies ferrying luggage, the chirping of birds (if it is an open station), the endless train announcements, and occasional dogs on the platform. All those sensations are missing in riding any westernized train. In the west, the HSR journey is not very different from the plane travel: endless swishing of poles at fast speed, the sedate, antiseptic environment, the subdued conversations, the isolation of each traveler, etc. Hence, very sleep-inducing and boring.
I rode the Delhi to Kalka shatabdi some six years ago which was a four and a half hour journey. I was also in AC (first class - AC stood for - wait for it! - Air Conditioned) but here our experiences differ. At the time the return fare was also around £18 and both the service and general overall condition of the carriage was far better than your Gatimaan Express journey. Breakfast was on the table before we had cleared Delhi and there was more of it. I can understand your wish to go south to Agra to see the Taj Mahal (went there too but we travelled by car from Delhi along the Noida Expressway) but you missed a real treat. The shatabdi terminates at Kalka but you could have continued on to Shimla via the narrow gauge Kalka-Shimla Railway which is one of India's four 'toy trains'. Admittedly it would have taken two days (you would have needed to stay overnight in Shimla but that in itself would have been worth it). We came down from Shimla in the toy train and as there was no air conditioning except that provided by the windows, I spent almost all of the trip sitting in the open doorway with my feet on the external step trying not t o get my toes skinned in the very many tunnels on the line. Probably the best railway journey I have ever done.
And that my friend is the sort of adventure that will stay in your mind forever. We can always stay and enjoy luxury hotels but it's always the unexpected and the simply never too be repeated adventure that we will repeat to others.
But it's not India's best train. India's best train is Vande Bharat, yaah it's speed is just 180 to 220 km/hr but the facilities are world class.and high speed railway is under construction. And hyper loop is also under development. This train's is older now.
I know Indian Trains are not like fancy European or any western countries trains but its main motto is to serve India's huge population and I think they are doing pretty well....India is still a developing country and working so hard in every sector and also focusing on made in India things......I personally think its an experience and its a journey that makes you remember.....btw you can also try new vande bharat express which runs about 180 kmph.....and Also India is constructing RRTS train,bullet train and many more such semi and high speed trains.....All i can say is India is fastest growing Economy and came a long way but still learning and growing and its a very long journey ahead.
Actual high speed railway requires high level of maintenance 👨🔧 It will be at least almost 1 decade before India can afford a one in service properly.
Our Railway line is not capable of managing to achive those speeds thats the reason for bullet train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad & for RRTS in meerut to Delhi government buildings a whole new line which is also above that group
@@CSAdityaHoon this is normal when the same line is used for "high speed" and normal trains. Germany vs France is a example. Germany decided to have a one for all rail network, while France have separate lines for high speed. Hence the same train goes much faster in France once it crosses the German borders. Back then in the 60s German approach looked financially better, but as trains get popular and also discussion on not using flights for short disatnces and use train instead is big these days, France seems to have made the better decision. Their lines are in better position to challenge aeroplanes.
P5s are such underrated and unfairly treated locomotives. They are capable of so much more. Unfortunately, a race horse like P5 has been forced to do donkey labour.
@@thetechnocrat4979 IR do be sleeping in the matter of track upgradation, what's the point of getting a 225 km/h capable loco design. Imagine Bhopal Shatabdi hitting 200 km/h with a WAP-5 at the helm in 2005 or smthng, can only imagine
You need to cover Vande Bharat to showcase to the world India's next generation train sets. 10 of them have already been launched with 75 by mid August and 500 over the next few years. Indian infrastructure is on the take off stage and one can now see acceleration all around. Even the terminal building are seeing major modification. In a few years railways will have primarily electric locomotives only
India rn: >> Double-stacking containers >> Electrifying *_everything,_* inc. double-stack lines >> Working on making locally-produced trainsets of solid quality >> Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR route making cracking construction progress, inc. secured E5 sets from Japan, and further lines are in the pipeline >> Re-gauging *_every_* line to 5ft 6in/1,676mm gauge sans the high-speed lines >> Installing ETCS Level 2 signalling across the board Meanwhile in Britain, the "heart of the Empire": >> Gov't has delayed HS2 *_again_* by two years further >> Still just under 2/3rds of UK rail not electrified >> Still runs the stupid franchising system that is incomprehensible >> *_S T R I K E S_* >> Refuses to increase the loading gauge to make it compatible with EU stock >> Still uses semaphore signals on congested main lines From Britain: Keep at it, India, you guys are genuinely doing the best thing you can right now. Your future is bright! edit: corrections to info provided, sorry if I left you confused
@@nerd2814 The Indian track gauge also means they don't need well cars, they can just stack em on flat wagons. They even considered triple stacking em but...
@@Dhruv-KumarVande Bharat is not at all boring. It's comfortable compared to the old ones. And seating of Vande Bharat is like a plane. The sleeper, compartment versions of Vande Bharat will come soon.
I did this journey 30 years ago on overnight sleeper train.... It took 8 hours from Delhi to Agra... It was a milk run service which probably stopped at every station.... It was a three up verticals rooms with 6 bed per booth. When not in use it was very social congregating with people of many caste discovering the Indian people in a way different to my other experiences. The Taj was mesmerising but Agra was a flea bitten slum of a city juxtaposed against the magnificence of The Taj. I was back packing bum saving money where I could and travelling by the base level local transport... A hard country to travel like this but a life changing experience of memories for a life time.... Sometimes the journey is the adventure...
@kingplatform2255 I'd much prefer that than the piles of garbage and plastic beside the tracks. Although I don't want to berate my countrymen, this filth is mostly because of slums propping up near railway owned land. Rural parts and the Southern, NorthEastern, and to some extent, Eastern railways don't have such filth piled up.
NO respect when you pay an expensive first class ticket and the bathroom does not even have running water. INEXCUSABLE. And the cabin was in obvious disrepair, the footrest was broken, the armrest did not go down properly, which each alone can ruin your comfort. Mind you, this was in FIRST CLASS.
Yes isn't really high speed. But it is getting there. Railways is spend a lot ofm oney on track, electrification, signalling upgradation and fencing. That will help improve the speed on a lot of routes.
Indian Railways have come up with an innovative intermediary term for the train operations on this speed … they term it as semi high speed rails .. all the major indigenous broad Gauge lines will be upgraded to 160-200 kmph semi high speed lines. They will entertain mix traffic. While India is also building high speed networks on standard gauge with the help of Japan to connect major cities . One such project is Mumbai Ahmedabad High speed rail project which is set to launch by 2026 . It’s in construction phase … Japanese Shinkansen will run at a top speed of 320 kmph on these lines…
@@digvijayrana88 i mean, tbf 160 kph is the top speed of most local trains nowadays, so claiming that 160/200 kph is even semi/high speed is quite bold
@@antoniovitellaro yeah ! I can understand that … they are set to roll out a grade separated high speed section between two business cities in next 3 years. India has a problem of mix traffic using the same rail system
9:48 Even if that faucet lever looks flat on the top side it is ball faucet not disc faucet. You need to push up that lever and water will flow. Flow control depends how much lever will be up or down. Also left is hot water right is cold water on the ball faucet system. Water mixing is possible pushing lever left or rihght betwween two sides.
Nice video of travel by the Gatiman Express. Great to see you in India. IR is improving rapidly now. The train stations are way cleaner now and the trains, at least the important ones, are fairly clean too. I should know that as I have traveled extensively in the trains in India right from the early 70s. Maximum speed in those days used to be 110 kph and that too, only a handful of trains like the Rajdhani Express could achieve those speeds.
As a good follower of yours, your liking towards the Indian Railways, is always pleasing me. But always keep in mind when you speak of Indian Railways (5 things) : 1] The Legendary Rajdhani Express, 2] The Fantastic Shatabdi Express, 3] The G.O.A.T Vande Bharat Express, 4] In busy passenger trains, people hanging outside of the railings will its moving 🤣 and 5] Always remember, random vendors that enter your train screaming for random food like Samosa or Vada, you can easily trust it. They're taste is further more traditional than most complimentary meal services 😂
The semi-high speed of 100 mph is impressive for India. The average speed of 70 mph (116 mles/110 mn.) is pretty fast also. This is comparable to the 2021 Laos train. The food service seemed satisfactory to good. Not a bad value for less than $19.
To all those people saying vande Bharat is fastest, currently the fastest operational on track fastest is still gatimaan express as it runs on the best railway line of Agra Delhi. And also if proper tracks are there gatimaan can reach as fast as 230kmph,still 10kmph faster than possible speed for vande Bharat.
Great trip. A year old of locomotive but feels like dated from decade, the design of the locomotive make it older than it's operational age. Same like in India, in my country Executive Class on the train also using 2+2 seating configuration, but as far as I remembered mostly airline style seating. And for chair class, it's remembered me about economy class in my country, same 2+3 seating configuration but not using individual seating like that, mostly soft padding bench and on face to face layout (only small table on the window). India actually one of many country which passenger and freight traffic is balance.
@@SuperalbsTravels IR focuses more in terms of practicality than aesthetics of locomotive they are being upgraded for safety, hotel load ,they doing what is best for indian standard
@@राकेश_रेल Why can't you just accept that India is bad with designs? The locomotives are plain ugly. Compare the same with a Chinese locomotive and see the difference in design an aesthetics. Even Vande Bharat looks ugly! Do they not even have good designers who under what looks good and what doesn't? Giving excuses like "doing what is best for Indian standard" does not make sense at all. It basically means Indian designers have pretty bad standards.
@@राकेश_रेल IR sucks when it comes to choosing color, no one can deny that, even on Train 18 they chose white-blue, while silver or light black would have been better Wag 12 of IR looks better than most western/european locomotives, also considering it was made with a collaboration with Alstom
That locomotive has enough power to haul a 18-22 coachs at 160-180kmph if permitted though. I feel there is a great difference between a load puller vs a short bullet train
FROM MR PETER CASTELLINO , BOMBAY , 10-3-2024. TO PREVENT LIVING AND DYIING IN FILTH CLEAN , DISINFECT AND WAX LOCOS & TRAIN COACHES AFTER ALL JOURNEYS.
I took the train once in India (Delhi to Changigarh, 2016). I remember how incredibly convoluted the booking system felt (to a foreigner, anyway). There was some sort of waitlist for online tickets. Complex procedures (ID verification via email) and mysterious acronyms. Cost me Rs. 535 (6 EUR / 6 USD) for "AC chair" for a ~4h ride. The station at Delhi blasted announcements with the windows XP "error" sound.
One thing is certain, Indian Railways still needs a LOT of improvement. The cleanliness, the interior and exterior design of trains, accessibility, etc. definitely need a lot of work. Believe me, if you had come about 7 to 8 years ago, you would have found it to be in a much worse condition. The trains and the tracks used to smell horrible and nobody really liked going by the train. Thankfully, things are slowly improving now. I hope that you still had a good time.
In India the first priority is to serve the masses of the country which is a huge task. Due to population pressure and the effort required to serve such a huge population Indian railways has not been able to achieve the speed what many European countries, and Japan had achieved in rail transportation. However in last few years serious efforts are being made to increase the speed of the passanger trains and track upgradation is in full swing. Hopefully in next few years we find trains running at 200kmph on few routes. Happy to know that you enjoyed this journey.
People forget when they compare other railways,is that India carries higher densities of freight than most European countries,that too on same tracks,so achieving higher passenger speed is a hurdle. With Land acquisition problems,Dedicated freight corridor projects also suffered many delays,however once Dedicated freight network is completed,India plan on implementing jointless bolt tracks all over diamond corridor network followed by fencing (for high speed safety),only after which 180kmph service will be started all over major distances,i.e Mumbai-Howrah-Delhi-Mumbai,Bengaluru-Chennai etc. These project is classed as semi-highspeed network,there's an ongoing project for high-speed track layout from Ahmedabad-Mumbai with 240kmph speed. Even this project is also delaying due to Land acquisition problem. PS: Newly build Vandebharat Exp has the capabilities of cruising at 200kmph with very minimal vibrations,we just lack the Dedicated tracks for it.
I had travelled on Gatiman express back in 2016. It seems now the service has gone down a bit. When I was travelling in the north India, passengers on EC class of Gatiman express were welcomed by a crew traditionally dressed up. And every passenger were welcomed with a fresh red rose. Moreover, interior looked more cleaner than shown on the video with light green fabric seats. I wish if I could share photos here. Anyway, love your trip coverage! ❤
i would really recommend the srinagar banihal railway line its an enginnering marvel going through the himalayas in kashmir ,its also being expanded to jammu and will be finished in a few years .
This year. Work progress is at 93%. Some reports say that pm wants it done by August this year. So maybe that can happen but it will surely be done by December.
That blue coach with the AC chair cars, reminds me of when I was young and always used to ride the Shatabdi express to go from Bengaluru (my home) to Chennai (my cousins home), oh how I miss those days, thanks for bringing those sweet memories back to me!
The Shinkansen-esque line should be a game changer, but is way too slow and expensive, India needs to be more self-sufficient in its rail technology, but even in China, it was a very long transition to high speed - India with its economic potential is one to watch. The Vande Bharat sets just seem like conventional coaches with some gangways and a pointy end, but still a start imo
@@SuperalbsTravels I wouldn't put my fingers on the buzzer just yet with that.. We're known to let things get delayed, especially with bespoke projects, and this one is ridiculously expensive to boot. It feels at least 5 years too soon to me.
Right for the shatabdis India have moved from locomotive hauled to memus, and right now it's going reduce my Chennai to coimbatore route by 1 hour and it's great for me and am ready to pay 1600 inr for it, but still people will say its not going fast, and over priced though.... 😢😢
Many people prefer bhopal shatabdi instead of gatiman due to huge price difference for speed difference of 5kmph and bhopal shatabdi is India's first shatabdi express- day time intercity service and aim was to provide an airline like Premium service, but when it comess to average speed÷ max speed ratio varanasi vande Bharat wins and for sleeper luxurious intercity service mumbai Tejas rajdhani wins
Thanks for the view of India today and a glimpse at developments. Anything about India and particularly their famous rail network is great to see. I'd love to go again to Darjeeling. That's the thing about the place for all who love it.
Please do a review of Vande Bharat express in the future! They are upto international standards in terms of seating, comfort and acceleration times. Their top speed however is limited by the track infrastructure.
Wow this is so interesting. I kinida want to visit India some day and do some train travel, in premium classes of course :) Can we expect any Chinese train reviews anytime soon?
Indian railways are managing a massive population. It's doing pretty well and has most solid infrastructure. In recent years indian railways development goes exponentially better. Even we indians got shocked to see this kind of development. All old stations are going to be rebuild with airport like facilities. Also station are more cleaning and promise more safe journey.
@@t60-flying95 That's still true in the general classes (the cheapest class/wagon in the train) But i think as the standard of living becomes better as well as infrastructure slowly but surely with time this problem will be solved aswell but as of right now we cannot deny it
I've recently came here to USA from India and when i see the standard of India's fastest train and the aeroplane which i took, United airlines, i'll ride IRCTC without any doubt 😀
I had to wait each and everytime when i had to go the toilet in United unlike the railways. Probably the amount of profit that IRCTC gets is very less compared to United. It may be a lot to make sure that aeroplane maintenance had to be done and all, but doesn't mean that the aeroplane travel is better
He friend if you came to india next year visit odisha ,puri ,it's my home town ,and have a dinner with my family😊@@SuperalbsTravelsand there are many places to visit like sun. Temple and asia largest salt lake ❤
@@ashrithbhagavangowda2723 Let's be honest with ourselves, our country isn't exactly clean. We are still not up to a good standard of maintenance and cleanliness which is prevalent across many of the world's developed and developing countries. Be grateful that the original commentator is at least being polite with his observation.
@@thetechnocrat4979 what gives you the view that other countries have better trains then? We are going towards 100% electrification (for broad gauge trains mainly) while some countries still run diesel trains (UK and USA).. for the scale of our country, IR is by far doing the best in providing connectivity.. of course further improvements are required in terms of infrastructure, which zones like SWR and others are completing to allow at least 120kmph operation speeds, new rolling stocks have already entered (VBE) and efforts to reduce congestion and improve punctuality in busy routes (New Delhi-Kolkata and New Delhi-Mumbai) are going on in full swing, along with introduction of new trains and technology.. and cleanliness, come on man.. trains in other developed countries are also bad.. in some cases, our trains are way better.. you seem to be a railfan.. you should know better
@@ashrithbhagavangowda2723 bro please shut up i said something good and you started an Argument i bet you, you are straight from twitter + instead of a compliment a could say that "Pakistan is better " Or some other country
@@SuperalbsTravels Delays in Indian trains will reduce drastically with the creation of the freight corridors and the upgradation of the signalling due to the rollout of the _TCAS Kavach_ (Indian equivalent of European ETCS Level 2). India's current Railway Minister is a technocrat who knows what he is doing (incidentally he also handles the Ministry of Electronics and IT as well as Ministry of Communications, that is three ministries under one minister). The previous Railway Minister was also pretty good.
We have many home made trains, such as Gatiman express, Tejas, Vande Bharat, Namo bharat, Amrit Bharat etc, all of these achieve 160 km orn180 km ph speed,
@@SuperalbsTravels I like them for the same reason. Almost all electric locomotives in India have European roots. The WAP5s are special for me because I have many childhood memories associated with them. They are also, the smallest and lightest mainline locomotives of IR and still capable of so much. They inspire me. PS : I call them the Swiss gentlemen.
@@pmaitrasm Japanese roots only with the replaced traction motors and some heavy electrical systems which were added later. To be fair, I should have said Euro-Japanese roots.
Still India has 90% train electrified with world's only Double container electric freight train. While US doesn't even know what is electric train. Even Europe has 60% electrification rate. ruclips.net/video/n3lkcERyeAc/видео.html
@@83nitishBrother, just take the criticism instead of doing cherry-picked whataboutery. I'm an Indian too, and I know that the country has a lot of work to do to get to western standards.
@@AERYS. It's not about criticism, I live in the West myself from 10+ plus. EU average electrification rate is 55%, US less thab 1% Indian Railways has a long way to go but it's a good system in its own right.
@@83nitish I know we have one of the most electrified railway systems of the world...which is great, but that's not the point. The comment is not about electrification. We have to accept that the most popular locomotives of IR doesn't look too good. It is an old design. Just take the criticism.
Brilliant video of your train rides. I didn't know India had this kind of train. Your pronunciations of the places are so beautiful. Keep up the good adventure, and make me want to travel these trains.
And yet the footrest was broken, the water didn't work in the toilet (health hazard) and you waited an hour for a simple cup of hot water. And this was supposedly a premium product.
I travelled the 1000 miles from Delhi to Calcutta in 1973 as part of my trip overland to Australia. I think I travelled third or second class. I had a student pass so the trip cost me a whole pound. Conditions were awful. Literally standing space only, for a while the toilet was the best option. One night I slept on the luggage rack. Indians on the train smoking pot, it was a unique travel experience. Booking the ticket involved queuing at several counters. I was expecting to see people riding on the roof but it didn't happen.
The dirt stains (everywhere) were fascinating 👌 Having said that, it's nice that they have a reasonably fast train between Delhi and Agra. I remember taking a bus along that route about 40 years ago and that journey took about 4 hours (if I recollect correctly).
@@HasnaAbubekar It may be a part of daily life, but that doesn't change the fact that it is disappointing and people should learn to change the habit.
As an Indian , I would really like to request you to ride in Vande Bharat Express , there are many but the closest one is Nagpur-Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express.
Interesting review. In some ways, the line and rolling stock seem more advanced than I expected. I wasn't expecting a 2021 loco and full electrification. Even if the speed isn't high, it's still fairly decent. Clearly they still have a way to go to match the standard of western networks, but I guess it's improved a lot. The interiors look pretty ugly and old, and everything just seems a bit worn and dirty. Can't believe that loco is so new. Looks like it's been through decades of use!
As for electrification, the entire mainline network of IR will be under 25kV AC by the end of 2024. For a country short of oil reserves, this is a magnificent thing!
What MK KM said. Indian Railways are close to 100% electrification, and by end of 2024 they will be fully electric. BTW, that locomotive is based on the LOK-2000 ABB design. Imported in the year 2000, and since manufactured in India under joint collaboration. It’s maximum speed is 200 kph/125 mph. Trains in India tend to look older because they aren’t washed as often, and India is pretty dusty. 😊 Like others have mentioned, the Indian manufactured newer rakes of a train called ‘Vande Bharat’ (Pronounced Van-day Bha-rut) are bit more modern with two aerodynamic push-pull cars at each end and powered cars throughout the rake. While running at pretty similar speeds to this train, they are nevertheless more modern looking and probably more efficient due to the aero noses. - an Indian train fan living in the US for a long time. (Trains in the US suck, BTW, with almost no electrification except in the east coast 😏)
Something tells me that India cares about their railways. The fact that it can be massively overcrowded suggests that travelling by rail is cheap amongst India's majority class of low-income citizens. But it could also mean that they are very willing to build high-quality trains that are comfortable, luxurious and durable, even if it means talking down to the sunshades (shame on you, Stadler). And did I mention that they are building a new high-speed mass-transit railway line in New Delhi? Overall, even though it is a bit antiquated, it seems that India loves its trains. 😁
Sorry for this third comment, but I hope that you have had a chance to travel within the Western Railway Zone of IR (hint, the Mumbai to Ahmedabad mainline is in it). It is the best zone of IR.
@@SuperalbsTravels WR is generally considered the most pro active zone of the railways. Whenever you report a problem, say of lack of water or cleanliness of anything else, they are the fastest to take action. Plus their on time performance is highest among all the zones. They rolling stock is also better maintained than in the NR/CR
@@SuperalbsTravels WR is very prompt to responding to complaints and does a great job at it. They also have a lot of new rolling stock and operate all types of trains like Shatabdi, Vande Bharat, Intercity, regular superfast, Double Decker, Tejas, Tejas Rajdhani, AC locals and also the legendary Flying Ranee. It's also being fenced at a fast pace and is close to becoming IR's next 160kmph rated section. Also WR's services are better than most other sections.
One year old locomotive?? That thing looks like it has decades, jeez.
It's due to dust and white paint...
@@mukherjeesuniversum2665 It's not only dust and paint, the design itself seems to be taken from the 70s-80s.
@@CityWhisperer It's from 1995 and based on an Swiss Loco with Indian touch 😁😁😁
Its a very old design. IR doesn't really pay a lot of attention to aesthetics and just keeps pumping out locomotives like a photocopy machine. It's still a great locomotive. While it is restricted at 160 km/h for regular operations due to track conditions, it is capable of hauling 18 coach passenger trains at 200 km/h. It's a shame that it looks so dated.
@@thetechnocrat4979 bcz of our people's careless attitude! Those vimal lover's cost our western railway alone 18 core last year to keep them clean 🤧😂!
When our people's will grow up who knows!
If they keep it normal then than cleaning budget can send to colouring the locomotive lol
6:45 was the smoothest transition I've seen
Yeah
I noticed it only after reading your comment and truly how immaculately it has been done!
I was about to comment that too
I rode Indian trains in the 80s. Making a first class reservation meant going to the station and telling the agent where you want to go. He goes to get the ledger for the correct train and writes your name in the seat number location. He hands you a small chit of paper with train, car, and seat number. On the day of travel I wasn’t expecting to actually get the correct seat on the correct train. I went to the correct platform, found the correct carriage which had a piece of paper under glass at the door with the names of the passengers assigned to that carriage. Lo and behold, my name was on the list. I was amazed that such labor intensive system actually worked efficiently. The family sitting around me was so nice they invited me to visit them in Calcutta.
Yes. I wonder if computerisation is more or less reliable?
Everyone in India will (want to) invite you home if you are White
strange considering that the average speed of a train in the Netherlands is just under the top speed of this train
@@SebastianDeVries-ol5iq Netherland is such a small country with only so few routes possible. So you cannot actually compare the two. In about a decade, Netherlands total train route would be smaller than India's high speed route which hasn't even started operation yet and the average speed of those trains would be much higher than this.
@@anshul6168the size of the netherlands is irrelevant when 3/4 of the trains that operate their go to other countries, netherlands is basicaly a transport hub for people going to other countries by train.
The locomotive pulling the freighter at 0:52 is a Wag-12B, India's most powerful locomotives in current operation packing 12k horsepower per unit.
WAG-9HH is the most powerful locomotive. WAG-12B is not a locomotive, but two permanently coupled locomotives, and is less powerful than two WAG-9HH locomotives.
@@pmaitrasm😂...wag 12..is the Indias Most Powerful Loco...Wag 9 HH is 9000 hp loco
@@XtremeRailFan, You are wrong.
@@pmaitrasm i m comparing single wag9 hh with wag12 ...
Wag 12 can haul..frieght train at 120 kmph...
Ang wag 9hh at 100 kmph
@@XtremeRailFan, I know you are comparing two locomotives with one locomotive.
As an avid watcher of your channel, and also as an Indian, I was pleasantly surprised to see you are in India and experienced this. Of course we are far far away to reach the spanish or italian high speed railways. The priority has always been to serve all sections of society than technical implementation. Love your videos.
Agree, the Indian Railway is a service for the masses, and seeing as it always sells out so far in advance, I think that it's successful!
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed!
Bad arguement. Italian high speed service is cheap an available to the masses. 2 hour trip Venice-Milan for 14.90 €
@@tommasodalmaso To be fair even that pricing is unaffordable to a huge section of indian masses :)
@@arghya4NE for indian masses living and working in India. If you work in Italy chances are it is not expensive
@savvi3128 I have a question I've always wondered about the Indian railway: why do many trains, especially the regional ones, have bars on the windows?
I rode this line back in March 1970. We travelled in first class in an old-style six (6) seater compartment on corridor stock. Breakfast was brought onboard at an intermediate stop.
The train was steam-hauled and took three (3) hours.
As a nineteen (19) year-old, I really enjoyed the experience but of course it was not in the same league as the Taj Mahal.
Wow, that really does sound an experience!
You must be loaded
Why do you take the time to write out numbers if you're just going to put the number symbols as well? Genuine question by the way, I actually kinda like the way it looks.
@@grootsChannel It was the way my mother who was a nurse taught me so that the meaning was clear. BTW, she also wrote in single characters for clarity; she said the handwriting of doctors was often illegible.
Thanks for the enquiry : hope my answer makes sense.
3
6:44 is so nice, I love that touch!
Ahaha, I love it when people notice those sneaky little edits. Thanks! :)
I may be unobservant, but I see nothing unusual at that point?
@@2760ade the cut syncs perfectly with the locomotive passing by, so you don’t even notice it
@@SuperalbsTravels India HAs More faster than that trains now RRTS Namo Bharat
Operational speed - 160 km/h
Maximum Recorded Speed - 200
Maximum run Speed - 280+ (if we didn't stop it on every station)
Vande Bharat
Maximum Speed (recorded) - 200 km/h
operational speed - 120-150 km/h
Maximum Run Speed 220 km/h
Vande Bharat 4
Operational speed - 280 - 300 km/h
Maximum Speed (expected) - 380 km/h
Maximum Run Speed - 320 km/h
Mumbai Ahmedabad Bullet train
Operational speed - 350-380 km/h
Maximum Speed (expected) - 430 km/h
Maximum Run Speed - 400 km/h
Ahmedabad - Delhi - Varanasi - Kolkata Bullet Train
Operational speed - 350-380 km/h
Maximum Speed (expected) - 450 km/h
Maximum Run Speed - 415 km/h
In August 1978 I got myself an Indian Rail pass for 3 weeks.
Great train system.
When I traveled again in India 1979, I took mostly second-class sleeper trains.
When tired you could just jump off. The station masters were very helpful to find a hotel.
I had a 60 W light bulb in my luggage. Most hotels had a single 25 W bulb in the 2 Dollar rooms I stayed in. I always filled the bucket when there is water in a hotel. There could be no water for many, many hours...
In the south of India, you could get a great, unlimited vegetarian meal at the railway station. Served on a banana leaf...
You should come now, many things have changed.. though many things you westerners relish may have been disappearing slowly.. like hawkers and chatters, the noise!
@@Dwrksiedevery video i watch is literally sensory overload and noisy man.
@@Silverwarhawk Because that is where content is and vlogers will always go after content. If you are travelling in general class coach there's gonna be too much chaos for sure. If you travel in first class you'll be fine.
Also 1.4 bn people and everyone got a mouth so what can you do...
I have travelled there back in 2012 on an early morning train (Bhopal Shatabdi) that was also the country's fastest train at the time. Also from Hazrat Nizamuddin which required a very early start from our hotel, but we got some good breakfast on board.
I see the trains haven't changed much since then, and the WAP5 are still built in the same shape.
New vande bharat trains are different from this model.
You must have caught the Bhopal Shatabdi from New Delhi Railway station as that train doesn't start at Hazrat Nizamuddin and doesn't have a halt there either.
Wondering why a locomotive design would change in 10 years time.
Indians have plenty of time. High speed trains are not vital here. Live slow and easy.
Nice report ! All these rakes are atleast 10 years old ! They all are set to be replaced by Vande Bharat Rakes by next year. VB rakes are multiple units equipped with modern furbishment the only reservation being cramped Chair car seating arrangements as compared to existing chair car coaches. Washrooms are also more Morden in those sets. ❤
Rake? What’s that? I’m American.
@@QuarioQuario54321 it just means “trainsets” - in Indian lingo apparently coaches are called bogies too. Confusing, I know. I’m from the UK btw
Yes, rake is used in India to refer to a set of carriages (although unlike in the UK which uses the term for loco-hauled sets, it also seems to be used in India to refer to multiple units).
Who said that though? I can't find anything about the trains being replaced. For the LHB rake to be replaced by a VB rake, they'll have to get rid of the Gatimaan brand.
@@dls-nandanabad5868 Gatiman is not a brand or series as such ! It’s classified as a Shatabdi type of train by IR… IR will upgrade all the shatabdis with VB train sets …
I really love train travel in India. The noise, the chaos. It's a real adventure which you remember years afterwards. I have been on the Shinkansen dozens of times but hardly remember any of those train rides, unlike the train trips in India.
That’s wat I like abt the EU HSRs and Shinkansens, polished efficient and comfortable
It is the assault on your senses that you remember: the noise, the chatting of passengers, the hawkers selling tea and snacks, the coolies ferrying luggage, the chirping of birds (if it is an open station), the endless train announcements, and occasional dogs on the platform. All those sensations are missing in riding any westernized train. In the west, the HSR journey is not very different from the plane travel: endless swishing of poles at fast speed, the sedate, antiseptic environment, the subdued conversations, the isolation of each traveler, etc. Hence, very sleep-inducing and boring.
@@krishnapillai2595 whatever
@@krishnapillai2595 yeah no hahahah
The shinkansen is an engineer's dream, but Indian trains are a writer's dream :)
I rode the Delhi to Kalka shatabdi some six years ago which was a four and a half hour journey. I was also in AC (first class - AC stood for - wait for it! - Air Conditioned) but here our experiences differ. At the time the return fare was also around £18 and both the service and general overall condition of the carriage was far better than your Gatimaan Express journey. Breakfast was on the table before we had cleared Delhi and there was more of it. I can understand your wish to go south to Agra to see the Taj Mahal (went there too but we travelled by car from Delhi along the Noida Expressway) but you missed a real treat. The shatabdi terminates at Kalka but you could have continued on to Shimla via the narrow gauge Kalka-Shimla Railway which is one of India's four 'toy trains'. Admittedly it would have taken two days (you would have needed to stay overnight in Shimla but that in itself would have been worth it). We came down from Shimla in the toy train and as there was no air conditioning except that provided by the windows, I spent almost all of the trip sitting in the open doorway with my feet on the external step trying not t o get my toes skinned in the very many tunnels on the line. Probably the best railway journey I have ever done.
And that my friend is the sort of adventure that will stay in your mind forever. We can always stay and enjoy luxury hotels but it's always the unexpected and the simply never too be repeated adventure that we will repeat to others.
But it's not India's best train. India's best train is Vande Bharat, yaah it's speed is just 180 to 220 km/hr but the facilities are world class.and high speed railway is under construction. And hyper loop is also under development. This train's is older now.
I know Indian Trains are not like fancy European or any western countries trains but its main motto is to serve India's huge population and I think they are doing pretty well....India is still a developing country and working so hard in every sector and also focusing on made in India things......I personally think its an experience and its a journey that makes you remember.....btw you can also try new vande bharat express which runs about 180 kmph.....and Also India is constructing RRTS train,bullet train and many more such semi and high speed trains.....All i can say is India is fastest growing Economy and came a long way but still learning and growing and its a very long journey ahead.
Why would anyone in India wish to travel from Delhi to Agra in less than 2 hrs. Slow and steady is enough. Fast life is ultimately a tense life.
@@HasnaAbubekar Why wouldnt someone want to travel faster? By your logic we should be using a bullock cart instead of Upgrading to Vande Bharat.
@@HasnaAbubekaraverage BJP voter 😂
What the F are you talking about? India became a Superpower in 2020. Insulting India is racism, you need to STFU.
Actual high speed railway requires high level of maintenance 👨🔧
It will be at least almost 1 decade before India can afford a one in service properly.
The WAP5 locomotive which was hauling the train has a potential speed of 225kmph but it operates at 160kmph 👍
Our Railway line is not capable of managing to achive those speeds thats the reason for bullet train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad & for RRTS in meerut to Delhi government buildings a whole new line which is also above that group
@@CSAdityaHoon this is normal when the same line is used for "high speed" and normal trains. Germany vs France is a example. Germany decided to have a one for all rail network, while France have separate lines for high speed. Hence the same train goes much faster in France once it crosses the German borders. Back then in the 60s German approach looked financially better, but as trains get popular and also discussion on not using flights for short disatnces and use train instead is big these days, France seems to have made the better decision. Their lines are in better position to challenge aeroplanes.
Really??? I am indian but i didn't knew that about wap 5
@@youAinTfunnyLilBro hmm many people don't know our locos can achieve 200kmph but tracks and infrastructure cannot support
@@CSAdityaHoon ok sir when it cappable after 2090??ji what will do??
Great coverage! The P5s are our fastest locomotives and are limited to 160kph!
Hoping to see more videos of Indian trains from your side!
P5s are such underrated and unfairly treated locomotives. They are capable of so much more. Unfortunately, a race horse like P5 has been forced to do donkey labour.
@@thetechnocrat4979 upgraded the signals to include atleast train protection and now you can go faster
@@sherlocksinha2435
Yes true. The Kavach system can do wonders for IR.
@@sherlocksinha2435 tracks need to be up graded to achieve higher speed above 160
@@thetechnocrat4979 IR do be sleeping in the matter of track upgradation, what's the point of getting a 225 km/h capable loco design. Imagine Bhopal Shatabdi hitting 200 km/h with a WAP-5 at the helm in 2005 or smthng, can only imagine
You need to cover Vande Bharat to showcase to the world India's next generation train sets. 10 of them have already been launched with 75 by mid August and 500 over the next few years. Indian infrastructure is on the take off stage and one can now see acceleration all around. Even the terminal building are seeing major modification. In a few years railways will have primarily electric locomotives only
India rn:
>> Double-stacking containers
>> Electrifying *_everything,_* inc. double-stack lines
>> Working on making locally-produced trainsets of solid quality
>> Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR route making cracking construction progress, inc. secured E5 sets from Japan, and further lines are in the pipeline
>> Re-gauging *_every_* line to 5ft 6in/1,676mm gauge sans the high-speed lines
>> Installing ETCS Level 2 signalling across the board
Meanwhile in Britain, the "heart of the Empire":
>> Gov't has delayed HS2 *_again_* by two years further
>> Still just under 2/3rds of UK rail not electrified
>> Still runs the stupid franchising system that is incomprehensible
>> *_S T R I K E S_*
>> Refuses to increase the loading gauge to make it compatible with EU stock
>> Still uses semaphore signals on congested main lines
From Britain: Keep at it, India, you guys are genuinely doing the best thing you can right now. Your future is bright!
edit: corrections to info provided, sorry if I left you confused
@@nerd2814 The Indian track gauge also means they don't need well cars, they can just stack em on flat wagons. They even considered triple stacking em but...
@@nerd2814 thnx for the appreciation IR always worked for the masses and improving connectivity I hope to come see some trains on my London visit 🙂
Not all Indians can afford to travel in ac trains😂. Passenger trains are the main thing
@@nerd2814 Pleasant surprise, someone outside India actually knows what exactly is going on here :)
You should definitely also travel on the Vande Bharat trains! India is investing a lot in Railways lately and they're one of the products of that.
Lund-e-bharat express😂😂😂
Vande bharat is boring. Comparted coaches hauled trains look more like trains
@@Dhruv-KumarVande Bharat is not at all boring. It's comfortable compared to the old ones. And seating of Vande Bharat is like a plane. The sleeper, compartment versions of Vande Bharat will come soon.
@@aasamspb967 amrit bharat was not the sleeper variant i expected lol
@@samanyupalthi why? What happened?
I did this journey 30 years ago on overnight sleeper train.... It took 8 hours from Delhi to Agra... It was a milk run service which probably stopped at every station.... It was a three up verticals rooms with 6 bed per booth. When not in use it was very social congregating with people of many caste discovering the Indian people in a way different to my other experiences. The Taj was mesmerising but Agra was a flea bitten slum of a city juxtaposed against the magnificence of The Taj.
I was back packing bum saving money where I could and travelling by the base level local transport...
A hard country to travel like this but a life changing experience of memories for a life time.... Sometimes the journey is the adventure...
Hello from Canada. Respect to the people of India for having less graffiti than in Western countries. Now THAT is civilized!
You'll find posters on walls
@@KanishQQuotes Not to forget vimal "bolo juban Kesari" ✌️
@@KanishQQuotes no bro. in the uk, there will be messages or random words spray painted on the walls on the side of the railway tracks.
@kingplatform2255 I'd much prefer that than the piles of garbage and plastic beside the tracks. Although I don't want to berate my countrymen, this filth is mostly because of slums propping up near railway owned land. Rural parts and the Southern, NorthEastern, and to some extent, Eastern railways don't have such filth piled up.
NO respect when you pay an expensive first class ticket and the bathroom does not even have running water. INEXCUSABLE. And the cabin was in obvious disrepair, the footrest was broken, the armrest did not go down properly, which each alone can ruin your comfort. Mind you, this was in FIRST CLASS.
I wouldn't call it "high-speed" but it looks like a good experience, and it has a good price too.
Yes isn't really high speed. But it is getting there. Railways is spend a lot ofm oney on track, electrification, signalling upgradation and fencing. That will help improve the speed on a lot of routes.
Indian Railways have come up with an innovative intermediary term for the train operations on this speed … they term it as semi high speed rails .. all the major indigenous broad Gauge lines will be upgraded to 160-200 kmph semi high speed lines. They will entertain mix traffic. While India is also building high speed networks on standard gauge with the help of Japan to connect major cities . One such project is Mumbai Ahmedabad High speed rail project which is set to launch by 2026 . It’s in construction phase … Japanese Shinkansen will run at a top speed of 320 kmph on these lines…
It's high speed for India
@@digvijayrana88 i mean, tbf 160 kph is the top speed of most local trains nowadays, so claiming that 160/200 kph is even semi/high speed is quite bold
@@antoniovitellaro yeah ! I can understand that … they are set to roll out a grade separated high speed section between two business cities in next 3 years.
India has a problem of mix traffic using the same rail system
9:48 Even if that faucet lever looks flat on the top side it is ball faucet not disc faucet. You need to push up that lever and water will flow. Flow control depends how much lever will be up or down. Also left is hot water right is cold water on the ball faucet system. Water mixing is possible pushing lever left or rihght betwween two sides.
Nice video of travel by the Gatiman Express. Great to see you in India. IR is improving rapidly now. The train stations are way cleaner now and the trains, at least the important ones, are fairly clean too. I should know that as I have traveled extensively in the trains in India right from the early 70s. Maximum speed in those days used to be 110 kph and that too, only a handful of trains like the Rajdhani Express could achieve those speeds.
It's great to see so much investment in railways of India!
As a good follower of yours, your liking towards the Indian Railways, is always pleasing me. But always keep in mind when you speak of Indian Railways (5 things) : 1] The Legendary Rajdhani Express, 2] The Fantastic Shatabdi Express, 3] The G.O.A.T Vande Bharat Express, 4] In busy passenger trains, people hanging outside of the railings will its moving 🤣 and 5] Always remember, random vendors that enter your train screaming for random food like Samosa or Vada, you can easily trust it. They're taste is further more traditional than most complimentary meal services 😂
Great review and very interesting. Thanks for taking the time to make it and a BIG thumbs up.
Thanks for watching!
The semi-high speed of 100 mph is impressive for India. The average speed of 70 mph (116 mles/110 mn.) is pretty fast also. This is comparable to the 2021 Laos train. The food service seemed satisfactory to good. Not a bad value for less than $19.
LOL Garbage food like everything else in india, I have to vomit just by looking at it. You really would put it inside your body?
Yupp
100 mph is impressive?😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@unitycatalog we don't actually need any greater bcz of too many stops
@@themicahbell grapes are sour
To all those people saying vande Bharat is fastest, currently the fastest operational on track fastest is still gatimaan express as it runs on the best railway line of Agra Delhi.
And also if proper tracks are there gatimaan can reach as fast as 230kmph,still 10kmph faster than possible speed for vande Bharat.
Thanks! 👍
Thank you. A lot of commentators are full of confidence but void of knowledge.
Where is it made? I believe Vande Bharat was very clearly advertised as “the fastest” was that limited to indian made trains only?
Great trip. A year old of locomotive but feels like dated from decade, the design of the locomotive make it older than it's operational age. Same like in India, in my country Executive Class on the train also using 2+2 seating configuration, but as far as I remembered mostly airline style seating. And for chair class, it's remembered me about economy class in my country, same 2+3 seating configuration but not using individual seating like that, mostly soft padding bench and on face to face layout (only small table on the window). India actually one of many country which passenger and freight traffic is balance.
Yeah - they've been building these locos for years!
@@SuperalbsTravels IR focuses more in terms of practicality than aesthetics of locomotive they are being upgraded for safety, hotel load ,they doing what is best for indian standard
@@राकेश_रेल Why can't you just accept that India is bad with designs? The locomotives are plain ugly. Compare the same with a Chinese locomotive and see the difference in design an aesthetics. Even Vande Bharat looks ugly! Do they not even have good designers who under what looks good and what doesn't? Giving excuses like "doing what is best for Indian standard" does not make sense at all. It basically means Indian designers have pretty bad standards.
@@राकेश_रेल IR sucks when it comes to choosing color, no one can deny that, even on Train 18 they chose white-blue, while silver or light black would have been better
Wag 12 of IR looks better than most western/european locomotives, also considering it was made with a collaboration with Alstom
That locomotive has enough power to haul a 18-22 coachs at 160-180kmph if permitted though. I feel there is a great difference between a load puller vs a short bullet train
That rolling stock certainly looks well worn. I presume the air con must have been fairly effective?
The aircon was good thankfully, definitely needed in summer!
FROM MR PETER CASTELLINO , BOMBAY , 10-3-2024.
TO PREVENT LIVING AND DYIING IN FILTH CLEAN , DISINFECT AND WAX
LOCOS & TRAIN COACHES
AFTER ALL JOURNEYS.
I took the train once in India (Delhi to Changigarh, 2016). I remember how incredibly convoluted the booking system felt (to a foreigner, anyway). There was some sort of waitlist for online tickets. Complex procedures (ID verification via email) and mysterious acronyms. Cost me Rs. 535 (6 EUR / 6 USD) for "AC chair" for a ~4h ride. The station at Delhi blasted announcements with the windows XP "error" sound.
"mysterious acronyms" 😂😂😂
😂😂😂windows xp sound lol
One thing is certain, Indian Railways still needs a LOT of improvement. The cleanliness, the interior and exterior design of trains, accessibility, etc. definitely need a lot of work. Believe me, if you had come about 7 to 8 years ago, you would have found it to be in a much worse condition. The trains and the tracks used to smell horrible and nobody really liked going by the train. Thankfully, things are slowly improving now. I hope that you still had a good time.
Of course, I really enjoyed travelling on Indian Railways. My main problem with them is highlighted in the next video (coming soon).
not even 7 to 8 years ago
even 5 years ago our trains were repulsive
@@PhoenixAviation006
Yeah, true. Improvements are finally taking place but at a very slow pace.
@@SuperalbsTravels
Cannot wait for it! 👍
@@thetechnocrat4979 yes. Ashwini Vaishnav sir is doing great job taking care of the railways
If masses could not afford these trains then how come they are over booked?
There are still so many people who can afford.
In India the first priority is to serve the masses of the country which is a huge task. Due to population pressure and the effort required to serve such a huge population Indian railways has not been able to achieve the speed what many European countries, and Japan had achieved in rail transportation. However in last few years serious efforts are being made to increase the speed of the passanger trains and track upgradation is in full swing. Hopefully in next few years we find trains running at 200kmph on few routes. Happy to know that you enjoyed this journey.
The future's bright.
Well, I took that train in 2019 from Gwalior to Nizamuddin and I also appreciated the service in EC. Thanks for showing.
How does a one year old locomotive look like that?
They dont take care I guess
Thanks to IR aesthetics!
Along with that IR doesn't seem to care about the basic apperance of its rolling stock
@@iileonlaw Technical stuffs are taken care but India is dusty and locos are overused...
@@sarthsingh3271 acha
@@iileonlaw apparently it’s an ABB Switzerland developed locomotive with BoBo arrangement to cater high speeds. They are now being locally produced.
I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU WILL MAKE ONE OF MOST FAMOUS TRAINS and one of my favourite for the horn blow
Thanks for watching!! 😁😁😁
People forget when they compare other railways,is that India carries higher densities of freight than most European countries,that too on same tracks,so achieving higher passenger speed is a hurdle.
With Land acquisition problems,Dedicated freight corridor projects also suffered many delays,however once Dedicated freight network is completed,India plan on implementing jointless bolt tracks all over diamond corridor network followed by fencing (for high speed safety),only after which 180kmph service will be started all over major distances,i.e Mumbai-Howrah-Delhi-Mumbai,Bengaluru-Chennai etc.
These project is classed as semi-highspeed network,there's an ongoing project for high-speed track layout from Ahmedabad-Mumbai with 240kmph speed. Even this project is also delaying due to Land acquisition problem.
PS: Newly build Vandebharat Exp has the capabilities of cruising at 200kmph with very minimal vibrations,we just lack the Dedicated tracks for it.
That high-speed line is going to be really exciting! 😃
There is a high speed project in the works to connect Chennai and Mysore also
1:04
"Considering how you can just walk rigth past it
*Proceeds to walk through a no entry entrance*
The WAP-5 electric locomotive in this video was manufactured on 23 Dec-2021 and features AC cabs for the crew.
I had travelled on Gatiman express back in 2016. It seems now the service has gone down a bit. When I was travelling in the north India, passengers on EC class of Gatiman express were welcomed by a crew traditionally dressed up.
And every passenger were welcomed with a fresh red rose. Moreover, interior looked more cleaner than shown on the video with light green fabric seats.
I wish if I could share photos here.
Anyway, love your trip coverage! ❤
That sounds incredible! Thanks for watching!
i would really recommend the srinagar banihal railway line its an enginnering marvel going through the himalayas in kashmir ,its also being expanded to jammu and will be finished in a few years .
This year. Work progress is at 93%. Some reports say that pm wants it done by August this year. So maybe that can happen but it will surely be done by December.
I didn't know that railway was being built. There are several new lines in India that I would love to ride.
@@andrewhotston983 ruclips.net/video/vZmImAI8HPA/видео.html
Pls do a journey of Konkan Tejas express from Mumbai to Goa
It's an absolutely gorgeous scenery all the way through during monsoon months
5:51 I just appreciate how long that orange train, considering the high speed of both trains in opposite directions
Indian trains usually have around 16 to 20 rakes if im not wrong.
24❤@@rohitb5834
No more than it
It have generally 25 rakes
I love anything about India. It is my DREAM to visit there and take this train.
That blue coach with the AC chair cars, reminds me of when I was young and always used to ride the Shatabdi express to go from Bengaluru (my home) to Chennai (my cousins home), oh how I miss those days, thanks for bringing those sweet memories back to me!
You should try Vande Bharat Express.. they are newer with more modern amenities!
I did! I will make a video about it soon.
@@SuperalbsTravels Also try some long distance express trains, in which majority of us travel. AC economy is the latest class introduced in IR.
The Shinkansen-esque line should be a game changer, but is way too slow and expensive, India needs to be more self-sufficient in its rail technology, but even in China, it was a very long transition to high speed - India with its economic potential is one to watch. The Vande Bharat sets just seem like conventional coaches with some gangways and a pointy end, but still a start imo
Yeah I am really looking forward to the Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed rail!
@@SuperalbsTravels I wouldn't put my fingers on the buzzer just yet with that.. We're known to let things get delayed, especially with bespoke projects, and this one is ridiculously expensive to boot. It feels at least 5 years too soon to me.
Right for the shatabdis India have moved from locomotive hauled to memus, and right now it's going reduce my Chennai to coimbatore route by 1 hour and it's great for me and am ready to pay 1600 inr for it, but still people will say its not going fast, and over priced though.... 😢😢
Vande Bharat is a brand new design completely in-house. A much needed step forward.
These are the old coaches. New ones are wonderful
Thank you, I will have to try them out! :)
Would you also check out the Vande bharat train? it'll soon replace most premium trains (like Rajdhani, Shatabdi including Gatimaan)
I've filmed a video on that, it will be coming in the future. :)
When?
Stumbled upon your channel this morning. The content was great; and for the report with warts and all 👍
Thank you very much! :)
Your pronunciation of every word is accurate. Big ups! 😉
Many people prefer bhopal shatabdi instead of gatiman due to huge price difference for speed difference of 5kmph and bhopal shatabdi is India's first shatabdi express- day time intercity service and aim was to provide an airline like Premium service, but when it comess to average speed÷ max speed ratio varanasi vande Bharat wins and for sleeper luxurious intercity service mumbai Tejas rajdhani wins
Mumbai Tejas Rajdhani is currently the best long distance train on IR, period.
I think I agree! :)
Nice review, but I didn't see what you thought was so "SHOCKING" about the train, as you described in the video title.
Typical British Snowflake behaviour..😅
Sorry if a train's speed is less than 200km/hr it can not be classified as high speed train.
it isnt. its semi high speed.
Not any more just today vande bharat express from delhi to bhopal inaugurated which runs at its actual operational speed 160km/h.
Thanks for the view of India today and a glimpse at developments. Anything about India and particularly their famous rail network is great to see. I'd love to go
again to Darjeeling. That's the thing
about the place for all who love it.
No problem! I love Darjeeling too. :)
Please do a review of Vande Bharat express in the future! They are upto international standards in terms of seating, comfort and acceleration times. Their top speed however is limited by the track infrastructure.
Thank you for the request, I will hopefully soon. 🙏
Wow this is so interesting. I kinida want to visit India some day and do some train travel, in premium classes of course :)
Can we expect any Chinese train reviews anytime soon?
Indian railways are managing a massive population.
It's doing pretty well and has most solid infrastructure.
In recent years indian railways development goes exponentially better.
Even we indians got shocked to see this kind of development.
All old stations are going to be rebuild with airport like facilities.
Also station are more cleaning and promise more safe journey.
no longer 300 dudes on a 100 max wagon?
@@t60-flying95 That's still true in the general classes (the cheapest class/wagon in the train) But i think as the standard of living becomes better as well as infrastructure slowly but surely with time this problem will be solved aswell but as of right now we cannot deny it
Very interesting, my great grandfather was a Scottish railway engineer and built a lot of the Indian rail system in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
The 5’ 6” Broad Gauge, commonly known as the Indian Broad Gauge, is originally a Scottish Gauge, introduced in India by Lord Dalhousie.
Yes, I would absolutely choose to ride this train AND at the upper class level. The scenery is exactly what life is like in India.
Nice, have a good journey!
I've recently came here to USA from India and when i see the standard of India's fastest train and the aeroplane which i took, United airlines, i'll ride IRCTC without any doubt 😀
What?
I had to wait each and everytime when i had to go the toilet in United unlike the railways. Probably the amount of profit that IRCTC gets is very less compared to United. It may be a lot to make sure that aeroplane maintenance had to be done and all, but doesn't mean that the aeroplane travel is better
Also, US airport security is hell on earth.
It was good to see you ride a train in my country. I would recommed you Vande bharat express next time, its our version of OBB Railjet and DB ICE.
DB ICE is HSR, VB is more like NS Sprinter (it even look similar)
Seems bumpy af, water looks to be about to spill from the cup
Newer Indian rolling stock (Vande Bharat) is much more stable.
Than You Very Much for releasing the India series. 🙏🏻
Beautiful views with beautiful music. I enjoyed this video very much, thanks!
Thanks sir we are developing come and visit again and see if we have stepped ahead or not?
I will visit India again next year probably. 😁
He friend if you came to india next year visit odisha ,puri ,it's my home town ,and have a dinner with my family😊@@SuperalbsTravelsand there are many places to visit like sun. Temple and asia largest salt lake ❤
i must say these are very good trains and stations for the conditions in india
What do you mean by "conditions in India"?
@@ashrithbhagavangowda2723
Let's be honest with ourselves, our country isn't exactly clean. We are still not up to a good standard of maintenance and cleanliness which is prevalent across many of the world's developed and developing countries. Be grateful that the original commentator is at least being polite with his observation.
IR has been slowly improving.
@@thetechnocrat4979 what gives you the view that other countries have better trains then? We are going towards 100% electrification (for broad gauge trains mainly) while some countries still run diesel trains (UK and USA).. for the scale of our country, IR is by far doing the best in providing connectivity.. of course further improvements are required in terms of infrastructure, which zones like SWR and others are completing to allow at least 120kmph operation speeds, new rolling stocks have already entered (VBE) and efforts to reduce congestion and improve punctuality in busy routes (New Delhi-Kolkata and New Delhi-Mumbai) are going on in full swing, along with introduction of new trains and technology.. and cleanliness, come on man.. trains in other developed countries are also bad.. in some cases, our trains are way better.. you seem to be a railfan.. you should know better
@@ashrithbhagavangowda2723 bro please shut up i said something good and you started an Argument i bet you, you are straight from twitter + instead of a compliment a could say that "Pakistan is better " Or some other country
12 minutes delay for about 140 kilometers - I consider this fairly okay ! German Railways doesn't do it better!
Yeah, it was pretty good! Punctuality was generally pretty good in India. Did see a few trains running around 8hr late, but not mine!
@@SuperalbsTravels Delays in Indian trains will reduce drastically with the creation of the freight corridors and the upgradation of the signalling due to the rollout of the _TCAS Kavach_ (Indian equivalent of European ETCS Level 2).
India's current Railway Minister is a technocrat who knows what he is doing (incidentally he also handles the Ministry of Electronics and IT as well as Ministry of Communications, that is three ministries under one minister). The previous Railway Minister was also pretty good.
@@death_parade Those dedicated freight corridors looked interesting! Good that it will reduce delays. :)
We have many home made trains, such as Gatiman express, Tejas, Vande Bharat, Namo bharat, Amrit Bharat etc, all of these achieve 160 km orn180 km ph speed,
11:11 this is my maternal grandmothers nearest station and I tend to board and Deboard here.
Unfortunately she passed away last month ..
You took the Gatimaan, thats cool! And you got a train hauled by my favourite locomotive class as well! The WAP5s are awesome!
I really like them too, especially due to their European roots!
@@SuperalbsTravels
I like them for the same reason. Almost all electric locomotives in India have European roots. The WAP5s are special for me because I have many childhood memories associated with them. They are also, the smallest and lightest mainline locomotives of IR and still capable of so much. They inspire me.
PS : I call them the Swiss gentlemen.
@@thetechnocrat4979 Awesome! :)
@@thetechnocrat4979, Many Indian electric locomotives have Japanese roots (Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Toshiba).
@@pmaitrasm
Japanese roots only with the replaced traction motors and some heavy electrical systems which were added later. To be fair, I should have said Euro-Japanese roots.
I really like your videos . Btw love to see a report on vane bharat express
For a train built in 2021 it looks like it comes from 1921.
Still India has 90% train electrified with world's only Double container electric freight train. While US doesn't even know what is electric train. Even Europe has 60% electrification rate.
ruclips.net/video/n3lkcERyeAc/видео.html
Do you even know what electrification of train track are ? US has total 90 km of electrified track haha..that's less than metro in my home town.
@@83nitishBrother, just take the criticism instead of doing cherry-picked whataboutery. I'm an Indian too, and I know that the country has a lot of work to do to get to western standards.
@@AERYS. It's not about criticism, I live in the West myself from 10+ plus. EU average electrification rate is 55%, US less thab 1% Indian Railways has a long way to go but it's a good system in its own right.
@@83nitish I know we have one of the most electrified railway systems of the world...which is great, but that's not the point. The comment is not about electrification. We have to accept that the most popular locomotives of IR doesn't look too good. It is an old design. Just take the criticism.
Indian railways is improving with each passing day in the form of Tejas , Vande Bharat and electrification of routes , connectivity to northeast etc
And soon, the amazing Shinkansen! :)
Brilliant video of your train rides. I didn't know India had this kind of train. Your pronunciations of the places are so beautiful. Keep up the good adventure, and make me want to travel these trains.
Thank you so much! :)
6:45 damn, the transition...
Massive respects to India for their rapid Improvements on Railways. Electrification and everything is super impressive!
I agree! :)
And yet the footrest was broken, the water didn't work in the toilet (health hazard) and you waited an hour for a simple cup of hot water. And this was supposedly a premium product.
@@christopherwright8388 nothing was broken. Waiters serve line be line to everyone
@@christopherwright8388 its a developing country
That was a ball faucet , although looking flat has to be pushed up and sideways for hot and cold water.
I was surprised at the extensive meal service, considering that this was not a long trip.
I believe you got a good service in india brother come again in my country
I will visit again soon. 😃
@@SuperalbsTravels brother meet me if possible
I travelled the 1000 miles from Delhi to Calcutta in 1973 as part of my trip overland to Australia. I think I travelled third or second class. I had a student pass so the trip cost me a whole pound. Conditions were awful. Literally standing space only, for a while the toilet was the best option. One night I slept on the luggage rack. Indians on the train smoking pot, it was a unique travel experience. Booking the ticket involved queuing at several counters. I was expecting to see people riding on the roof but it didn't happen.
Looks pretty good. Hard to believe they offer European & American-style electricals!
Those outlets are pretty common in a lot of public places here. Including trains, hotels and some people even install them at their homes.
Good joke f**king westerner
Looks very good much better than a lot of trains here in Britain
The dirt stains (everywhere) were fascinating 👌
Having said that, it's nice that they have a reasonably fast train between Delhi and Agra.
I remember taking a bus along that route about 40 years ago and that journey took about 4 hours (if I recollect correctly).
Dirt stains are part and parcel of daily life in India. One should not expect Switzerland while traveling in India
@@HasnaAbubekar You are right. Expecting cleanliness is unreasonable.
@@HasnaAbubekar It may be a part of daily life, but that doesn't change the fact that it is disappointing and people should learn to change the habit.
Towns and cities visible through the window were covered in trash too.
@@HasnaAbubekar You say that like it's quaint. "Dirt stains"?? It's shit. The whole place is covered in shit. It's fucking disgusting.
6:44, man dropped the coolest transition ever damn
exactly
As an Indian , I would really like to request you to ride in Vande Bharat Express , there are many but the closest one is Nagpur-Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express.
Thanks, I have filmed one and will upload it soon. :)
Interesting review. In some ways, the line and rolling stock seem more advanced than I expected. I wasn't expecting a 2021 loco and full electrification. Even if the speed isn't high, it's still fairly decent. Clearly they still have a way to go to match the standard of western networks, but I guess it's improved a lot. The interiors look pretty ugly and old, and everything just seems a bit worn and dirty. Can't believe that loco is so new. Looks like it's been through decades of use!
Thanks! I was surprised when I was researching and saw the build date too. :)
Cause. It decade old loco 😂!
If u wanna see new Gen!
Have look at train-18 aka vande Bharat train 🚆!
As for electrification, the entire mainline network of IR will be under 25kV AC by the end of 2024. For a country short of oil reserves, this is a magnificent thing!
What MK KM said. Indian Railways are close to 100% electrification, and by end of 2024 they will be fully electric.
BTW, that locomotive is based on the LOK-2000 ABB design. Imported in the year 2000, and since manufactured in India under joint collaboration. It’s maximum speed is 200 kph/125 mph.
Trains in India tend to look older because they aren’t washed as often, and India is pretty dusty. 😊
Like others have mentioned, the Indian manufactured newer rakes of a train called ‘Vande Bharat’ (Pronounced Van-day Bha-rut) are bit more modern with two aerodynamic push-pull cars at each end and powered cars throughout the rake. While running at pretty similar speeds to this train, they are nevertheless more modern looking and probably more efficient due to the aero noses.
- an Indian train fan living in the US for a long time. (Trains in the US suck, BTW, with almost no electrification except in the east coast 😏)
The Vande Bharat train is a train which can not only match but also overtake the Western standards.
First class coaches differs in every train in India. First class of Vande Bharat is actually way mor better than many European trains.
are you sure about that?
@@ianjoshua8791 Hold on, let me check if I'm sure. Yes champu, I'm 💯% sure
I absolutely love this really clean and seamless transition at 6:44 bravo!
The tray not fitting on the table makes this pure India
This is good review . Very honest .
Something tells me that India cares about their railways. The fact that it can be massively overcrowded suggests that travelling by rail is cheap amongst India's majority class of low-income citizens.
But it could also mean that they are very willing to build high-quality trains that are comfortable, luxurious and durable, even if it means talking down to the sunshades (shame on you, Stadler). And did I mention that they are building a new high-speed mass-transit railway line in New Delhi?
Overall, even though it is a bit antiquated, it seems that India loves its trains. 😁
Yep, definitely agree with your statement as an Indian. In fact, the Indian railways is sometimes called the "blood vessels of the Indian economy"
India cannot survive without her railways. They may not be ' world class ' (heck, they are overworked) but they mean a lot to this country.
HOLD ON wait a minute, did this man just say HOT milk with corn flakes??? Who eats hot milk with any breakfast cereal.
It was really strange, but wasn't too bad actually.
Eskimos perhaps. lol
Common in this part of the world
This was so pleasant to watch! Welcome to India :) Enjoy your time here!
Now india 🇮🇳 introduce 2 engine 🚂 of 12,000 powerhouse 3 years ago
Intresting video albs! Looking forward to more Indian content
Thank you Simon! :)
Note: This is the fastest operational train...The construction of a bullet train is underway which will run at 320km/hr
That will be so exciting!! 😍
Good for y’all
i hope our rails can handle it.... the major reason why are trains are slow is not because the engines, bur rather because of the rails
@@allennaik4434 IR is building new tracks for bullet trains they will not run on these normal tracks
A very interesting experience, the train looks pretty good to me.
I would definitely ride this train.....it looks faster and more comfortable than the northeast US commuter lines.
That's true! 😅
I would surely ride this train because it looks cool.
Sorry for this third comment, but I hope that you have had a chance to travel within the Western Railway Zone of IR (hint, the Mumbai to Ahmedabad mainline is in it). It is the best zone of IR.
facts
I've actually not travelled the Ahmedabad-Mumbai line (only a portion of it). Why is it the best?
@@SuperalbsTravels WR is generally considered the most pro active zone of the railways. Whenever you report a problem, say of lack of water or cleanliness of anything else, they are the fastest to take action.
Plus their on time performance is highest among all the zones. They rolling stock is also better maintained than in the NR/CR
@@SuperalbsTravels WR is very prompt to responding to complaints and does a great job at it. They also have a lot of new rolling stock and operate all types of trains like Shatabdi, Vande Bharat, Intercity, regular superfast, Double Decker, Tejas, Tejas Rajdhani, AC locals and also the legendary Flying Ranee. It's also being fenced at a fast pace and is close to becoming IR's next 160kmph rated section. Also WR's services are better than most other sections.
@@SuperalbsTravels cuz we are the RICHEST zone of India 🌚!
Come to our side ! West India ! Best side of India