Jan Shatabdi express 2051

Have booked CC compartment, have read that windows are dirty/scratched and the visibility is bad, is this true?

Is there a restaurant wagon, bar etc on the train?

How are the toilets.

Would really appreciate reviews or comments.

Anything one should be aware of.

Jan Shatabdi express 2051

CC indicates Chair Car. The condition of windows is different in different trains, but visibility shouldn%26#39;t be bad.

There are no restauarnt wagons, or bars. Packaged food will be served to you on your seat.

Toilets should be ok, not very bad not very good.

Avoid accepting any food/drinks from strangers. And keep an eye on your luggage.

Jan Shatabdi express 2051

There are 2 types of car class = AC and non AC. Some of the windows in AC are scratched and some have water between the two panes of glass which can make it mist up but generally they are ok. If you are non AC they are fine - there is no glass in the windows just iron bars across to stop you falling out and people getting in (we travel in this class going up to Mumbai. If you are in this class do not wear light coloured clothes as you can get very dirty from the soot emitted by the diesel engine - not smelly and you don%26#39;t notice until you get to your destination with dirty clothes!!

The boys come up and down the train with drinks - tea, coffee, soup, mineral water and soft drinks and all the time they bring snacks. Also take order for dinner or lunch depending which way you are travelling. Always make sure you have plenty of small notes and coins as the food and drinks are very cheap and the boys say they do not have change for large notes. Do not buy snacks from the people who get on the trains at different stations to sell food, you do not know how long they have been standing in the heat.

Keep an eye on your belongings at all times, your bags are ok on the up racks but beware of small bags you may leave on the floor - small boys get onto the trains to see what they can take away.

Toilets - one either side of the end of the carriage, one side European type the other side squat type - take your own toilet roll. When you want to wash you hands the sink is outside the toilet and to make the water come out of the tap lift up the top of it, not turn.

Do not accept food or drinks from strangers on the train even if you think you may offend someone, we say thank you but sorry I don%26#39;t like that or something similar.

Keep your camera handy!! Enjoy your trip.

If you are non AC a small towel is handy to put on the seat as they can become a little sweaty after a while.

Also something to read or a game to play. You will always get into conversation with other travellers and they will want to know all about you. Then the person in the next seat will ask the same question and so it goes on. Good fun though.

Thank you for your reply

My travel agency has assured me that its a AC coach,

as I will be going from Mumbai to Goa on which side are the best sights I am really looking forward to this trip. How long time should one be at Mumbai CST

before departure- is the train/compartments difficult to find?

Yes I looked up CC and you are chair class AC which means you have windows!!!

You will have a numbered seat so you don%26#39;t have a choice which side you will look at, anyway they are both the same really.

I am presuming the 2051 still leaves Mumbai at 5.10am then we would be there at 4.30 so we can have a look at the seating boards which are usually at the beginning of the platform then locate our seats. The coaches are numbered and they are not hard to find. If this train is anything like the one we usually come back on then it will be late leaving the station (ours is usually about 1 hour) but we buy a few newspapers and settle down.

Where in Goa are you getting off the train?

Dear Jeera27

As our destination will be Candolim we plan to get off at Thivim station and then take a prepaid taxi.

Is this the right thing to do?

hi kim

congrates for right choice of train .

95 tunnels

vallys and hills

lots of greenaries

many river crossings

good food

see big boulders on hills tied with wires least they should fall .... engeeniering marvel

enjoy travelinag by konkan railway

I wondered if you were getting off at Thivim and knew about the pre-paid taxis. Yes this is the right thing to do as Thivim is in the countryside and not served by much transport choices.

If you have been using taxis in Mumbai or any other big city you will notice the difference in prices here in Goa - they do not have meters and are quite expensive compared with other places.

We are doing your journey in reverse quite soon and looking forward to it.

Enjoy your holiday in Candolim.

jeera27

Wow, some of the replies in this thread are scary, I%26#39;m glad I didn%26#39;t read them before I started my adventures in India.

I must be Mr lucky when it comes to Indian trains.

45,000 kms and I%26#39;ve never had anything stolen, (even by the little boys who get on to wipe the floor in the hope of getting a few rupees of some passengers).

I%26#39;ve never been drugged, even though I%26#39;ve accepted food of every person who%26#39;s offered it (I wouldn%26#39;t if I was suspicious, but in maybe 120 times, I%26#39;ve always felt comfortable), and this food has been some of the best I%26#39;ve had in India and often leads to great conversations.

*I had a look at the official figures last year and worked out that a person has a 1 in 32,000,000 chance of being drugged on an Indian train, and if they avoid general class in Bihar and UP their chances of being drugged go down to about 1 in 100 million.

But the guidebooks keep telling us it%26#39;s unsafe.

I%26#39;ve only had a dodgy stomach once (Jodhpur, an omelette, but I think it was the paper it was served on), yet I%26#39;ve had platform food all over India and maybe on about 500 occasions.