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Checking your reservation...

Your train, coach and berth number will be printed on your ticket. Reservation lists for each long-distance train are posted on the noticeboard at each station about two hours before departure, showing the name, age and sex of each passenger reserved in each berth in each coach - the age and sex help the ticket inspector identify that the right passenger is in the right berth. The reservation list for each coach will also be pasted on the train itself, next to the entrance door. Check to see that your name is listed. The system is very efficient, and the days of finding your reserved berth already occupied by several passengers are long gone. Pictured left, my glamorous assistant Karen demonstrates reading the reservation list next to the entrance door on the Delhi-Varanasi overnight express...<

Food and drink on Indian trains...

There are no restaurant or buffet cars on Indian Railways, but on long distance trains an attendant will appear in your coach and ask you if you would like to order food. He will note down your order (usually a choice of 'veg' or 'non-veg') on a bit of paper. An hour or so later he will reappear with some rice and curry in small foil containers from the kitchen car. It is not expensive - you can reckon on £1-£2 per meal. Attendants also regularly pass down each car selling soft drinks, snacks, or excellent hot sweet Indian tea (garam chai) for a few rupees. On the premier Rajdhani Express trains (linking Delhi with Bombay, Calcutta, etc.) and the premier daytime Shatabdi Express trains (linking Delhi with Jaipur and Agra, etc.), food is included in the fare, served at your seat. Train reservation lists are posted on platform noticeboards about 2 hours before departure...

Cleanliness, toilets and crowding...

The efficient reservation system means that you can safely forget any photos you've seen of overcrowded Indian trains with people on the roof or hanging on the side - these photos show suburban trains, or basic unreserved 2nd class on long distance ones. On fast long-distance trains in AC1, AC2, AC3, or AC Chair Class, all passengers have an assigned seat or sleeping berth so there's no overcrowding. Don't expect pristine western standards anywhere in India, but you'll find AC1, AC2, AC3 and AC Chair class fairly clean by Indian standards, with both western-style and squat toilets usually in a reasonably sanitary condition. See the train interior photos below. On the other hand, Sleeper Class gets much grubbier than the AC classes and unreserved passengers can sometimes enter the coaches making it crowded. 2nd class unreserved can be incredibly crowded. Toilets in sleeper class or basic non-AC 2nd class seats can leave a lot to be desired...

Security on Indian trains...

Indian trains are safe to travel on, even for families or women travelling alone, and you are unlikely to have any problems at all. Having said that, theft of luggage is not unheard of, so for peace of mind take along a bicycle lock or medium-sized padlock to secure your bags. In the sleeping-cars, there are wire hoops hanging down underneath the seats to which you can padlock your luggage. As in any busy place, pickpockets operate at the major stations (for example Delhi and New Delhi), so take care.

Do Indian trains run on time?

Generally, Indian Railways are very efficient, but Indian trains do run late, and sometimes it's hours rather than minutes. To get a feel for it, why not go to www.erail.in and see how late yesterday's Delhi-Jaisalmer Express arrived, or last Thursday's Bombay-Delhi Rajdhani Express? At www.erail.in, select the origin and destination that interests you, and bring up the train list. Now find the train that you want and click on it. Now select a date and click the 'train running status' button. It will show you a table of scheduled times and actual times at each station. Data is only held for the last few days, not weeks or months ago.

Alternatively, these examples from my own travels may give you a feel for the likely delay: Delhi-Varanasi overnight express spot on time, Bombay-Calcutta Mail 1½ hours late, Madras-Bombay 'Chennai Express' 40 minutes late, Calcutta-Delhi 'Rajdhani Express' spot on time (Rajdhani Expresses get priority and are pretty punctual), Delhi-Agra 'Shatabdi Express' spot on time (Shatabdi Expresses also get priority and are pretty punctual), Jaisalmer-Delhi Express 2 hours late starting and 3 hours late arriving, Delhi-Kalka-Simla 'Himalayan Queen' spot on time, Varanasi-Agra-Jaipur 'Marudhar Express' 50 minutes late, Delhi-Madras 'Grand Trunk Express' 1½ hours late.

Recharging mobiles & cameras...

These days, people seem unable to go anywhere without an array of electrical gadgetry. You'll find shaver sockets in most AC1/2/3 sleeper cars, which can be used to recharge cameras & mobiles, though you won't generally find specific power sockets for this purpose on Indian trains. One tip is to invest in a Power Monkey universal backup battery, which will give you up to 96 hours phone stand-by when your phone's battery dies, and can also be used for recharging PDAs, iPods & some cameras whilst on the move.

Other Indian train tips...

Bring your own toilet paper. You'll normally find one one western toilet and one squat toilet at one or both ends of the car. In AC1, AC2, AC Chair Class and even AC3 the toilets are normally reasonably clean by Indian standards, and in full working order. Sleeper Class and 2nd class toilets may be a different matter!