Megha Desai, 36, a senior artwork director at a Mumbai-based branding studio, discovered her excellent monsoon escape not in a distant hill station, however in a glass-roofed coach on the Executive Vistadome AC (EV) compartment of the Dadar–Madgaon Janshatabdi Express, which runs day by day. “You don’t need a five-star resort in the hills. Just book a Vistadome seat,” she says.
A train crossing the Western ghats
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In July 2024, throughout a break from back-to-back marketing campaign shoots, Megha booked the Vistadome coach on a whim after seeing a buddy’s Instagram tales of misty Konkan views. Securing the ticket — which price her round ₹4,160 for a spherical journey — meant checking the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website day by day, however the effort paid off. “The train was packed and everyone wanted that glass box view.” As the train rolled out of Mumbai and into the lush Western Ghats (the journey from Dadar to Madgaon takes round 11 hours and 20 minutes), Megha was glued to the panoramic home windows. “It was just rivers overflowing, waterfalls crashing down rocks, and dense green cliffs draped in mist. I’ve flown to Goa plenty of times, but this was different.”
View of a train in the morning
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The Vistadome coaches, which in response to a video shared by the Ministry of Railways on X (previously Twitter) in July 2024 quantity 111 in operation throughout India, obtainable on choose routes like Mumbai–Goa, Mumbai–Pune, and Bengaluru–Mangaluru, supply giant home windows, rear commentary decks, and rotating seats — options that made it simple for Megha to soak in views from each side. “Near Ratnagiri, the train slowed and there were three waterfalls visible at once. I couldn’t look away.”
Would she suggest it? “Absolutely. But book early,” she laughs. “I got lucky with a cancellation.” She additionally advises checking the Konkan Railway’s particular monsoon timetable, as train speeds are sometimes lowered.
Chugging alongside
There is one thing about monsoon train journey that feels actually particular. You are sitting by the window, chai in hand, as the world outdoors blurs into inexperienced hills, speeding waterfalls, and misty skies. Even the noisiest cities appear gentler behind rain-speckled glass.
It was this season that nudged Anand Ramaswamy, a 42-year-old product supervisor from Hyderabad, to take a quiet break in June aboard the Vistadome coach from Visakhapatnam to Araku Valley — a route that threads by means of the monsoon-soaked Eastern Ghats. After taking the in a single day Godavari Express from Secunderabad to Vizag, he boarded the morning Vistadome service, drawn in by its promise of glass ceilings, rotating seats, and uninterrupted views of tunnels, waterfalls and deep inexperienced valleys. “You enter a tunnel, then burst out into fog or a cliff dripping with water, everyone just goes still,” he says.
Vistadome coach interiors
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In Araku, he checked right into a espresso property homestay, explored the Tribal Museum and Padmapuram Gardens, and spent the night listening to the rain on a tin roof. “Coming from Hyderabad’s dry heat, it felt like I’d travelled two seasons away in a day,” he says. He returned the subsequent night, rested, and insists he would do it once more. “It’s one of those rare Indian train rides where the journey really is the whole point.” Anand factors out that the Vistadome coach is mostly connected solely for the onward journey from Visakhapatnam to Araku Valley. For the return journey, passengers should e book a seat in a daily coach on a distinct train. He took the Kirandul Express, which departs later in the day. Departure from Visakhapatnam is round 6.45am or 6.50am, with arrival at Araku Valley round 10.55 am. According to the newest ticket costs listed on the IRCTC web site, a one-way ticket in the Vistadome coach (EV class) from Visakhapatnam to Araku Valley prices roughly ₹735 to ₹750.
Travelling on India’s boutique trains throughout the monsoon — or actually, any time — is excess of simply getting from one place to a different. It is gradual journey blended with five-star consolation and cultural depth. Delhi-based unbiased journalist Shibani Bawa nonetheless remembers the surreal glamour of her seven-night journey aboard the Deccan Odyssey’s Maharashtra Splendour itinerary in 2016, which runs from October to April, starting and ending in Mumbai, with stops at Nashik, Ellora Caves, Kolhapur, Goa, Sindhudurg, and Ratnagiri. “It was extremely well-maintained and truly luxurious,” she says. “The service was just fabulous — you could tell everything had been carefully thought through.”
Rain splattered on a window
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Ticket costs for the 2025–2026 season (as per deccan-odyssey-india.com) mirror the all-inclusive nature of the expertise, from connoisseur meals to guided sightseeing. A Deluxe Cabin for single occupancy prices roughly US$9,330 (round ₹7.74 lakh), whereas double occupancy is priced at US$13,300 (₹11.03 lakh). The Presidential Suite is obtainable at US$20,000 (₹16.60 lakh), no matter single or double occupancy. The Maharashtra Splendour tour date for this 12 months is September 20.
The train is all old-school class, with two eating automobiles serving plated meals on silverware. “For every meal, you can pick between Indian and western set menus, and even the western dishes are excellent. I even asked for the soup recipes,” she provides. Just a few off-board meals had been additionally organized, together with lunch with the royal household in Sawantwadi. “It felt personal, not touristy.”
Food served aboard the Maharajas’ Express
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Though the days had been indulgent, the nights had been generally bumpy. “One night I genuinely thought I’d fall off the bed, it shook so much,” she laughs, noting {that a} later monitor improve seemingly fastened that.
The Deccan Odyssey would arrive at quieter platforms, greeted with garlands and music. “Each stop felt like an event,” she says. Sightseeing was thoughtfully managed, together with relaxation stops with clear amenities. “You could tell they were used to luxury tourists, the standard was high throughout.”
Would she do it once more? “Absolutely,” Shibani says. “The contrast, luxury on the train, culture off it, was the best part. I’d love to do one in the South next — maybe during the monsoon. Can you imagine that view from the dining car?”
Slow and winding
Under the Bharat Gaurav Scheme, launched by Indian Railways in November 2021, non-public operators lease full trains to run curated, theme-based circuits — whereas Indian Railways offers the coaches and tracks. The first non-public train below the scheme was flagged off on June 14, 2022 by South Star Rail, a Coimbatore-based firm. The five-day pilgrimage from Coimbatore to Shirdi carried round 1,100 passengers, with halts at Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Yelahanka, Dharmavaram, and Mantralayam earlier than reaching Wadi and Shirdi. With AC and Sleeper lessons, onboard crew, and recent vegetarian meals, it set a brand new commonplace for non-public rail hospitality.
A bed room on the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels
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“It marked a real shift,” says Vignesh, director, Tour Times, Chennai, a personal vacationer train operator providing itineraries throughout India,which now runs a number of Bharat Gaurav excursions. “We focus on seamless, end-to-end travel. Passengers don’t lift a finger — luggage stays onboard, we handle everything else.” Tour Times, recognised by the Ministry of Tourism, has launched heritage circuits throughout the South and East, together with the upcoming 11-day Coromandel Coastal Bliss Tour, which prices ₹26,700 per head. It departs on August 28, overlaying Kolkata, the Sundarbans, Bhubaneswar, Borra Caves, Araku Valley, and Visakhapatnam.
“The rain transforms the landscape. From your train window, temple towns, flooded fields, and mountain valleys blur past — it’s cinematic. That’s the magic,” says Vignesh.
Meanwhile, the North East Discovery itinerary, a part of the Bharat Gaurav initiative, launched on April 22, turns into all the extra compelling throughout the monsoon, when the lush landscapes of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya come alive in their full glory. The 15-day, 5,800 kilometre luxurious journey is operated aboard the Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC Tourist Train, that includes air-conditioned coaches with showers, sensor-enabled washrooms, foot massagers, and two eating automobiles serving sizzling, freshly ready meals. The per-person price for this journey ranges from roughly ₹1.16 lakh for AC III class as much as ₹1.67 lakh for AC I (Coupe) class. These costs cowl train journey, resort stays, meals, sightseeing, and different tour providers. Part of the Government’s Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat and Dekho Apna Desh initiatives, the itinerary is designed to supply regional sightseeing, making it an excellent solution to expertise the cloud-draped hills and vibrant cultural lifetime of the North East in the wet season.
In a rustic the place the monsoon is as a lot an emotion as it’s a season, there’s something grounding about slowing down to observe it unfurl from a train. The landscapes change, the mild shifts, and so does one thing inside you. And all it takes is a window seat.
