After leaving our Brahmaputra river cruise on the Kindat Pandaw, we had a quick flight to Delhi – India’s capital.

Actually, New Delhi is the official capital city of India; it’s a smaller district located inside the larger metropolitan area of Delhi. But it’s much easier to say Delhi when you mean New Delhi, if you see what I mean.

So, if you are in Delhi for the first time there are certain touristy things you absolutely must do, and a visit to the Taj Mahal is one of them, arguably the most important. It’s one of the ‘Seven New Wonders of the World’ after all.

The Taj Mahal was on our ‘to do’ list but we originally planned a private car tour.

Fortunately, some one on the cruise told us about the Gatimaan Express. It runs between Delhi and Agra (with a couple of stops further south). A much more civilised way to travel.

This was once the fastest train in India but is now second, having been overtaken by Vande Bharat Express.

Hazrat Nizamuddin station

We booked a tour and were picked up at the hotel at 7am and our guide for this section escorted us to Hazrat Nizamuddin station, one of many in New Delhi. The station is named after the 14th-century Sufi mystic Hazrat Khawaja Nizamuddin Auliya, because the station is located right next to his historic shrine in South-East Delhi.

The station was chaotic, but we were hustled through the throng to the appropriate platform where the Gatimaan Express was already waiting.

Our guide escorted us to our seats – in (I think) Executive Class. The top level anyway. Gatimaan executive class has seats in a 2×2 config and ample leg room.

The carriage gradually filled up. Lots of tourists heading for the Taj.

The Gatimaan Express leaves New Delhi at 8.10 and reaches Agra at 9.50.

It connects HN, Agra, Gwalior and Jhansi railway stations.

Breakfast on the train

The ticket included breakfast: cornflakes (with hot milk), a banana, two pieces of brown bread with butter and jam, a digestive biscuit. A tub of Indian food was also available, but I’d had enough so gave that a miss.

The journey takes about 100 mins to travel the 188km. The top speed is 160km/hr (100miles/hr).

We travelled through lots of flat, agricultural land; wheat mostly with English-looking trees here and there.

We passed through several towns along the way, some big, some small. Also flashed past many stations – some were empty, others crowded

We didn’t stop anywhere until Agra – this was an express after all.

Agra Cantt station

Agra Cantt station was even more crowded and chaotic than Delhi.

The name is a relic from the colonial days.

Agra Cantt stands for Agra Cantonment, a permanent military station or garrison established by the British Raj in India, and Cantt is the standard South Asian military abbreviation for Cantonment

Most foreign tourists, like us, were being met by guides and drivers.

We had a fancy white six-seater Tata.

The number of people, cars and tuktuks outside the station was mind boggling but In spite of the chaos traffic did keep moving, albeit slowly to start with

We spent about 8 hours in Agra visiting the Taj Mahal and other monuments, then returned to the station for the return trip

Our return journey left Agra at 5.45pm.

Once again the platform was crowded with tourists.

And here comes the train – the Gatimaan Express, a fun way to travel.