We are a group of friends who are from Delhi and want to go to Manali. We find traveling on a train is much better than a bus and would prefer traveling to Manali via train. We are not sure if Manali has a railway station, so we would first like to know that. If not: What is the nearest railways station to Manali? How far would we need to travel from to station to reach Manali? Is transport easily available from the nearest railway station to reach Manali?
Hello, @Girlies! Welcome to the forum! Manali doesn't have its own railway station, therefore, there's no train that can take you to reach it directly.There is no railway station at Kullu either. There are three railway stations that are nearest to Manali: Joginder Nagar Railway Station - This is about 162 kms from Manali. It can take you 4 hours or more to reach Manali from this station, if you ride a taxi. Una Railway Station - This is about 246 kms away from Manali. It can take you 6 to 7 hours to reach Manali from this station. Chandigarh Railway Station - This is about 318 kms away from Manali. It can take you 7 to 8 hours to reach Manali from this station. As you can see, Joginder Nagar Railway Station is the nearest station to Manali. These are the train timings from Delhi to Joginder Nagar Railway Station: Pathankot Joginder Nagar Kangra Valley Passenger Train No. 52471 - Departs daily at 2:15 and arrives at 11:25. Pathankot Baijnath Kangra Valley Passenger Train No. 52463 - Departs daily at 4:00 and arrives at 10:45. Pathankot Baijnath Kangra Valley Passenger Train No. 52465 - Departs daily at 6:45 and arrives at 14:00. These are all passenger trains and they pass through a narrow gauge line. So it's not the recommended way to reach Manali as you cannot reserve a ticket and the train takes a long time to reach the station at Joginder Nagar. A better option would be Una Railway Station, since it's a broad gauge network line. The downside with Una Railway Station is that there are no buses plying from the station to Manali. So you need to ride a taxi to reach Manali from Una Railway Station. Here are some of the train timings from Delhi to Una: Himachal Express Train No. 14553 - Departs daily at 22:55 and arrives at 7:48. Una Jan Shatabdi Train No. 12057 - Departs daily at 14:53 and arrives at 22:10. I've mentioned the distances above. From Joginder Nagar Railway Station to Manali, the distance is just 162 kms and you can reach Manali in about 4 to 5 hours. From Una Railway Station, the distance is about 246 kms and you can reach Manali in about 6 to 7 hours. That's the problem with these railway stations especially with Una Railway Station, there are no buses plying from here to Manali. Your only option would be to ride a taxi from the station to Manali. It can get very expensive but it's convenient though. If you'd like a railway station with many buses, then consider Chandigarh Railway Station. From Delhi, here are its train timings to reach Chandigarh: Jabalpur Atari Special Fare Train No. 01707 - Departs on Sundays and Wednesdays at 00:50 and arrives at 4:00. Allahabad Jammu Special Fare Train No. 04111 - Departs on Thursdays at 00:54 and arrives at 4:30. Indore Chandigarh Weekly Express Train No. 19307 - Departs on Fridays at 1:40 and arrives at 6:45. Himalayan Queen Express Train No. 14095 - Departs daily at 5:35 and arrives at 10:25. From Chandigarh, there are frequent buses to Manali: HRTC Bus - The Volvo HRTC Bus leaves at 8:40 pm and fare is at Rs. 854 per passenger. The ordinary HRTC Bus leaves at 6:40 pm and fare is at Rs. 449 per passenger. Private Bus - There are also plenty of private buses plying this route. The New Himalaya Travels has a Volvo AC Semi-Sleeper Bus and it leaves at 11:15 pm and arrives at 7:30 am in Manali. Fare is at Rs. 950 per passenger. The Swagatam Holidays has a Volvo AC Seater/Sleeper Bus and it leaves at 11:45 pm and arrives at 7:30 am in Manali. Fare is at Rs. 950 per passenger. Supreme Travels also has an AC Volvo Bus that departs at 11:58 pm and arrives at 7:30 am. Fare is at Rs. 800 per passenger. I hope this helps!
