Sometime early next year I plan to go Shirdi, and I would like to know what options I have for trains from Pune to Shirdi. Some of the detailed information I would like to know is: The duration of the journey Cost of tickets Best train to travel on.
Hello there, welcome to the forum! Overview The distance between Pune and Shirdi is about 202 kilometres. Driving this distance can take around 4 to 5 hours, depending on the route you take. If you take a train, or any form of public transportation, journey duration can be longer. With trains, expect journey duration to be around 5 to 6 hours, even 8 hours at the most. There is one direct train from Pune to Shirdi, which takes you directly from the Pune Junction to the Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station. All the other trains don't directly take you to the Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station, so you need to take another form of public transport to reach Shirdi proper from any of the arrival stations. Trains from Pune to Shirdi 1. Pune Junction to Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station Train - This is your first and best choice, as it is the only direct train option. There is only one train daily plying between Pune Junction to the Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station. Fare is at Rs. 50 for the General Quota as the train is a fast passenger train. Below are some more details about the train. Pune Junction to Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station Train Train Name & NumberDeparture TimeArrival TimeScheduleJourney DurationMumbai CST Sainagar Shirdi Fast Passenger Train No. 510334:2010:55Daily6 Hours and 35 MinutesThe train departs from Pune Junction at 4:20 and arrives at the Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station at 10:55. It has a journey duration of 6 hours and 35 minutes. It has a daily schedule though despite it being the only direct train. 2. Pune Junction to Puntamba Junction Railway Station Trains - This is your second option, trains from Pune Junction to the Puntamba Junction Railway Station. Puntamba Junction Railway is about 18 kilometres away from Shirdi itself. The distance is not that huge and you can easily ride a taxi or even a train to reach Shirdi from the station. Pune Junction to Puntamba Junction Railway Station Trains Train Name & NumberDeparture TimeArrival TimeScheduleJourney DurationPune Manmad Passenger Train No. 5140100:307:33Daily7 Hours and 3 MinutesPune Nizamabad Passenger Train No. 5142114:2520:25Daily6 HoursMaharashtra Express Train No. 1103923:204:08Daily4 Hours and 48 MinutesThese are all the trains plying between Pune Junction and Puntamba Junction Railway Station. All these trains have daily schedules but the train with the shortest journey duration is the Maharashtra Express Train No. 11039 at about 4 hours and 48 minutes. However, it departs just before midnight at 23:20 and arrives in Puntamba Junction at around 4:08. Fare is at Rs. 105 for the General Quota of this train. The Pune Manmad Passenger Train No. 51401 is also a good option but it runs for almost 7 hours. Fares are at Rs. 50 for its General Quota and Rs. 120 for its Sleeper Class. The Pune Nizamabad Passenger Train No. 51421 has a running time of 6 hours and fares are around Rs. for General Quota and Rs. for Sleeper Class. Puntamba Junction Railway Station to Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station Trains Train Name & NumberDeparture TimeArrival TimeScheduleJourney DurationVijayawada Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 172088:479:15Wednesday28 MinutesKakinada Port Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 172068:479:15Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday28 MinutesSecunderabad Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 170028:479:15Monday and Saturday28 MinutesMumbai CST Sainagar Shirdi Fast Passenger Train No. 5103310:2010:55Daily35 MinutesChennai Central Sainagar Shirdi Weekly SF Express Train No. 2260110:4511:30Thursday45 MinutesMysuru Sainagar Weekly Express Train No. 1621710:4511:30Tuesday45 MinutesVisakhapatnam Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 1850311:4012:15Friday35 MinutesTirupati Sainagar Shirdi Weekly Express Train No. 1741711:5412:15Wednesday21 MinutesPandharpur Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 1100219:2520:30Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday1 Hour and 5 MinutesOnce you reach the Puntamba Junction Railway Station, you can either ride a taxi or another train to Shirdi. The table above highlights the different trains plying between the Puntamba Junction Railway Station and Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station. The first three trains have the shortest journey duration at 28 minutes. They don't have daily schedules though. Fares are at Rs. 45 for the General Quota for most trains but some have fares as low as Rs. 10 and as high as Rs. 60, although they don't exceed these limits. Which Trains to Choose? You can choose the Pune Manmad Passenger Train No. 51401 for the Pune Junction to the Puntamba Junction route. Then, for the second route, you can choose any of the first three trains: Vijayawada Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 17208, Kakinada Port Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 17206 and Secunderabad Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 17002, which all fits within the arrival time of the first train which is at 7:33. With this route, you can reach Shirdi within 9 hours. 3. Pune Junction to Shrimampur Railway Station Trains - Your next option is reaching the Shrimampur Railway Station from Pune Junction. The Shrimampur Railway Station is about 38 kilometres away from Shirdi proper. The Shrimampur Railway Station is also known as the Belapur Railway Station. You can ride a taxi or a train from the station to reach Shirdi. Pune Junction to Shrimampur Railway Station Trains Train Name & NumberDeparture TimeArrival TimeScheduleJourney DurationGoa Express Train No. 127794:108:29Daily4 Hours and 19 MinutesCSMT Kolhapur Hazrat Nizamuddin SF Express Train No. 1214716:1020:08Tuesday3 Hours and 58 MinutesMysuru Delhi Hazrat Nizamuddin Swarna Jayanti SF Express Train No. 1278116:1020:09Saturday3 Hours and 59 MinutesGyan Ganga Express Train No. 2213116:1520:08Monday3 Hours and 53 MinutesGyan Ganga Express Train No. 1103316:1520:08Wednesday3 Hours and 53 MinutesJhelum Express Train No. 1107717:2021:24Daily4 Hours and 4 MinutesPune Nagpur SF Express Train No. 1213517:4021:53Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday4 Hours and 13 MinutesPune Bilaspur SF Express Train No. 1285017:4021:53Friday4 Hours and 13 MinutesAzad Hind Express Train No. 1212918:2522:23Daily3 Hours and 58 MinutesPune Patliputra SF Express Train No. 1214920:5500:43Daily3 Hours and 48 MinutesPune Hazur Sahib Nanded SF Express Train No. 1272922:001:38Monday and Wednesday3 Hours and 38 MinutesThe table above depicts the trains plying between Pune Junction and Shrimampur Railway Station. They are arranged accordingly, from the earliest trains to the trains running the latest. You can choose any of these trains since there's not much difference with their journey durations anyway. Fares are between Rs. 100 to Rs. 115 for a General Quota ticket. Shrimampur Railway Station to Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station Trains Train Name & NumberDeparture TimeArrival TimeScheduleJourney DurationMumbai CST Sainagar Shirdi Fast Passenger Train No. 510339:2010:55Daily1 Hour and 35 MinutesMysuru Sainagar Shirdi Weekly Express Train No. 1621710:0511:30Tuesday1 Hour and 25 MinutesPandharpur Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 1100218:4020:30Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday1 Hour and 50 MinutesWhile you can ride a taxi directly from the Shrimampur Railway Station to Shirdi, a more cost-effective option is to ride another train to Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station. Three trains ply between the Shrimampur Railway Station to the Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station. The first two trains can be reserved while the last one is an unreserved train. Fare for General Quota is either Rs. 10 or Rs. 45. Which Trains to Choose? You can choose the Goa Express Train No. 12779 + the Mumbai CST Sainagar Shirdi Fast Passenger Train No. 51033 as their schedules are quite close with each other. Another good option is the Goa Express Train No. 12779 + the Mysuru Sainagar Shirdi Weekly Express Train No. 16217 but you have to wait a bit as the departure time of the latter is at 10:05. With these trains, you can reach Shirdi in under 8 hours. 4. Pune Junction to Kopargaon Railway Station Trains - This is your last option, board a train from the Pune Junction to the Kopargaon Railway Station. From Shirdi, this station is about 40 kilometres away. There are nine trains plying between this route though not all of them have daily schedules. Pune Junction to Kopargaon Railway Station Trains Train Name & NumberDeparture TimeArrival TimeScheduleJourney DurationHubballi Londa Delhi Hazrat Nizamuddin Goa Link Express Train No. 173054:109:14Daily5 Hours and 4 MinutesDeekshabhoomi Express Train No. 110457:4013:18Friday5 Hours and 38 MinutesPune Hatia SF Express Train No. 2284510:4515:58Sunday and Wednesday5 Hours and 13 MinutesPune Jabalpur SF Express Train No. 0165510:4515:58Tuesday5 Hours and 15 MinutesPune Gorakhpur Weekly Express Train No. 1503010:4515:58Saturday5 Hours and 13 MinutesPune Ajni AC SF Train No. 0212315:1519:33Friday4 Hours and 18 MinutesPune Gorakhpur Express Train No. 1103716:1520:44Thursday4 Hours and 29 MinutesPune Lucknow Super Fast Express Train No. 1210316:1520:43Friday4 Hours and 28 MinutesPune Lucknow Super Fast Express Train No. 1140722:002:28Tuesday4 Hours and 28 MinutesThese are all the trains plying between Pune Junction and Kopargaon Railway Station. They are arranged accordingly too, from the earliest to the latest trains. The Pune Ajni AC SF Train No. 02123 has the shortest journey duration at 4 hours and 18 minutes. Even the Pune Gorakhpur Express Train No. 11037, Pune Lucknow Super Fast Express Train No. 12103 and Pune Lucknow Super Fast Express Train No. 11407 are good options as they have journey durations under 4 hours and 30 minutes. If you would like a more comfortable journey, many of these trains here have seats other than the General Quota. Prices are at Rs. 1,410 for the 2AC, Rs. 1,025 for the 3AC, Rs. 375 for SL, Rs. 120 for Second Seating and Rs. 110 for General Quota. Kopargaon Railway Station to Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station Trains Train Name & NumberDeparture TimeArrival TimeScheduleJourney DurationDadar Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 121313:003:51Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday51 MinutesDadar Sainagar Shirdi Special Fare Train No. 011353:003:51Saturday51 MinutesPuri Sainagar Shirdi Weekly Express Train No. 184076:007:30Sunday1 Hour and 30 MinutesVijawada Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 172088:209:15Wednesday55 MinutesKakinada Port Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 172068:209:15Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday55 MinutesSecunderabad Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 170028:209:15Monday and Saturday55 MinutesVisakhapatnam Sainagar Shirdi Express Train No. 1850311:1512:15Friday1 HourTirupati Sainagar Shirdi Weekly Express Train No. 1741711:1512:15Wednesday1 HourHowrah Sainagar Shirdi SF Express Train No. 2289417:5020:00Friday2 Hours and 10 MinutesFinally, these are all the trains plying between the Kopargaon Railway Station and Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station. Journey duration for most trains is under an hour, although some run under two hours, more or less. Fare is very minimal at Rs. 60 for the General Quota seat. Which Trains to Choose? You can choose one of the following trains: Pune Hatia SF Express Train No. 22845, Pune Jabalpur SF Express Train No. 01655 or the Pune Gorakhpur Weekly Express Train No. 15030. Then you can combine it with the Howrah Sainagar Shirdi SF Express Train No. 22894 since their schedules are quite close to each other. With this combination, you can reach Shirdi in under 9 hours. Conclusion These are all your options for travelling between Pune and Shirdi. As you can see, you have plenty of options, although majority of them are not direct ones. As mentioned, there is only one direct train but even the non-direct ones are very convenient since they have connections to the Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station anyway. I hope this helps you!