Manali does not have a direct railway link to Delhi. You need to travel to the nearest rail heads and further travel by taxi or bus to reach Manali. So there is no direct Delhi to Manali train. The most convenient and closest railway station to Manali is Chandigarh or Kalka railway station. There are a lot of train services from Delhi to Chandigarh and also for Kalka. Una railway station in Himachal Pradesh can also be used to travel from Delhi to Manali.
Train Route from Delhi to Manali via Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a broad-gauged railway station. The distance between Chandigarh and Manali is 250 km. It takes 8 to 10 hours to reach Manali from Chandigarh. So, only half the distance can be covered by train if you travel from Delhi to Manali via Chandigarh.
Two daily Shatabdi express trains along with mail and express trains are operated from Delhi to Chandigarh. 12005-Shatabdi, 12011-Shatabdi, and 12057-Jan Shatabdi are the 3 major train services operated on this route. 12057-Jan Shatabdi considered the best option among the three which starts at 2.35 pm and reaches Chandigarh at 7.15 pm. After reaching Chandigarh, you can board a bus or hire a cab to reach Manali.
Train Route from Delhi to Manali via Kalka
The second popular railway route from Delhi to Manali is via Kalka. The distance between Delhi and Kalka is 287 km. It is a broad-gauged railway station which includes Jammu and Pathankot in the western Himalayan region. You will be taking a maximum of 10 hours on this route. All the trains departing from Delhi reach Kalka Railways Station via Ambala and Chandigarh. After reaching Kalka you need to take a taxi or bus to reach Manali.
Train Route to Manali via Una and Joginder
Technically, the nearest railhead is Una which is a broad gauges network. But, it is not advisable to travel by this route since it takes longer to reach Manali via this route. After reaching Una, you have to take a taxi from Una to Manali in which the timing is almost equal to travelling from Chandigarh to Manali. A narrow gauge line from Pathankot to Joginder Nagar is the popular route. It is a slow train and the service is unreliable.
Choose the right train route according to your convenience and enjoy train travelling from Delhi to Manali!!
