Delhi to Agra train, car, bus or tour: times, fares and a same-day plan

Transport times and fare examples in this guide were researched in October 2026. Recheck the exact train, date, station and final price with IRCTC and NTES before booking; these examples are not a live timetable.

The fastest Delhi to Agra trains take about 1 hour 40 minutes to Agra Cantt: the Vande Bharat 22470 from Hazrat Nizamuddin at 6:00 AM (not Mondays) and the Gatimaan Express 12050 at 8:10 AM (not Fridays). The daily Shatabdi 12002 leaves New Delhi at 6:00 AM, taking 1 hour 50 minutes. By road, allow 3 to 4 hours.

Times and fares are the Indian Railways timetable as listed on 16 October 2026 and checked again on 22 October 2026. Trains are retimed and run late, so check yours on the morning you travel.

Delhi to Agra by train, car, bus or tour: which is best?

For most visitors, the fast train: under two hours from platform to platform, against 3 to 4 hours by road. The others win on luggage, on price or on not having to plan.

Book as soon as your dates are fixed: tickets on the fast trains go on sale 60 days ahead.

Which Delhi to Agra train is fastest?

The Gatimaan Express and the Vande Bharat trains, at about 1 hour 40 minutes from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Agra Cantt; the Shatabdi from New Delhi takes 10 minutes longer.

Times are as erail.in lists them; dozens of slower expresses use the same line through the day.

The Gatimaan Express

Launched on 5 April 2016 and billed as India’s first semi-high-speed train, running at up to 160 km/h, the Gatimaan Express ran only between Hazrat Nizamuddin and Agra Cantt at first; since 2018 it has continued to Gwalior and Jhansi. It has AC chair car and executive class only, a meal is served on board if you choose to pre-pay for it when booking, and it does not run on Fridays, the day the Taj Mahal is closed.

The Vande Bharat trains

Two Vande Bharat services link Delhi and Agra Cantt. For a day trip, take the Hazrat Nizamuddin to Khajuraho train: 22470 out at 6:00 AM and 22469 back at 9:00 PM, not on Mondays. The Bhopal train, 20172 from Delhi at 2:40 PM and 20171 from Agra at 11:05 AM, not on Saturdays, suits a night in Agra instead. Both have AC chair car and executive class.

The Shatabdi and the Taj Express

The Shatabdi, 12002 out and 12001 back, is the dependable pair: it runs every day, uses New Delhi station, and serves a meal you can pre-pay for when booking. The Taj Express, 12280 and 12279, is the budget option, also daily, with AC chair car and second sitting, a stop at Raja Ki Mandi before Agra Cantt, and bookings that open 30 days ahead rather than 60.

These are general-quota fares as erail.in calculated them, checked on 22 October 2026. The IRCTC booking page shows the exact price before you pay, including your choice on meals, and tickets in the foreign tourist quota cost one and a half times as much.

Which evening trains go back from Agra to Delhi?

Four, and the one you pick sets the shape of the day. The Gatimaan at 5:35 PM means leaving the sights by about 4:00 PM; the Vande Bharat at 9:00 PM and the Shatabdi at 9:25 PM leave time for sunset and dinner first. Coming back takes a little longer than going out.

All four start far to the south, at Jhansi, Khajuraho or Bhopal, so they can reach Agra late. Check the running status on NTES, the railway’s own enquiry service, before you leave for the station, and be on the platform 20 to 30 minutes early: the Delhi trains usually leave from platform 2 or 3, across the footbridge. For the airport and road options home, see Agra to Delhi.

Arriving in Delhi near midnight on the late trains, book the hotel’s car or an app cab before you arrive, rather than hailing a taxi on the street.

From December to February, leave more slack on both legs. Dense fog slows trains across north India: on 22 December 2025, The Week reported more than 50 Northern Railway trains running 30 minutes to over six hours late, Vande Bharat services among them. On a foggy day, check NTES before you leave for the station, and avoid planning anything in Delhi that cannot move.

Which station in Delhi, and where to get off in Agra?

Check the Delhi station on your ticket before anything else, because these trains use two. The Gatimaan and both Vande Bharat trains start at Hazrat Nizamuddin; the Shatabdi starts at New Delhi; the Taj Express starts at New Delhi and calls at Hazrat Nizamuddin at 7:08 AM. The two stations are about 8 km apart by rail, and at 5:30 AM the wrong one means a missed train.

In Agra, get off at Agra Cantt. Every fast train stops there, and it has prepaid taxi and auto booths. The Taj Express calls at Raja Ki Mandi 15 minutes earlier; stay on unless your hotel is on that side of the city, and see Agra’s railway stations for how the stations differ. From Agra Cantt the Taj is 6 to 7 km away, 20 to 30 minutes by road, and Agra Cantt to the Taj Mahal has every way across, which gate to use and the fares.

Leave luggage in the station’s cloak room. The official advice at the Taj is to leave big bags behind, and food, chargers, headphones and tripods are not allowed in.

How do foreigners book Indian trains on IRCTC?

Online, through IRCTC, the railway’s ticketing website and app. A visitor from abroad registers, verifies an international mobile number by OTP for a one-off ₹100 plus GST, then books under Services, Foreign Tourist Ticket Booking. The foreign tourist quota rules are short and worth reading before you pay.

• Book early. The quota can be booked up to 365 days ahead. Ordinary tickets on the fast trains open 60 days ahead, and on the Taj Express 30.
• Passports for everyone. Each passenger’s passport number goes on the ticket, and each must carry the original passport and visa on board. Without them, the passenger counts as ticketless and pays three times the fare.
• International cards only. Payment is by international debit or credit card, plus a fee of ₹200 and GST per ticket.
• It costs more. Quota seats are sold at one and a half times the normal fare, and cancelling loses half the fare on top of the usual charges.
• Book it yourself. Travel agents are not allowed to book the foreign tourist quota.

Tatkal, the last-minute quota, is another matter: since 1 July 2025 it can be booked online only from accounts verified with Aadhaar, the Indian resident ID, which rules out most visitors from abroad. Whatever you buy, buy it from IRCTC or a station ticket window: the UK government’s travel advice is to avoid people at railway stations offering tickets and tours.

Delhi to Agra by road: distance, the expressway and tolls

The Delhi to Agra distance by road is about 205 to 216 km from central Delhi to the Taj, depending on the route, and the drive takes 3 to 4 hours. Two roads link the cities: the old highway and the Yamuna Expressway, a 165.5 km, six-lane toll road from Pari Chowk in Greater Noida to Kuberpur, on the edge of Agra.

• Distance. About 216 km from India Gate to the Taj by the expressway, through Noida. The old highway, NH-44 and then NH-19 through Faridabad and Mathura, is about 205 km but runs through the towns. From Delhi airport it is about 215 km.
• Time. Route planners give about 3 hours from India Gate on a clear road; allow 4. Agra’s district website says 4 to 5 hours, depending on traffic and the time of day.
• Tolls. About ₹490 for a car, one way, on the whole expressway: ₹2.95 a km since 1 October 2024, collected at three plazas, near Jewar, Mathura and Agra. A rise of 3.5% was under review in May 2026, and we found no new rate announced by 22 October 2026. In a hired car, ask whether tolls are in the price.
• Speed and fog. The limit for cars is 100 km/h. In each of the last two winters it was cut from 15 December to 15 February because of fog, to 80 km/h in 2024–25 and 75 km/h in 2025–26, so expect a lower limit this winter too. The UK government’s advice is to avoid travelling at night and in fog.

For a day trip, leave Delhi by 6:00 AM, and agree the whole price on WhatsApp first: tolls, parking, the driver’s meals and waiting time, and no stops you did not ask for. Cars stop at a car park outside the Taj’s 500-metre zone; the East Gate’s Shilpgram car park closed at the end of May 2026 for building work, so see our Taj Mahal parking guide for where to park now.

Is there a bus from Delhi to Agra?

Yes, round the clock. Booking sites list well over a hundred operators on the route, the state-run UPSRTC among them; on 22 October 2026 redBus’s cheapest seats started at about ₹160, with AC coaches and sleepers for more. The journey takes about 4 hours, longer in traffic.

• Boarding. Delhi pick-up points include ISBT Kashmere Gate, Anand Vihar and Akshardham; the exact point is on your ticket.
• Arriving. Drop points include Agra’s ISBT, on the Delhi highway about 12 km from the Taj, and Idgah, about 8 km away in the city; check yours on the ticket, and add an auto or a cab.
• Worth it? On a tight budget, or with a night in Agra. The UK government’s travel advice warns that buses are often driven fast and recklessly.

Is a same-day Agra tour from Delhi worth booking?

It is if you would rather not organise anything. Tour companies sell two kinds: a car and driver from your Delhi hotel with a guide in Agra, or seats on the morning Gatimaan or Vande Bharat with a car and guide waiting at Agra Cantt. Before you pay, ask three things.

• What is included. Monument tickets (₹1,100 at the Taj for a foreign visitor, plus ₹200 for the main mausoleum), the guide, lunch, tolls and parking.
• Whether there are shopping stops. Ask for none, in writing; a day this short has no room for a showroom.
• Who you are paying. An established company with a written itinerary, never a stranger who approaches you at a station or outside your hotel.

Doing it yourself is not hard, as the day below shows. If Agra is one stop of several, the Golden Triangle itinerary fits it into a week with Delhi and Jaipur.

A Taj Mahal day trip from Delhi, timed

This plan uses a 6:00 AM train out and a 9:00 or 9:25 PM train back, the longest day the fast trains allow. The official Taj Mahal site gives its hours as 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes before sunset; in November the sun sets between about 5:25 and 5:35 PM, so the gates shut at about 5:00. In other months, move the afternoon with the sun: our Taj Mahal timings guide has the times.

With the Gatimaan instead, the day is shorter and gentler: Agra Cantt at 9:50 AM, the Taj until about 12:30 PM, lunch, Agra Fort, then back at the station by 5:00 PM for the 5:35 PM train, and Delhi by 7:30 PM. By car, leave Delhi at 6:00 AM, reach the Taj at about 9:30 AM, and keep the same afternoon.

Sunrise at the Taj is out of reach on a day trip, because none of the fast trains arrives in time; it needs a night in Agra, and the Taj Mahal at sunrise explains the timing. Taj Mahal ticket prices covers every ticket and how to book online, and one day in Agra has more on each stop.

Where to eat in Agra before the train back

With a 9:00 or 9:25 PM train there is time for a proper dinner: sit down by about 7:00 PM and leave the table an hour before the train. Three choices:

• Altitude Rooftop Lounge, MG Road 2. The rooftop restaurant that publishes this journal, on the top floor above MG Road 2, Jaipur House, about 5 km and 20 minutes from Agra Cantt. It is open every day from 1:00 PM to 11:30 PM, last kitchen order 11:00 PM, with an English menu that marks every dish veg, non-veg or egg. There is no Taj view. With a foreign passport, aim to order before 7:00 PM: until then, all drinks are buy one, get one free, dine-in only, as the offers page explains. Booking is free, and free to cancel up to two hours before if the day changes. Tell the driver “MG Road 2, Jaipur House”: there is a Domino’s at street level, and a lift to the top floor.
• Sadar Bazaar. About 1.5 to 2 km from the station: chaat counters, sweet shops, and boxes of petha, the candied ash-gourd sweet Agra is known for, to take home.
• The station itself. Refreshment stalls, and a paid IRCTC lounge on platform 1, with buffet meals at extra cost, for when time is short.

For more places near the station, and how long to allow from each, see restaurants near Agra Cantt railway station.