If you are unwilling to burn a hole in your pocket for flight tickets to Goa, trains are the next best option for you. There are multiple trains from different stations of Mumbai that reach Goa in less than 12 hours. They are less expensive than flight tickets and far more comfortable than a bus.
Which stations in Mumbai have trains for Goa?
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus or CST (Station Code: CSTM) is the main station from which trains to Goa originate.
Trains also depart from Dadar, Thane, Panvel and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) at Kurla.
Image Courtesy: Superfast1111 – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Which stations in Goa?
The main station in Goa at which all trains from Mumbai arrive is Madgaon (Station code: MAO).
However, if you are heading to the beaches in North Goa, look for trains to Thivim. The other railway station, Vasco Da Gama, is closer to Panjim and other central parts of Goa.
Which trains?
Mangalore Express, which originates from CST at 2200 hrs, is the most convenient overnight train. It reaches Madgaon at 0700 hours, thus saving you from any day time travel. The fare in sleeper class is approx INR 420, 3AC is approx. INR 1100 and 2AC is INR 1500.
To know more about the train compartments, see Types of Coach: Indian Railways
At INR 720 for 3AC, the KCVL Garib Rath would be a cheaper option, but that includes a lot of day time travel (starts from LTT at 1655 hours) and an odd hour of arrival at Goa (0215 hours).
If you prefer to start early and travel during the day instead, you could opt for the Jan Shatabdi Express which starts from Dadar at 0525 hours. However, this train will not have the ‘Shatabdi perks’ and only has Chair Car and general class compartments. For more info, see Types of Trains.
If you wish to travel a bit more in style on Indian Railways, Mandovi Express is a good option. It is one of the few trains with a 1AC compartment on this route. For those traveling to North Goa, this train also halts at Thivim. However, at over 11 and half hours of travel, this is one of the most time consuming trains.
Click here for more trains on this route.
Other options:
If all the trains are completely booked, you could travel to Goa by bus. The fare could be anything between INR 800 and INR 3000. You could book bus tickets online or from offices of local bus operators.
If you are a JetPrivilege member, you might be able to get Mumbai – Goa Jet Airways tickets for only 5000 JP Miles.
Whichever way you wish to travel, we wish you a Happy Journey to Goa! 🙂
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