The Midnight Train to Katni

February 2-3

After a wonderful day in Agra, we headed to the train station to catch our 9 PM overnight train to Katni. The Agra Cantonment Railway Station was a bustling place, even at that time of night. With the help of porters we moved all of our gear onto one platform, only to discover that our train was changing platforms. So we hurriedly picked up the pieces and moved quickly up a ramp, over some tracks and down to the correct platform and waited for our train to arrive. Susi had warned us that, depending on when the train pulled in, there might only be 2 to 3 minutes to get everything on board before it pulled out again, so we were to let Butch and the porters deal with the luggage and follow his lead. It is a bit of a challenge to sit back and let others handle your bags when we are so used to doing it ourselves.

The cars are labeled with a letter and number and there are corresponding numbers on the platform. We stood at our designated spot, H2, and waited for the train to pull in. When the train arrived a little ahead of schedule, we scurried to get ourselves on board and out of the way and let Butch deal with the luggage. In those few short minutes, we managed to find our berth in the first class sleeper car and get settled in.

Not really knowing what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised by the spaciousness of our berth where the four of us would spend the night. There were two bench seats facing each other, each with a bunk above.

Lydia on a lower bench that folds out into a bed

Upper bunk that folds down when ready for bed

Once underway, we got ready for bed knowing that we would have an early morning arrival in Katni and had only a few minutes to make a quick getaway at that train station. Sheets, pillows and blankets were provided so we made up our beds and settled in for what we thought would be a decent sleep, hoping to be lulled into slumber by the gentle rocking of the train. Let me just say that it was a bit more than gentle and sleep was intermittent. 

We had also been very careful with our intake of liquids prior to the trip, as we had heard some daunting tales about using train bathrooms and were hoping to minimize our need to avail ourselves of the facilities. But again, we were pleasantly surprised. Not only was our nearby bathroom clean, it was a "western" style toilet...which means there was a commode and seat...and there was toilet paper! 

All in all it was an adventure, but happily, a relatively short one. 

When we arrived at the Katni station in the morning, we were met by porters offering to help with the luggage. We were amazed and mightily impressed when one of the porters, who couldn't have weighed more than 100 pounds, adjusted his turban so that it was flat on top and put both of our 40 pound suitcases on his head and carried them to the car. Settled into our vehicle it was onward to Tiger's Den and Bandhavgarh National Park.