The National Railway Museum of Delhi
Nestled in the southwest of India’s capital city of Delhi is the National Railway Museum. Housing an incredible collection of trains, carriages, station fixtures and historical memorabilia, the museum chronicles the amazing, turbulent and inspiring history of India massive railway network. This is our guide to getting the most out of the National Railway Museum of Delhi, even if you are not a train person!
India is criss-crossed from north to south, west to east with a vast railway network that covers the entire country. From the tropical backwaters of Kerala in the very south, to the Himalayan peaks high up in the north, India’s train network is a marvel of engineering. The railways are a circuit board wiring through the country; firing people, produce and ideas across the enormous Indian subcontinent.
At some point travelling through this massive country, you’re bound to find yourself on this huge railway network. What better way is there to learn about the history of India’s trains than a visit to the National Railway Museum in Delhi?
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Where is the National Railway Museum?
The National Railway Museum is located here, in the southwest of Delhi near Nehru Park and Safdarjung’s Tomb.
If you are visiting the National Railway Museum do not miss out on the nearby Safdarjung’s tomb. This magnificent Mughal mausoleum is known as the “mini-Taj Mahal” and is 100% worth visiting. Make sure you check out our guide here.
The easiest way to get to the National Railway Museum is by rickshaw. We always recommend using a ride hailing app like Uber or Ola to avoid annoying price negotiations or being scammed. We paid 78 rupees (under £1.00) for the 4 kilometre ride from our hostel in Mohammadpur, south Delhi.
You will need a Sim card with mobile data to use ride hailing apps. If you would like to arrange your SIM card in advance of landing in India, why not check out the eSIM packages available on Airalo. Just make sure you install the App and eSIM before getting into the country!
For those wanting to travel to the railway museum by public transport, the nearest train station is Delhi Safdarjung. Once you have arrived at the station the museum is a twenty minute walk, or a very quick rickshaw drive away.
The nearest Metro to the National Railway Museum is Sir M. Vishweshwaraiah Moti Bagh on the Pink line. The metro is, like the train station, twenty minutes walk away but there are always plenty of rickshaws outside the Metro stations.
Ticket prices at the National Railway Museum
We paid 100 rupees (£0.95 or $1.25) each for entry to the museum.
Museum opening times
The National Railway Museum is open every day except Monday. The opening hours are between 10am and 4:30pm.
Holidays and festivals may affect these times so double check if you are visiting on a festival day!
Our day visiting the National Railway Museum
We are not really “train people”, we like them as much as the next person (provided the next person is not this guy), but have no special interest in them. We have found during our travels that train museums tend to be a lot of fun and a great way into the history of a country. This is especially true if that country used to be under the yoke of the British. The development of railways as colonial tools and their repurposing after independence as national infrastructure always tells an interesting story.
After days spent in the busy Red Fort and crowded alleys of Chandni Chowk we felt like a quiet afternoon poking around a train yard would be just the ticket (ba-dum-tish), so we set off to get our geek on.
Delhi’s National Railway Museum is a fantastic jumble of trains, carriages, signals and all manner of other railway infrastructure. Set across 11 acres it is full to the brim of exhibits and things to do. There are soooo many train carriages, cars and engines to look at, the map of the museum shows 80 artifacts scattered across the grounds.
The museum is mainly outside (for obvious reasons), with a huge train yard full of exhibits leading away from the entrance. We decided to start our afternoon of train based geekery in the museums indoor exhibitions, which are housed in a nicely air conditioned building at the rear of the rail yard (near the entrance / exit).
The indoor exhibitions are the most traditionally “museumy” part of the National Railway Museum. The displays are full of cutaway models, explanations of how things work and interactive dioramas. This all sounds very dry but it was done in an engaging way and we happily wandered around the exhibits, flitting between things that caught our attention. One such attention grabber was a display showing the most impressive marvels of mountain railway engineering to be found in India.
The north of India borders the Himalayas and the railways that climb up into these regions have to be very specialised. They also have to run through some absolutely jaw-dropping scenery. It was here in this exhibit we decided we needed to travel to Shimla by the Himalayan Queen railway, so you know it left an impact!
Outside, in the main rail yard of the museum, we bounced between massive steam trains, tiny hand operated rail carts, princely state trains and modern diesel locomotives. If you are into your trains this would be a sweet shop full of wonders. The rail yard is centred around several huge railway turntables. We were blown away with just how large these railway lazy-susans had to be!
We are sure there is a technical name for the spinny train turn tables!
The star of the show has to be the engines, they come in every shape and size, from sleek and elegant to brutal and blocky. The best part (at least for some overgrown children amongst us) was that you can get in and walk about in nearly every exhibit. You can walk through the old first class carriages or, more importantly, clamber up into the driver's seat of the enormous old steam locomotives!
We do not know nearly enough about trains to have got the most out of what we were seeing but it was great fun climbing into and around these gigantic engineering masterpieces. It is worth pointing out that there are some exhibits in need of some love. Towards the back of the park is what once must have been, an amazing model railway. Replica stations, tracks and landmarks spread over a huge diorama this model must have been fantastic in its prime. To put it mildly, it has seen better days, but we hope it will be restored to its former glory someday! Even with the occasional run down exhibit, the museum is still in great shape and it is amazing to see so many historical trains so well preserved and cared for.
The Railway Museum would also make a great trip out with kids in Delhi, there are lots of children focused displays, Engines to climb in and pretend to drive and even a miniature railway to ride!
There is a restaurant in the centre of the museum's rail yard, set high above one of the turn tables. There are also a couple of snack shops and toilets scattered through the museum.
Conclusion
The National Railway Museum of India is a great morning or afternoon out. It is something different to do in the Indian capital if you have had your fill of ancient sites, busy markets and hectic streets. We found it to be a relaxed and fun way to learn about the enormous Indian rail system and its turbulent history.
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
Indian Railways - Booking Tickets
If you’ve enjoyed reading about the Indian Rail network and want to take a ride on this vast train network, then make sure you book your tickets well in advance of your planned date of departure.
Train tickets sell out extremely quickly in India and depending on the length of your journey, you almost certainly won’t want to spend 15 plus hours sharing a carriage with half of Rajasthan in general class!
To book tickets online and in advance, we’d recommend using 12Go. Click here to book your tickets!
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