₹600, AC cabin and a Taj Mahal trip: Dutch couple shares the good and bad of India train ride

A two-hour train journey from Delhi to Agra left a Dutch couple pleasantly surprised after they discovered just how much their €6 (Rs 600) ticket got them.

Wes and Nico, a Dutch couple travelling in India, shared their experience on Instagram in a video that has now gone viral.

They had booked a sleeper train to travel from Delhi to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal, with their air-conditioned cabin ticket costing only €6.

Getting to their seats was not entirely smooth, with the couple saying that finding the right carriage and their seats was “a little hectic”. But once they settled in, the experience turned out to be better than they had expected.

Watch the viral post here:

The video showed the couple inside their AC cabin, along with glimpses of their berths, vendors selling food and drinks and views outside as the train travelled towards Agra.

“This is what €6 gets you on an Indian train,” they said.

The couple said the cabin was clean, spacious and air-conditioned, describing it as “honestly much better than we expected for that price.”

They were also pleased with the food options available during the journey. Passengers could order food directly to the train, while vendors regularly walked through the coaches selling food and drinks.

The toilets, however, were a different story. “Toilets, however, did not surprise us. But honestly, for €6, the train ride itself was actually pretty decent,” they said.

Don't Miss: Mukesh Ambani's ₹10 power play: From Campa Cola to ice cream, why Reliance is betting big on India’s middle class

In their Instagram caption, the couple also said they were happy the journey was not any longer because of the toilets. “So we were pretty happy the journey wasn’t any longer,” they wrote.

Despite that, they described the overall experience as an “absolute bargain”.

The arrival at Agra brought another surprise, although this time it was not a positive one. “The absolute CHAOS that was waiting for us at Agra train station was not so pleasant though,” the couple wrote in their caption.

What social media users said

The couple’s comments about their experience at Agra station also prompted reactions from social media users.

One user, who identified themselves as an Agraite, said the situation outside the station was a major problem. “As soon as you step out of the station the autovalas surround you like ants on honey,” the user said. “I absolutely loathe this.” The user also pointed to the metro work in the city, saying, “ever since metro work has started there...don't ask me how much chaos has spread everywhere.”

Another user appreciated the couple for highlighting both the good and bad parts of their experience. “Happy that you don't just criticized you put both the sides on the table appreciated and ashamed for the bad experience you faced,” the user noted.

A third user blamed the poor upkeep of public facilities partly on the people using them. “It is the sorry state of affairs of our country that though the government provides all facilities, we the users do not maintain it properly or contribute for the up keep of the facility,” the user said.

The user, who identified themselves as a resident of Chennai, cited the Tamil Nadu government's new city buses as an example. While describing them as “top class low platform rear engine city busses”, the user said passengers use them extensively but often leave tickets and trash inside. The buses, the user added, are not cleaned or washed properly, with dust accumulating on the floors and seats.

“Most probably after six months the buses will look like dust bins on wheels,” the user added.

Must Read: 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' author Robert Kiyosaki is $1.2 billion in debt. But he isn't worried

For Wes and Nico, however, the Delhi-Agra train ride remained a largely positive experience, with the €6 ticket giving them an affordable way to travel to one of India’s most popular tourist destinations, even if the journey came with a few unexpected experiences along the way.