Kathgodam station in October 2021. The line ends here, at the foot of the hills, and the road to Nainital starts outside the gate. Photo © Ravi Dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Every train from Delhi to Kathgodam with its timings, which one suits your plans, what it costs, how to book it, and what happens to it in December and January, including this winter’s cancellation list.
The short answer: three trains run from Delhi to Kathgodam every day. The 12040 Kathgodam Shatabdi leaves New Delhi at 06:20 and reaches Kathgodam at 11:55; the 15035 Uttarakhand Sampark Kranti leaves Delhi Junction at 16:00 and arrives at 22:45; and the overnight 15013 Ranikhet Express leaves Delhi Junction at 22:05 and arrives at 05:05. The trip is 277 to 281 km and takes five and a half to seven hours. For most visitors the Shatabdi is the one to book, because it arrives in daylight and is the least affected by winter fog. From December to February fog makes the night trains run hours late. This winter’s first cancellation list, announced on 15 and 16 October 2026, does not include any of the three Delhi trains, but a second list of trains running on fewer days is still to come.
By Deepa Pant, Contributor, Haldwani. About the author ↓
Only three trains connect Delhi with Kathgodam directly, and all three run daily. Each stops at Haldwani, the station before Kathgodam, about half an hour earlier; Kathgodam is the end of the line, where the railway stops at the foot of the hills. Trains from every other city are in our list of all Kathgodam trains.
| Train | Leaves from | Departs | Haldwani | Kathgodam | Time taken | Classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12040 Kathgodam Shatabdi | New Delhi | 06:20 | 11:23 | 11:55 | 5 h 35 min | Chair car, executive chair car |
| 15035 Uttarakhand Sampark Kranti | Delhi Junction (Old Delhi) | 16:00 | 21:58 | 22:45 | 6 h 45 min | Chair car, second sitting |
| 15013 Ranikhet Express | Delhi Sarai Rohilla 20:40, Delhi Junction 22:05 | 22:05 | 04:35 | 05:05 | about 7 h from Delhi Junction | First AC, second AC, third AC, sleeper |
Times as published in the railway timetable and checked on 17 October 2026 across several booking sites, which agreed. The distance is 281 km from New Delhi and 277 to 278 km from Delhi Junction. Railway timetables change, so check your train on the railway’s NTES enquiry or IRCTC before you travel.
The Shatabdi suits most people. It leaves New Delhi at 06:20 and reaches Kathgodam at 11:55, which gives you the whole afternoon to get up the hill in daylight: Nainital is about 35 km and an hour and a half or less by road, Bhimtal is closer, and Kainchi Dham a little further. It has only chair car and executive chair car seats, so it is a day train, not a sleeper, and in the winter delay reports we found it was the least late of the three.
The Ranikhet Express saves a hotel night, and it is the train many Kainchi Dham pilgrims use, because it reaches Kathgodam at 05:05 and lets them start up the hill at first light. It is the only one of the three with sleeping berths. It also starts far away, in Jaisalmer, and it is the train most likely to arrive hours late in December and January, so on a winter night it is the least predictable choice. Our Delhi to Kainchi Dham guide follows that plan from the train to the temple gate.
The Sampark Kranti is the afternoon train. It leaves Delhi Junction at 16:00 and reaches Kathgodam at 22:45, too late to drive into the hills safely. If you take it, plan to sleep in Haldwani or near the station and go up the next morning.
The Shatabdi leaves from New Delhi station. The Sampark Kranti and the Ranikhet Express leave from Delhi Junction, the old station in Chandni Chowk, and the Ranikhet Express also stops at Delhi Sarai Rohilla at 20:40, more than an hour earlier, which can be easier to reach from west Delhi. There is no direct train to Kathgodam from Anand Vihar or Hazrat Nizamuddin. A train does run from Anand Vihar to Lalkuan, the Lalkuan to Anand Vihar Express, but Lalkuan is short of Haldwani and you would finish the trip by road.
Fares shown by railway booking sites on 17 October 2026 were about Rs 680 to Rs 865 for the Shatabdi’s chair car and Rs 1,330 for its executive class. On the Ranikhet Express a sleeper berth was about Rs 190 to Rs 205, third AC Rs 495 to Rs 520, second AC Rs 700 to Rs 725 and first AC about Rs 1,165 to Rs 1,190. The Sampark Kranti’s second sitting was about Rs 110 to Rs 125 and its chair car Rs 415 to Rs 440. Fares on mail and express trains went up by two paise a kilometre from 26 December 2025, and the sites did not agree to the rupee, so treat these as a guide and check the fare when you book.
Reservations open 60 days before the date of travel, not counting that day; the railways cut the window from 120 days on 1 November 2024. Tatkal tickets open the day before you travel, at 10:00 for AC classes and 11:00 for sleeper and second sitting, and since 1 July 2025 booking Tatkal online needs an IRCTC account verified with Aadhaar. For long weekends and the Christmas to New Year week, book as soon as the window opens.
Every winter fog settles over the plains of western Uttar Pradesh from about December to February, and trains slow down for it. The railways respond in two ways: they cancel some trains for the season, or run them on fewer days, and the trains that do run arrive late, sometimes by hours.
This winter’s list. On 15 and 16 October 2026 the Moradabad division of Northern Railway announced 16 trains that will be cancelled for about three months from the first week of December, as reported by Amar Ujala and UNI. Those touching Kathgodam are the Kathgodam to Jammu Tawi Garib Rath (12207 and 12208), from 6 and 8 December 2026 to the end of February or 2 March 2027, and the Kanpur to Kathgodam Garib Rath (12209 and 12210), 13 trips each way between 7 December and 2 March. The Lalkuan to Amritsar trains (14615 and 14616) are off from 5 December to 27 February. None of the three Delhi trains is on this list. Amar Ujala reported that a second list, of trains that will run on fewer days, is still to come, and last winter the Sampark Kranti was on that kind of list.
Last winter. In 2025-26 the Sampark Kranti (15035 and 15036) ran on fewer days from early December to mid-February, and the two Garib Raths were cancelled from 7 and 8 December to 24 February. The Shatabdi and the Ranikhet Express were not cancelled.
How late they run. On 15 November 2024, early in the fog season, Amar Ujala’s Haldwani edition reported the Shatabdi about an hour late, reaching Kathgodam at 12:45, the Ranikhet Express about six hours late, and the Sampark Kranti, due at 22:45, arriving around 2 in the morning day after day. The fog is usually at its thickest in late December and January; IMD reported dense to very dense fog in Uttarakhand on 15 and 16 January 2026. Fog is not the only cause: on 12 October 2026 a goods train derailed near Pantnagar and the Shatabdi back to Delhi left Kathgodam about two hours late.
In practice, if you are travelling between mid-December and mid-February, take the Shatabdi if you can, check the running status on the railway’s NTES enquiry or by calling 139 before you leave for the station, and do not plan anything for the evening you arrive that depends on the train being on time. Our Uttarakhand in winter guide covers the rest of the season, and if you are heading on to a snow trek, winter treks in Uttarakhand explains which ones start within reach of Kathgodam.
Kathgodam station, code KGM, opened in 1884 and marked 142 years on 12 October 2026. Haldwani station is 6 to 7 km before it on the line, so get off at Haldwani if your hotel is in the city and stay on to Kathgodam if you are going straight up the hill, since the road to Nainital, Bhimtal and Kainchi Dham starts there. Taxis and shared jeeps wait outside, and routes and fares to Nainital are in our Haldwani to Nainital guide. If you are still choosing between the train and the road, our Delhi to Nainital guide sets the train against the Volvo, the drive and the flight to Pantnagar.
Two things change the plan for evening arrivals. Since early October 2026, on Saturdays and Sundays, Nainital police have been holding uphill traffic from Haldwani and Kathgodam between 4 PM and 10 PM, so a late-afternoon arrival on a weekend may wait at the bottom or need the longer Kaladhungi road. And after dark the hill roads are best avoided altogether in winter, when shaded bends freeze. If your train arrives late, the hotels near Kathgodam station are a few minutes away; go up the next morning. For Kainchi Dham, our guide to the two roads from Haldwani has the drive times.
The same three trains run back every day. The Sampark Kranti (15036) leaves Kathgodam at 08:40 and reaches Delhi Junction at 15:25; the Shatabdi (12039) leaves at 15:15 and reaches New Delhi at 20:55; and the Ranikhet Express (15014) leaves at 20:35 and reaches Delhi Junction at 04:10. Allow at least an hour and a half from Nainital to the station, more on a weekend afternoon.
One more train may join them. A Vande Bharat between Kathgodam and Delhi was proposed by North Eastern Railway in September 2025, and Amar Ujala reported in July 2026 that it had been approved and was waiting for a train set. When we checked on 17 October 2026 there was no number, timetable or start date, and no Vande Bharat ran to Kumaon. We will add it here when it is announced.
For most trips, the 12040 Kathgodam Shatabdi: it leaves New Delhi at 06:20, reaches Kathgodam at 11:55 and has been the least delayed in winter fog. To save a hotel night, the 15013 Ranikhet Express leaves Delhi Junction at 22:05 and arrives at 05:05, but in December and January it can run hours late. The 15035 Sampark Kranti arrives at 22:45, too late to go up the hill the same night.
Yes, from about December to February, when fog settles over the plains. On 15 November 2024 Amar Ujala reported the Shatabdi about an hour late, the Ranikhet Express about six hours late and the Sampark Kranti reaching around 2 AM instead of 22:45. Check the running status on the railway's NTES enquiry or by calling 139 before you leave for the station.
The 12040 Kathgodam Shatabdi leaves New Delhi at 06:20, reaches Haldwani at 11:23 and Kathgodam at 11:55, every day. The return train, 12039, leaves Kathgodam at 15:15 and reaches New Delhi at 20:55.
Stay near the station and go up the hill the next morning. Winter hill roads freeze on shaded bends after dark, and on Saturdays and Sundays Nainital police have been holding uphill traffic between 4 PM and 10 PM. Hotels near Kathgodam station and in Haldwani are a few minutes away by taxi.
Not a direct one. All three daily Delhi trains to Kathgodam start from New Delhi or Delhi Junction. The Lalkuan to Anand Vihar Express runs from Anand Vihar but ends at Lalkuan, short of Haldwani, so you would finish the trip by road.