Our first train journey on the overnight train from Bengaluru to Hospete Junction was like taking a trip back in time. That train had clearly been around for a while. It was a pretty basic affair, perfectly adequate (although perhaps not the loo!) with folding bunks, air conditioning and power points, but it had a feel of the 1970s about it.

Catching today’s 07.50 ‘Vande Bharat Express’ from Udaipur to Jaipur we’ve fast forwarded through at least 50 train years. This is very much the Indian Railways ‘state of the art’ train. The doors are automatic with glass sliding doors between carriages. The seats have masses of leg room – like business class on an aeroplane (our friend Dave Hobson would be ok), and if you want, the chairs do a clever little trick. At the push of a foot pedal they can be turned from the ‘airline style’ forward-facing pair of seats into a four set (two facing each other) – yes, they can be spun round to face the other way!

The carriage has electronic display screens announcing the next station and other useful info in different languages (including English). There are recorded announcements telling us everything we need to know. There’s one announcement saying that when the train enters a ‘neutral section’ the power to the chargers may be temporarily interrupted. I was slightly worried this was something to do with Indian Pakistan relationships, but fortunately not. I guess it means the train is a hybrid, and that some parts of the route are not electrified. It goes on to advise that if you have an Apple device chargers you will need to up plug and reconnect to the power. 

There’s even an onboard ‘captive WiFi’ entertainment system – although captive seems to mean no-WiFi. There’s a choice of Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and English TV shows and music. There’s even some movies, however the English selection is somewhat limited, and I’m intrigued to find out who selected them. You’ve a choice of ‘The Child Bride’ (1938), ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ (1954), or ‘Attack from Space’ (1964)! While the train might have entered the twenty first century, the movie offerings haven’t!

I’ve already mentioned in our blog that Indian trains are wide (five chairs in a row not four like in the UK) – but it’s very noticeable on this new train. The carriage feels very airy with the neutral colour palette and LED lighting. There’s large glass shelf luggage racks overhead and each seat has an individual spotlight. The seat tables that are usually on the back of the chair are like airline style on this one and fold out from a little compartment between the chairs.

The best bit is the lavatory. After some pretty grim train loos, these are exemplary. There are both ‘Indian settle’ (thank you, but no) and ‘western style’ conveniences. They are clean, and – as announced on the electronic replays – have ‘bio-flush mechanisms’, so please don’t put anything you shouldn’t down them. They even have hand dryers (the first train we’ve been on to have them), so no need to wipe wet hands on our trousers.

As we’re travelling ‘aunty style’ (first class), on this train we’re waited on by a team of young stewards wearing near navy and pale blue outfits with a natty orange trim. We’ve already been served breakfast and although it’s only 11.30, they’ve started dishing up lunch already. It’s a two course affair, starting with a tomato chatpata soup (tomato soup with a spicy after bite). 

This was followed by a vegetable curry, rice, dhal and chapatti. I’m not sure we’ll need any dinner after all this food! In fact by the time we get into Jaipur (one more stop), we’ll probably need an afternoon snooze to let lunch settle!