Delhi to Shimla — Volvo bus or the train and toy train?

Side by side

	Overnight Volvo	Train + toy train
From	ISBT Kashmere Gate (HRTC)	New Delhi station
Route	Delhi → Chandigarh → Solan → Shimla, by road	Shatabdi to Kalka (269 km), then the toy train (96 km)
Time	Overnight: leave in the evening, arrive in the morning	About 4 h + about 5 h, plus the change at Kalka
Fare	About ₹900–1,200 for an HRTC AC Volvo (2026)	Shatabdi chair car plus the toy train; check IRCTC
Comfort	Reclining seat; the climb after Kalka is all hairpins	Wide Shatabdi seats, then a small, slow carriage
Views	Mostly in the dark	The whole climb, in daylight
Best for	Saving a day; budgets; late bookers	First visits, children, anyone who likes trains

The case for the Volvo

It costs you no daylight. You board after work at Kashmere Gate, sleep through the plains, and wake up in the hills. HRTC’s own Volvos book on its website, and seats go days ahead at weekends and in peak season. The last hours climb steadily through hairpin bends — take a travel-sickness tablet if you need one. Read our Delhi to Manali Volvo guide for how the overnight buses work.

The case for the train

The Kalka Shatabdi (12011 from New Delhi, 12012 back) covers the 269 km to Kalka in about four hours. At Kalka you change to the narrow-gauge Kalka–Shimla Railway: 96 km, opened in 1903, with more than a hundred tunnels and hundreds of bridges, part of the UNESCO-listed Mountain Railways of India since 2008. The Himalayan Queen meets the Shatabdi at Kalka. The Shivalik Deluxe Express, with chair cars and a meal, meets the overnight Netaji Express. Slow as it is, it is the finest way into Shimla.

Which to choose

• Short trip, or going on to Manali: take the Volvo, and save the day for Shimla itself.
• First visit, children, or no rush: take the train up and the bus back.
• Monsoon (July–August): both are slower; landslides can stop the toy train and the road alike.

On our tours

Our Shimla Manali Volvo tour goes up to Manali by overnight Volvo and comes home from Shimla the same way. Our car tours drive from Delhi to Shimla. For Shimla itself, read the Shimla guide and how many days for Shimla and Manali.