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Gatimaan Express timetable: when it leaves, when it arrives

In brief

The Gatimaan Express 12050 left Hazrat Nizamuddin at 08.10 a.m. and reached Agra Cantt at 09.50 a.m. at launch, and runs six days a week except Friday, so confirm today's times on IRCTC.

Timetable essentials

  • The 12050 left Nizamuddin at 08.10 a.m. and reached Agra Cantt at 09.50 a.m.1
  • The 12049 left Agra Cantt at 05.50 p.m.2
  • It runs six days a week except Friday4

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The official launch times of the Gatimaan Express, the six days a week it runs, and how a morning arrival and an evening departure shape a day at the Taj Mahal.

Editorial team, tajmahaltraintour.com · Updated November 7, 2026 · Takes 6 min

Essentials

  • Morning trainThe 12050 left Hazrat Nizamuddin at 08.10 a.m. and reached Agra Cantt at 09.50 a.m., per the launch release.1
  • Evening trainThe 12049 left Agra Cantt at 05.50 p.m. and reached Hazrat Nizamuddin at 19:30.2,3
  • Days it runsSix days a week except Friday, which is also the Taj Mahal's closed day.4,5
  • SpeedA top speed of 160 kmph made it India's first semi high-speed train.6
  • Check todayThe release dates from 2016, so confirm times on IRCTC or by calling 139.1,7

What the official launch timetable says

The clearest official source for the Gatimaan Express timetable is the Ministry of Railways' own launch release of April 2016. It says the 12050 from Hazrat Nizamuddin would depart at 08.10 a.m. and reach Agra Cantt at 09.50 a.m. the same day.1 That morning departure is the one a day trip is built around, and everything else on this page follows from it.

The way back was the 12049, which left Agra Cantt at 05.50 p.m.2 A second release gives the same evening run as 17:50 from Agra Cantt, reaching Hazrat Nizamuddin at 19:30 the same day.3 Put the two trains side by side and the carriages wait in Agra while you are out, so one day gives you the stretch between 9:50 AM and 5:50 PM on the ground.

The release adds that the train would run six days a week except Friday and carry the numbers 12050 and 12049 in its regular trips.4 If you are searching for the Gatimaan Express from Delhi to Agra on a particular date, this weekly pattern is the first thing to settle, because a Friday plan needs a different train or a different day.

The two trains

Launch times of the Gatimaan Express

TrainLeavesReachesRuns
12050 towards AgraHazrat Nizamuddin at 08.10 a.m.1Agra Cantt at 09.50 a.m.1Six days a week4
12049 towards DelhiAgra Cantt at 05.50 p.m.2Hazrat Nizamuddin at 19:303Six days a week4
Listing day, outDelhi hotel between 6:30 AM and 7 AMAgra at 9:50 AMDaily, subject to the Friday rule
Listing day, backAgra Railway Station at 5:50 PMDelhi around 7:30 PMFree cancellation up to 24 hours before

Times from the Ministry of Railways releases of April 2016 and from the listing record; confirm today's timetable before you book.1

Reading the times against a day at the Taj Mahal

The Uttar Pradesh tourism site says the Taj Mahal opens 30 minutes before sunrise and closes 30 minutes before sunset on normal operating days, and that the ticket counters at its gates sell tickets from one hour before sunrise until 45 minutes before sunset.8,9 A train that reaches Agra Cantt at 9:50 AM arrives after the gates have opened, so nothing about the timetable forces you to rush the first view.

The listing sold on this site builds its whole day on that morning train. Its itinerary says the train arrives in Agra at 9:50 AM and a guide meets you outside your coach, and it allows around 3 hours (180 minutes) at the Taj Mahal, around 1 hour (60 minutes) at Agra Fort and a 60 minute lunch break. Those stops are described in the record as sightseeing between the two trains, not as a second plan you must build yourself.

For the evening the same listing has the guide drop you at Agra Railway Station at 5:00 PM, the train leaving at 5:50 PM and reaching Delhi around 7:30 PM. That matches the 5:50 PM and 7:30 PM of the official releases.2,3 The morning line of the listing gives the train departure as 8:00 AM where the release gives 8:10 AM, a small gap that your own e-ticket settles.

Minutes between the trains

How the listing spends its day in Agra

  • Taj Mahal180
  • Agra Fort60
  • Lunch60
  • Baby Taj (optional)60
  • Mehtab Bagh (optional)30

Minutes as the listing itinerary gives them for each stop; the two optional stops are used only if time allows.

Checking the live schedule and running status

A launch release is a dated document, and railways revise their timetables, so the schedule of the Gatimaan Express that you rely on should be today's, not a decade old. The official Taj Mahal travel page sends readers to the IRCTC site for train details and gives 139 as the number to call.7 Use those channels, or the National Train Enquiry System, before you pay for anything that depends on a clock.

Look for four things when you check: the departure time from Hazrat Nizamuddin, the arrival time at Agra Cantt, the days of operation, and the platform. The 2016 release says nothing about platforms, and the platform is normally announced on the station boards close to departure, so a plan should not hang on knowing it in advance.1 The release does note that a new main concourse was commissioned at Nizamuddin, with counters for enquiry and a help booth.10

Running status matters most on the return, because the 5:50 PM train is the fixed point of a day trip. If you are late at the Fort there is no later Gatimaan to catch, so ask your guide at lunch where you stand against the evening time and cut the optional stops first. A morning delay is easier to absorb than an evening one, since the Taj Mahal stays open for hours after you arrive.

A short chooser

Which train time is for you

Say what you want from the day and see what the timetable suggests.

  • If I want a full day at the Taj

    Take the morning 12050

    It reaches Agra Cantt at 09.50 a.m., which leaves the afternoon before the evening train.1,2

  • If I want to travel on a Friday

    Pick another day

    The train runs six days a week except Friday, and the Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays.4,5

  • If I dislike a tight evening

    Skip the optional stops

    The 12049 leaves Agra Cantt at 05.50 p.m., so the Baby Taj and Mehtab Bagh come last on the list.2

  • If I want someone else to handle the station

    Choose a guided train day

    The listing has a driver in Delhi and a guide who meets you outside your coach in Agra.

Ways to use the timetable

Three ways to spend the hours in Agra

Most to see

The full day

Everything between the trains

  • Taj MahalAround 3 hours
  • Agra FortAround 1 hour
  • Lunch60 minutes
  • ExtrasIf time allows
See this train day

Easy pace

The slow Taj

One monument, no rush

  • FocusTaj Mahal only
  • PaceUnhurried
  • LunchLonger break
  • TrainSame evening
See this train day

Fits a late train

The short list

Taj and Fort, then back

  • Taj MahalFirst
  • Agra FortSecond
  • Optional stopsSkipped
  • StationEarly arrival
See this train day

How the Friday rule shapes the week

Two Friday facts line up neatly. The train runs six days a week except Friday, and the Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays for general viewing.4,5 A traveller who counts only on the train and forgets the monument might otherwise book a Friday and find the main sight shut, so the week quietly protects you from that mistake.

The official site is firm on the closure: the Taj Mahal remains closed only on Fridays, and every other weekday it is open.11 Other monuments and attractions in Agra stay open from sunrise to sunset, which makes Friday the one day of the week when a guide can still show you the Fort and the Baby Taj but not the mausoleum, if you travel by another route.

So build the calendar around the other six days. A Saturday or a Sunday suits many schedules, and a weekday avoids the weekend feel of the monument grounds, though the sources give no crowd data to prove that either way. If your Delhi dates are fixed and include a Friday, use that day for Delhi and shift the Agra day by one.

A day on the timetable

From Nizamuddin to Agra and back by evening

  1. Morning, Delhi

    Hotel pick-up, then the station

    The listing collects you from a Delhi or NCR hotel or the airport between 6:30 AM and 7 AM.

  2. Early morning

    The train leaves Nizamuddin

    The launch release gives 08.10 a.m. for the 12050 from Hazrat Nizamuddin.1

  3. Late morning

    Arrival at Agra Cantt

    The release says 09.50 a.m., and the listing has a guide waiting outside your coach.1

  4. Daytime

    Taj Mahal, Fort and lunch

    The itinerary allows around 3 hours at the Taj Mahal, 1 hour at the Fort and a 60 minute lunch.

  5. Late afternoon

    Back to Agra Railway Station

    The listing has the guide drop you at the station at 5:00 PM.

  6. Evening

    The 12049 to Delhi

    The release says the return train leaves Agra Cantt at 05.50 p.m. and reaches Nizamuddin at 19:30.2,3

The first hour of the morning, from the hotel to the platform

A train at 8:10 AM means a departure from your hotel well before the sun is high. The listing says pick-up is from any hotel in Delhi or NCR, or the airport in Delhi, between 6:30 AM and 7 AM, and that the driver takes you to Nizamuddin railway station and helps you find your coach. The point of that arrangement is that someone else handles the road, the station entrance and the coach number while you wake up.

If you are doing it yourself, work backwards from the departure. Decide how long the road to Nizamuddin takes from your hotel, add time for entering a large station and finding your coach on the board, and add a little more for a slow morning. Having your ID and e-ticket on the phone before you leave saves the one delay that cannot be fixed at the gate.

The train is a high-speed one, and the same release says its top speed is 160 kmph, which is what made it the first semi high-speed train of the country.6 Speed explains how a trip that otherwise takes a long road drive fits into the morning, and the coaches are described as LHB coaches with bio toilets.12

Video

Delhi to Agra by train in first class on the Gatimaan Express

Nicole and Mico on YouTube · Tap play to load the video; not before.

This Gatimaan Express will run six days a week except Friday and will carry the numbers 12050/12049 in its regular trips
Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Railways (pib.gov.in)4

Before you book

A checklist for the timetable

Check the times3

  • Look up today's departure and arrival on IRCTC or by calling 1397
  • Pick a day that is not a Friday, when the train does not run4
  • Keep the e-ticket and the platform number on your phone before the morning

Plan the day3

  • Remember the Taj Mahal opens 30 minutes before sunrise and closes 30 minutes before sunset8
  • Ask your guide where you stand against the evening train at lunch time
  • Treat the optional stops as the first thing to drop on a slow day

Using the timetable to choose between do-it-yourself and guided

The timetable makes both versions of the day possible. Doing it yourself means a ticket on the 12050 and the 12049 and your own ride4 from Agra Cantt, which is a sensible choice for a confident traveller with a fixed itinerary. A guided train day, like the one listed on this site, packages the same two trains with a driver in Delhi and a guide in Agra, and the listing runs 12 hours in its key details.

What separates the two is not the rails but the minutes between the trains. On the 12 hour day the listing assigns the Taj Mahal, the Fort and lunch, with the Baby Taj and Mehtab Bagh as optional stops of 60 minutes and 30 minutes. A traveller on a self-made day has to spend those minutes finding transport, tickets and queues, which is where a tight timetable stops being a convenience.

Whichever you choose, treat the evening train as the anchor and the morning train as a bonus. The platform and the exact times will be on your ticket, the Taj Mahal hours are fixed by the sunrise and sunset of your date, and the rest is arithmetic. The pages of this guide on tickets, classes and the return train carry the details that come next.

FAQ

Questions answered quickly.

What time does the Gatimaan Express leave Delhi?
At 08.10 a.m. at launch.

The launch release gives 08.10 a.m. from Hazrat Nizamuddin for the 12050, so check today's time on IRCTC before you book.1,7

What time does it reach Agra Cantt?
At 09.50 a.m. at launch.

The same release says the 12050 reaches Agra Cantt at 09.50 a.m. the same day.1

What time is the train back from Agra?
At 05.50 p.m. at launch.

The 12049 left Agra Cantt at 05.50 p.m. and, per the second release, reached Hazrat Nizamuddin at 19:30.2,3

Does the Gatimaan Express run every day?
No, not on Fridays.

The launch release says it runs six days a week except Friday, and the Taj Mahal itself is closed on Fridays.4,5

Is the train number the same both ways?
No, 12050 and 12049.

The release gives 12050 for the run towards Agra and 12049 for the way back.4

How fast is the Gatimaan Express?
Up to 160 kmph.

The release calls it India's first semi high-speed train, capable of a maximum speed of 160 kmph.6

Where can I check the live schedule?
IRCTC or the 139 helpline.

The official Taj Mahal travel page names irctc.co.in for train details and gives 139 as the number.7

Does the train day match the Taj Mahal opening hours?
Yes, with time to spare.

The Taj Mahal opens 30 minutes before sunrise, so a 9:50 AM arrival is after opening, and the listed day gives around 3 hours there.8

Sources

  1. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Railways (pib.gov.in) · Gatimaan Express flagged off (5 April 2016) ↩
  2. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Railways (pib.gov.in) · Gatimaan Express flagged off (5 April 2016) ↩
  3. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Railways (pib.gov.in) · Gatimaan Express to be flagged off (4 April 2016) ↩
  4. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Railways (pib.gov.in) · Gatimaan Express to be flagged off (4 April 2016) ↩
  5. Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh (tajmahal.gov.in) · Visiting hours and ticketing ↩
  6. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Railways (pib.gov.in) · Gatimaan Express flagged off (5 April 2016) ↩
  7. Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh (tajmahal.gov.in) · How to reach the Taj Mahal ↩
  8. Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh (tajmahal.gov.in) · Visiting hours and ticketing ↩
  9. Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh (tajmahal.gov.in) · Visiting hours and ticketing ↩
  10. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Railways (pib.gov.in) · Gatimaan Express flagged off (5 April 2016) ↩
  11. Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh (tajmahal.gov.in) · Ticketing and entry fee of monuments in Agra ↩
  12. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Railways (pib.gov.in) · Gatimaan Express flagged off (5 April 2016) ↩

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