Train number 2002 BHOPAL SHATABDI departs New Delhi Railway station 6:15, arrives 8:12 at Agra Cantonment, all days except Friday when the Taj is closed. I think this is the fastest option. Fare Rs 375/- for AC Chair Car.

Train number 2138 PUNJAB MAIL departs 5:30, arrives 8:55 at Agra Cantonment, all days of the week. Not sure what the fare is, but less than Shatabdi.

Train number 2280 TAJ EXPRESS departs Nizamuddin 07:15 arrives 10:07 at Agra Cantonment, fare Rs 266 for AC Chair Car.

From Agra Cantonment to the Taj is about 20 minutes. There is a prepaid taxi stand at the station. You will be accosted by 200 drivers, touts and other people offering you their services, but the prepaid stand is the safest option.

Entry fee to the Taj and Agra Fort is a total of 1000 rupees.

- Deepa

Actually, I should explain the tickets better: you can do the following sightseeing in one day:

Taj - 250 for entry once

Agra Fort - 250 for entry once

Sikandra - 100 for entry once

Itimad-ud-daulah - 100 for entry once

Taj and Agra fort are UNESCO world heritage monuments, so the ticket price is higher. Sikandra maybe you don't need to enter, you can stop outside for a photo-op, the gate is interesting and impressive.

You need to pay an Agra Development Authority Levy of 500 per day, which you buy along with the Taj tickets.

If you stay overnight in Agra, then the next day you can go to Fatehpur Sikri, which is also a UNESCO world heritage site, but it is 40km away from Agra. The entrance fees are 250 plus I think there is another 50 rupees levy for something, not sure what.

Taj Express is the best available train.

Sorry that is 15 not 50 rupees. Fatehpur Sikri is 265

Yes Taj Express is a better train, but gets there later.

My husband and I are going to arrive in New Delhi International Airport around 9pm Friday night. We can't decide if we should 1. hire a driver to take us to Agra that night so we can wake up and get to the Taj early morning or 2. stay the night in Delhi and go via driver or train the next day.

We only have 1 full day, as on Sunday we are leaving to go to Nepal.

Any suggestions???? Is it considered safe to travel at night with a hired driver?

A car and driver are safe, but the highway after dark is not. Take a late train or do a day trip.

Is it safe to travel inside Agra at night and early morning, especially in winters? I and my wife will be reaching Agra Cantt station at 4 am in December. What options will be available to reach our hotel (I haven't decided on hotel, but I'll prefer some place near the Taj Mahal)? Is pre-paid taxi stand open 24 hours a day? What other options are there? Is it advisable to hire any taxi outside the station?

Our group of 4 adults (including our elderly parents) are trying to decide between using a car hire with a driver versus taking the high-speed/express train from New Delhi to Agra on a Sunday morning.

1. Can one reserve tickets on the Taj Express or the Shatabdi Express from the US? If not, do you think the concierge at the Taj Lands' End in Mumbai can help us once we arrive in India? (It would be about one week before our actual travel date to Agra.) In general, is the ride reasonably in first class? -- we are thinking about our parents.

2. Are there reliable car hire companies (with a driver) that you could recommend? We will have arrived in New Delhi the evening before and are not sure that we can work with the hotel staff on such short notices. On the other hand, we have been corresponding with our "five-star" hotel about this kind of service and have not gotten any replies.

Thank you in advance for your help!