New Delhi train station scam

The New Delhi train station scam is probably the most elaborate scam we have come across so far in our travels in India. It consists of two men who belong to a local rickshaw gang. The first man, (in our case quite certainly drugged with betel as his teeth were red to the point of shame) stops you in front of the train station overpass from metro station towards popular accommodation place – paharganj. First, he tries to pull you straight into the tuktuk, if you refuse, he continues the conversation. This is where the options diverge: if you just want to walk across, he says it's not possible, that you must walk all the way around the station (3-5 km). But he encourages you to give it a try, that maybe you'll get lucky, and the checking ticket inspector will not be there.

If you are going to take the train, he tells you that there are a lot of train cancellations in your direction and he suggest you to ask a ticket inspector up there.

So you continue on through the overpass where you are caught by another Indian (in regular clothes, definitely no one official) who asks to see your ticket (of course he is picking up just people with white skin) and either tells you that your train has been cancelled and direct you back to the tuktuks or tells you that you can't go through without a ticket and you have to get back on the tuktuk that will take you around the station. A detour with the tuktuk around the station starts at 1000 rupees, how the scam continuous in case of a “cancelled train” scenario I don't even want to know.

So definitely don't trust anyone who doesn't have an official uniform. Since in this scam you get similar information from multiple "independent" sources it is easier to believe it. I believe there will be similar scams in other tourist places in India, so beware. Have a pleasant trip without scammers (which is impossible in India, haha)

vitek