The most important railway station in Uttarakhand is the one at Kathgodam which is 35 kilometers away from Nainital. The last terminus of broad gauze line of North East Railways is Kathgodam railway station. This railway connects Nainital with Delhi, Dehradun and Howrah. Other famous railway stations of Uttarakhand are at Lalkua and Haldwani.
The railways at Uttrakhand, being the cheapest mode of transport, is used by most of the tourists. After getting down at Kathgodam railway station, you can hire a taxi or catch a bus from Kathgodam or Haldwani. You can also avail shared taxis from these places.
If you want to book return ticket of railways in Uttarakhand, then you can use the computerized reservation counters at Nainital bus stand, Kathgodam, Haldwani and Lalkua railway stations.
The time schedule for some of the major up trains of Uttarakhand railways are as follows :
| Train Number | Train Name | From Station | To Station | Departure Time |
| 5014 | Ranikhet Express | Kathgodam | Delhi | 20:40 |
| 3020 | Bagh Express | Kathgodam | Howrah | 21:55 |
| 5036 | Uttaranchal Sampark Kranti Express | Kathgodam | Delhi | 08:50 |
| 5307 | Nainital Express | Lalkua | Lucknow | 20:45 |
| 4319 | Kathgodam Dehradun Express | Kathgodam | Dehradun | 19:40 |
| 5312 | Kumaon Express | Lalkua | Mathura | 19:00 |
The schedule chart of down trains of Uttarakhand railways are listed below :
| Train Number | Train Name | From Station | To Station | Arrival Time |
| 5035 | Uttaranchal Sampark Kranti Express | Delhi | Kathgodam | 22:45 |
| 5013 | Ranikhet Express | Delhi | Kathgodam | 06:05 |
| 3019 | Bagh Express | Howrah | Kathgodam | 09:35 |
| 5308 | Nainital Express | Lucknow | Lalkua | 06:30 |
| 4320 | Dehradun Kathgodam Express | Dehradun | Kathgodam | 07:25 |
| 5311 | Kumaon Express | Mathura | Lalkua | 08:30 |
