People don’t take trains, trains take people, as the writer John Steinbeck almost said (he was referring to ‘trips’).
When you get on a train, you obviously have nowhere to go but along the tracks ahead: an attractive simplicity in a complicated world.
And I climbed quite a few, too many to actually count: all over Siberia, all around Chinafrom coast to coast in the US, across Europe, into the Himalayas and the Andes, through Turkey into Iranaround India and all over the dusty Outback in Australia, visiting dozens of countries along the way.
Here are my absolute favorite rides from the hundreds I’ve been on – and one or two to avoid…
THE BERNINA EXPRESS, SWITZERLAND
Crossing from Chur in Switzerland to Tirano in the north Italy on a winding 90-mile journey over 155 bridges and through 55 tunnels, the Bernina Express is my favorite train journey anywhere. The sheer ingenuity required for the line, which opened in 1904, combined with the dramatic mountain scenery (you cross a pass at 2,253m, the highest in Europe), is staggering and almost overwhelming: is this journey really possible? Yes, it is. Just sit back and watch the towering cliffs and snowy peaks pass by (tickets.rhb.ch).
THE TOY TRAIN, INDIA
India is home to more than 42,000 miles of rail routes – four times as many as in Britain, which introduced railways to the vast country, with the first passenger steam service between Mumbai and Thane in 1853. My favorite ride of all is on the ‘toy train’ between Kalka and Shimla, in the Himalayan foothills. It is along winding narrow-gauge (2 feet 6 inches wide) tracks that cover 60 miles through 107 tunnels leading to the former hill station of British colonial rule at Shimla, where monkeys frolic on the station roof. (shimlatourism.co.in).
INDIAN PACIFIC, AUSTRALIA
You travel 297 miles across the Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia along the world’s longest stretch of straight track – part of a journey covering 2,704 miles – on the Indian Pacific service between Perth on the Indian Ocean to Sydney at the Pacific Ocean. It’s an epic 70-hour journey along tracks that met in 1970. Nowadays you travel in plush tourist coaches with all food/drink included. Watch miles of Outback click by, get to grips with the sheer size of Australia – and maybe spot a kangaroo or two (journeybeyondrail.com.au).
ROCKY MOUNTAINEER, USA
Afternoon in the Devil’s Garden on the north side of Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. This is Double O Arch with a large window of rock
There are many wonderful train journeys to be had in the States, which were first linked from coast to coast by ‘iron horses’ as early as 1869, a mere 39 years after George Stephenson’s pioneering Liverpool and Manchester Railway began. The most dramatic in terms of scenery is on the Rocky Mountaineer between Denver in Colorado and Moab in Utah. This awe-inspiring journey covers 370 miles via vast red-rock canyons, follows the Colorado River, with bald eagles soaring above and deer darting along the tracks (rockymountaineer.com).
ALMERIA TO GRANADA, SPAIN
For my book, Slow Trains Around Spain, I traveled 3,000 miles. The trip included many beautiful lines, especially between the remote hills and viaducts from Cuenca to Valencia, and vast, empty plains between Merida to Almaden. But the standout ride was 100 miles in Andalucia from Almeria on the Med to the old Moorish fortress of Granada. Heading north, you climb 700 meters, cross the eerie Desierto de Tabernas (Europe’s only proper desert, with cacti lining the tracks), pass the magnificent peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains and arrive in Granada to see its fascinating Alhambra -palace to visit (renfe.com).
HIRAM BINGHAM, PERU
South America has some great rides via Ecuadorian volcanoes and across remote Argentine desert plains, but for sheer drama and anticipation, the Hiram Bingham is my pick. Covering 57 miles (taking 3.5 hours) it rattles from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, the closest town to the ancient Inca site of Machu Picchu. Named after the American who rediscovered Machu Picchu in 1911, the train follows a jade river passing through small settlements where locals sell snacks at stations, and slowly ascends to its spectacular destination (belmond.com).
QUEEN OF JAFFNA, SRI LANKA
From 1990 to 2014, trains did not run between Colombo, Sri Lanka’s southwestern capital, and Jaffna in the north due to a bloody civil war. Its reopening in 2014 (after the end of the war in 2009) with President Mahinda Rajapaksa in attendance, was a symbolic moment of national unity between Northern Tamils and Southern Sinhalese. So a ride on the Queen of Jaffna is more than getting from A to B. And it’s a delightful journey, meandering 250 miles to charming Jaffna with its temples and forts via jungle and banana plantations (railway.gov.lk).
SOFIA-ISTANBUL EXPRESS
The sleeper from Bulgaria’s capital to Istanbul – operated by Turkish State Railways – takes 12 hours. You catch it from Sofia Central Station, with its Soviet brutalist exterior, departing at 18:45 and arriving at 06:34. This one isn’t about the views: you spin past Sofia’s tower block suburbs at dusk, and pull into similar scenery in Istanbul at dawn, via a late-night border check. But you travel from west to east and there’s a magic to clattering through the darkness, just like characters in an Agatha Christie book (bdz.bg).
INNSBRUCK TO VENICE
From the Austrian Alps via the Brenner Pass to Italy – and perhaps the world’s most beautiful city – takes a bit of a beating. At the start you pass suburbs and an old Winter Olympic ski jump, past granite cliffs, enter tunnels cut for the original 1867 railway and arrive at the Brenner Pass at 1,370 meters. Then you dip into Italy to a river, turn east at Verona station and cross plains before joining a long lagoon bridge and pulling into Santa Lucia station at the glorious Grand Canal (raileurope.com).
THE EMPIRE BUILDER, USA
The Empire Builder train rolls into Whitefish, Montana
Between Chicago in Illinois and either Seattle in Washington or Portland, Oregon, the Empire Builder service was created by James J. Hill (1838-1916), one of America’s railroad pioneers along with Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877). Traveling along the Mississippi River to St. Paul and then on over mighty plains, through the Rockies, you get a sense of the greatness of America on this 45-hour drive – and of the great task required to complete the ‘ Conquering the West’ – while listening to the sound of Amtrak train bells (amtrak.com).
TRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESSION
Not one for now because of geo-politics, but for distance and adventure the Trans-Siberian Express is like no other. There are three routes, each taking about seven days: the longest, 5,772 miles, is from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan; or Moscow to Beijing in China is 5,623 miles; or Moscow to Beijing via Mongolia is 4,735 miles. Each offers a sense of the sheer size of the planet, via many a landscape filled with pine trees, past the Urals and remote cities like Kovrov and Ulan-Ude. Someday, maybe, again (seat61.com).
AT MONSERRAT IN CATALONIA
The epic train departs from Montserrat, Spain
Another Spanish one that might not be quite as epic as Almeria to Granada – it’s only three miles long. But the Cremallera i Funiculars de Montserrat cog railway takes you to a special place: the mountaintop Benedictine monastery of Montserrat, home to the ‘Black Virgin’ icon found in a cave in 880 AD. The train squeaks up over scrub to unusual totem pole-style rock formations and the beautiful basilica. Stay at the monastery hotel for the full spiritual experience and drive down in the morning (cremallerademontserrat.com).
KURANDA SCENIC RAILWAY, QUEENSLAND
This train departs from Cairns’ main station on a 23-mile journey that soon ascends into rugged mountains after leaving the bustling coastal city behind; the railway was built in 1886 to carry supplies to tin miners. It might be Australia’s best short drive. Colorful locomotives – adorned with native Australian imagery – snake along narrow-gauge tracks through dense rainforest teeming with tree kangaroos and flying foxes, via a fine waterfall. You arrive at the hanging plants (and occasional platform python) of Kuranda station (sjyrail.com.au).
RAVENGLASS AND ESKDALE RAILWAY, THE LAKE DISTRICT
Covering seven miles, this narrow-gauge heritage railway is pulled by small steam trains and covers glorious terrain with steeply rising mountains and trickling streams. It was completed in 1875 to transport iron ore from Dalegarth to the coast. After the mines closed when the mines ran out, rail enthusiasts jumped in during the 1960s and opened a tourist line. Thank goodness they did. On a clear day there are wonderful views of Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain, from Dalegarth Station (ravenglass-railway.co.uk).
THE KYLE LINE, SCOTLAND
Running between Inverness and the Kyle of Lochalsh on the west coast of Scotland, this 70-mile drive is one of Britain’s most scenic, passing glistening lochs and brackish-covered, rock-strewn mountains, traversing winding rivers and remote meadows. There’s a sense of slipping off the map as you cross 29 bridges on the ScotRail service (approx 2h 40m). The line opened in 1897 at great cost – an estimated £20,000 a mile – but it was key to transporting cattle to southern markets (scotrail.co.uk).
ONE TO AVOID AT ALL COSTS…
BEIJING IN CHINA TO PIONGYANG IN NORTH KOREA
Pyongyang Metro station
This is not because of the train itself: the sleeping compartments are standard, if basic. And if you are a true train lover, adventure/interest is to be had on every ride. However, this 600-mile journey takes you to one of the world’s bleakest places. Expect to be questioned and made to feel uneasy by non-smiling, smoking, North Korean border officials. You then cross treeless, barren, peasant-looking landscape, and arrive at a capital full of monuments to ‘supreme leaders’, while more than half the population lives in abject poverty.
… AND THESE TWO WERE NOT THAT BIG EITHER
FROM IN TURKEY TO KHOY IN IRAN
Nothing to do with the actual ride, again – which was an intriguing one, entering Iran over its northwest border on a specially chartered train bound for Tehran. It was all to do with Van station, where the train’s carriages were stoned as passengers enjoyed a buffet meal, and a final drink or two, before entering booze-free Iran. The sight of Westerners letting their hair down seemed to upset some Turkish locals. Windows were smashed and we soon moved on, blinds drawn: a nerve wracking experience.
X’IAN TO WUHAN IN CHINA
The train departs from X’ian, home of the 2,300-year-old Terracotta Army figurines
High-speed trains have revolutionized mobility in China – and they’re also eye-opening. This one, after enjoying X’ian’s amazing 2,300-year-old Terracotta Army figurines, takes you from one purpose-built high-speed station to another, with identikit tower blocks that have recently sprung up around them and lots of cranes, like Orwellian, nightmare high-speed -train cities arise. Smoke enveloped the landscape during the journey, and thickened on arrival in Wuhan: scene of a real nightmare to come, which is where Covid started.
• Tom Chesshyre is author of Tales From the Fast Trains: Europe at 186mph; Ticket to Ride: Around the World on 49 Unusual Train Journeys; Slow Trains to Venice: A 4,000-Mile Adventure Across Europe; Slow Trains Around Spain: A 3,000 Mile Adventure on 52 Journeys; and slow trains to Istanbul… and back: an adventure of 4,570 miles on 55 journeys. His latest book, Slow Trains Around Britain: Notes From a 4,088-Mile Adventure on 143 Rides, will be published in May.
