Inhaling the sharp scent of fresh pine, I lean over the half-open carriage doorway as tufts of dandelion heads whip by on the wind, and a bald eagle swoops overhead. Barely 12 miles have passed since we departed Jasper, Alberta, but I’m desperate to spot a bear. So far unsuccessful, I gaze out as the Skeena train approaches the south face of Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. Against an electric-blue sky, and worshipped by a congregation of conifers gathered at the base, its ice-capped crags wink and glisten in the sun, a halo of cloud revolving around its tip.
Derived from the dialect of the Gitxsan First Nations people, meaning river of the clouds, the Skeena goes by a number of pseudonyms: fitting for a train as little known (by tourists) as it is beautiful. Affectionately known by commuters as the Rupert Rocket – or its rather dry official name, Train Five – the Skeena takes two days to cover the 1,160km journey from Jasper national park to Prince Rupert on the Pacific coast, with an obligatory overnight stop in the town of Prince George. Until the mid-1990s, the Skeena operated as an overnight service running straight through to Prince Rupert from Jasper. However, a downturn in the economy saw local communities suffer and the mayors of towns along the route agreed that they needed business, concluding that the train had to halt overnight in Prince George. Passengers could then have dinner and find a motel for the night before re-boarding the train in time for breakfast the following morning.
Setting off from Jasper three times a week (Sun, Wed, Fri), the train worms its way north-west up the province of British Columbia past Moose Lake and the Cariboo Mountains, curving around freshwater lakes filled with salmon, First Nations reservations, logging towns and old sawmill settlements, clattering along a number of historic bridges before it reaches its destination. Most railway fans visiting British Columbia tend to ride the more expensive services, the most popular being the Canadian from Vancouver to Toronto or the luxury Rocky Mountaineer, but this commuter loop into the extreme depths of Canadian wilderness is one of the most quietly spectacular journeys in the world.
Built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, the train carries about 334 passengers a week, not only offering tourists the chance to photograph teal-green lakes, majestic old elk, black bears, white-tailed deer and bald eagles but providing a lifeline to local residents along the route. Stopping at more than 30 stations between Jasper and Prince Rupert, with names such as Telkwa, Kitwanga, Kwinitsa and Vanderhoof, the train draws out the odd passenger who appears from deep within the woods as though flagging down a bus. We pass Longworth, so remote that three times a week Walter the postman opens up his house for two hours so people can come and collect their post, then Penny, home to nine people and four dogs, its station no bigger than a Cotswolds cottage. As we pull away, a trio of moose scarper down a drop, their antlers bobbing away through the trees.
During a lull in the journey, I work my way up to the tail end of the train where I discover a viewing car with a comfortable lounge, books and complimentary coffee and tea. From mid-June to late-September, a “touring” class is operated here, offering those passengers (paying a premium for it) exclusive use of the panoramic dome car, and including meals and drinks but, for the rest of the year, the train operates a standard service.
Curling up on an old sofa, I wrap my palms around a cup of peppermint tea and gaze out of the back window watching a pair of hawks duck and dive above a lake stretched out like a sheet of blue glass. I stay here for a couple of hours before giving up on bear-spotting and gather my things together, glancing through the window once more, just in time to see a small black bear bound away from the track and into the woods.
• A single journey from Jasper to Prince Rupert in economy class costs from C$142 (£83), viarail.ca
Five more scenic train trips
Nice to Dignes-les-Bains, France
The French Riviera is home to one of the loveliest coastal journeys but venture inland for a taste of the hidden Mediterranean via the metre-gauge Train des Pignes. Dating from 1890, the train traces the valleys and gorges of the Var river high into the mountains through medieval towns and fortresses, creeping past villages and stopping at sleepy towns rich with the scent of lavender. Four trains run a day so passengers can hop on and off for picnics or short hikes before returning on a later train to Nice.
• Return fare €48, 3 hours and 20 mins each way, trainprovence.com
Trivandrum to Kanyakumari, India
Short but sweet, The Island Express from Trivandrum takes you through the cool, jungle depths of Kerala to the southernmost tip of India where the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean meet. Cocooned by coconut groves and leaves flapping against the open windows, the train travels at an average speed of 15mph, crawling behind houses and along rivers, arriving just in time for you to buy an ice-cream and find a spot on the beach to watch the sun go down.
• One-way fare £8, 3½ hours, cleartrip.com
Ürümqi, China to Almaty, Kazakhstan
Over two days, this commuter train works its way out of the desert expanses of Xinjiang Province, crossing into Kazakhstan through some of the most rugged of Central Asia’s landscapes. Running along the Tian Shan mountains, their wizened old heads greyed with ice and veiled by rolling cloud, you’ll witness the terrain expand and shrink by the hour. Green lagoons appear in the distance shining between fingers of yellow sand, then vanish instantly as black clouds descend on the horizon.
• One-way fare £192, 35 hours, realrussia.co.uk
The Circum-Baikal, Russia
When travellers take the Trans-Siberian from Moscow to Vladivostok, a number of them break up the journey in Irkutsk from where you can visit Lake Baikal by steam train along a now-disused part of the old Trans-Siberian railroad. Formed in the middle of a giant crack in the Earth’s crust – the Baikal rift – the lake is dubbed the Galápagos of Russia by Unesco, owing to the endemic species of flora and fauna in the area. A short train ride from Irkutsk will bring you to Slyudyanka where the Circum-Baikal train departs every day except Mondays and Tuesdays.
• Return fare £94, 14-hour round trip from Irkutsk-Slyudyanka-Lake Baikal-Irkutsk, baikalex.com
Åndalsnes to Dombås, Norway
In less than two hours passengers on this route can experience some of Norway’s most wild and varied landscapes. In summer the train passes by meadows carpeted with buttercups while snow-capped mountains rear up in the background, before skirting cliff faces and crossing old bridges as the Rauma river roars and crashes below. In winter clouds obscure the peaks and blizzards flare up from one moment to the next, giving an extra edge to the raw terrain. At Dombås there are train connections to Oslo and Trondheim.
• Return fare £46; 1 hour and 40 mins each way, nsb.no
Around the World in 80 Trains: a 45,000-Mile Adventure by Monisha Rajesh (Bloomsbury, £20) is published on 24 January. To order a copy for £17.60, including UK p&p, visit The Guardian Bookshop
Browse The Guardian’s selection of some of the world’s best rail journeys on the Guardian Holidays website
