Winning tip: Long slow journey in India
On my first ever visit to India I embarked on a 40-hour journey from Mumbai to Trivandrum. The sheer amount of time to be on a train was daunting, but it was the highlight of my trip. There may be journeys with more epic scenery, longer tunnels and higher bridges, but it’s the experiences inside the train that shine more than the sights outside. I shared the carriage with groups of singing/dancing schoolchildren, chatted to teachers, salesmen and chanting monks. The snacks offered change as you head south, along with the language and people. I only wish I’d chosen a longer journey.
• trainman.in, sleeper tickets from about £7
eatthebeat123
EUROPE
Alternative to the Glacier Express, Switzerland
The famous Glacier Express is fabulous, but expensive compared with an InterRail Pass. I took the Golden Pass Route across Switzerland between Montreux and Lucerne. Having never seen any Golden Pass marketing I figured that the journey couldn’t be that amazing if I wasn’t having to pay extra. Surprise number one was the train I boarded at Montreux: it resembled a miniature Orient Express, but almost unbelievably my InterRail pass was valid. The views over Lake Geneva from the left of the train were mind-blowing, the changes of train at Zweisimmen and Interlaken Ost couldn’t have been easier, and the best was yet to come. Sitting on the right on departure from Interlaken Ost, I had spectacular views over another three lakes, then at Meiringen the train reverses on to the steep rack section and it felt as if we were taking off. If you have an InterRail or Eurail Pass this journey is a must.
• interrail.eu, Switzerland pass from €87
Simon Harper
From the mountains to the sea, Italy-France
The Cuneo-Ventimiglia-Nice line, connecting Piedmont and the Italian Riviera with the South of France, is breathtakingly varied. Over a journey of 3½ hours one travels from the Alps to sea level and along the Côte d’Azur, across gorges, along viaducts and through tunnels, seeing Alpine villages and scenery, medieval Italian towns and the shimmering Provencal landscape. It’s a romantic and spectacular trip, surprisingly cheap (around €21 one way) and relatively unknown.
• lefrecce.it
hariad
The spectacular Flamsbana, Norway
At 20km, it’s far from the longest rail journey in the world, but Norway’s Flamsbana is the most picturesque you could imagine. Built in the 1920s to improve rail access to Oslo and Bergen, the line is now almost exclusively used by tourists, who enjoy breathtaking views of the Norwegian mountains and fjords as the train winds round hairpin bends, through tunnels and behind waterfalls as it navigates the steep gradient. The 50-minute ride is a delight, and the best excuse to organise a longer visit to Norway!
• visitflam.com, from £43 one way
Lindsey
The slow train though Caucasian wonderland, Georgia
In the Caucasus mountains of Georgia, the little-known Kukushka railway has connected the bustling tourist town of Borjomi and the mountain-top village of Bakuriani since 1902. This tourist train meanders through sleepy hamlets and thick pine forest twice a day in each direction, taking 2½ lazy hours and costing about 33p. The two carriages potter past secluded log cabins with smoking chimneys, neatly piled wood stacks and hanging vines. One ravine-spanning bridge was designed by none other than Gustave Eiffel and in winter snow hangs on branches while rail-workers snooze and play cards on board between tending the tracks.
• railway.ge
Nicola Huxley
St Erth to St Ives, Cornwall
By train is the best way to arrive in St Ives. Use the park and ride in St Erth, take your seat and glide past the Hayle estuary with the smell of the sea infusing the carriage. Around a corner past sand dunes, the views of Godrevy Lighthouse are mesmerising. This was the inspiration to Virginia Woolf’s novel. As the train arrives in Carbis Bay, the golden sand and palm trees resemble a tropical paradise. The final destination in St Ives is just a few steps from Porthminster beach and a short walk from the art galleries.
• dcrp.org.uk, from £4 return
globalgirl
The Eastern Express, Turkey
The Eastern (Doğu) Express makes its way from Ankara to Kars, in the far north-east, every night. For £25 each to share a surprisingly comfortable sleeper, the journey is a very affordable adventure (even cheaper for a four-berth cabin). The two-berth comes with a fridge stocked with complimentary snacks (we threw ours out of the window to some delighted children at a station in the middle of nowhere). The 24-hour journey has stunning views all along the Euphrates river, through valleys and tunnels, and time never dragged for us. Bring a picnic or ask a Turkish passenger to help you call ahead and order food from an upcoming station, as the restaurant car’s offerings are meagre.
• ebilet.tcdd.gov.tr
kachika
ASIA
Tokyo to Sapporo, Japan
Dramatic environmental changes are the highlight of this winter journey. A bullet train whips you from the sprawl of Tokyo to the northern tip of the main Japanese island, Honshu, in deep snow. The next train takes you through the Seikan tunnel, longest underwater tunnel in the world (with bad feng shui), to Hokkaido. Crab ramen and barbecued scallops from the seafood market at the next stop, Hakodate, are perfect to stamp out increasing cold. The final leg takes in lakes, bubbling sulphurous lunar landscapes and a still-growing mountain to come full urban circle in the lively young city of Sapporo.
• hyperdia.com, seven-day Japan rail pass about £200
Tayls79
Along the Silk Road in western China
From Turupan, the lowest point of China, to Kashgar, on the border of Kazakhstan, is an epic 1,000km rail trip along the northern part of the old Silk Road. The scenery is incredible, with the mountains on one side and the desert on the other, with a palette of colours between yellow and brown, and all shades of red and orange in between, transforming to blue and purple as night falls.
• english.ctrip.com, from £19 one-way
Koen Vanormelingen
Chengdu to Lhasa, China
We boarded the train from Chengdu for a three-day journey to Lhasa in Tibet. The railway is an engineering marvel, taking you across the permafrost and over the Tanggula pass at over 5,000m. This is surely the only train in the world where oxygen is pumped into the carriages. Sharing food, drink and an array of card games with our fellow passengers while watching the dramatic scenery unfold, and arriving at Tibet station in what seemed like an island city in the clouds, was unforgettable. We booked tickets locally but used seat61.com for information about rail in travel in China.
• chinatibettrain.com, “soft” sleeper £126 one way
Asa Whitfield
Baikal-Amur Mainline, hidden gem of Siberia, Russia
The BAM is hidden gem of Siberia, a long railway line through beautiful nature and true remoteness. It is significantly shorter than the Trans-Siberian and can be nicely combined with air travel to Irkutsk and boat trips on Baikal lake. A possible departing point is Severobaikalsk, a city on Baikal’s northern shore. Another is Taishet, where the BAM branches from the Trans-Siberian. From there it’s possible to travel by train (47 hours) to Tynda – with its impressive modern Soviet architecture, or further east to Komsomolsk-na-Amure (another 37 hours).
• eng.rzd.ru
tomabacic
AFRICA
Across the savannah, Tanzania to Zambia
Train journeys don’t get much more adventurous than the Tazara railway, which makes its winding way from the Tanzanian capital, Dar-es-Salaam, to northern Zambia. There it turns into the Zambian national railway, which whisks you into Zambia’s wild heart towards the “smoke that thunders” (Victoria Falls) and the Zimbabwean border. The Tazara website advises booking at least a month in advance. Allow four-five days for the whole journey to Livingstone (about £40 one way) and take plenty of games and books. Once you’re on the train, make friends with travellers and locals over beers in the bar carriage and at night make sure you enjoy the magnificent display of the Milky Way over Zambia’s unspoilt bushland.
Mads Sh
THE AMERICAS
Bogotá to Zipiquaria by steam train, Colombia
We took the Sunday steam trainfrom Bogotá to Zipiquaria’s Salt Cathedral along with a throng of noisy Colombians. The guard shouted instructions in Spanish, but after noting we looked bemused sidled up to us and said in perfect English: “Follow me.” The carriages, as old as the puffing engine, had grand leather seats. On the two-hour, 20km journey we were entertained by lively, loud jazz and soul bands strolling through the carriages and ate from vendors offering plantain-wrapped tamales, Colombian tinto (coffee), empanadas and huge, creamy-white merengon (meringues). And the highlight was meant to be the Cathedral.
• turistren.com.co, about £11.50 return
HMJackson
Sun, sea and surf in California, US
Starting from San Luis Obispo, the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner runs on a breathtaking route along the rugged coastline south to San Diego. The train hugs the Pacific Coast Highway before making a stop at the beautiful architectural mishmash of Union Station, Los Angeles. It negotiates the sprawl of LA before again reaching the coast. The train runs parallel to the Old Pacific Highway, giving stunning views of the ocean and the surfers. The final stretch goes through the coastal cities of Oceanside, Solana Beach and Del Mar to historic San Diego.
• pacificsurfliner.com, from $61 one way
AlexYearsleyLondon
