Some of my earliest travel memories are of train trips.
I remember running the lengths of the train with my brothers, searching for new friends as my family train-ed our way across Canada. I remember games of ‘go fish’ played in French as we travelled through Quebec, dozens of trips to the snack bar to get more ice for picnics at our seats, and, while we were still small enough, we crawled underneath the seats in our own personal ‘tents’ to sleep.
It was only natural that, on my first trip to Europe in 2007, that I absolutely fell in love with this super-fast, high-speed trail reality that is the European rail system. The fact that you could hop across entire countries within hours, coming from a country where, if you’re lucky, you can cross it by train in a week. That you could have breakfast in jolly old England, lunch in Paris, and dinner in the Swiss alps (not that you’d really want to travel this fast…), but just the fact that it’s doable…the possibilities are endless!
So naturally, I had to return to spend as long as possible riding the rails, as soon as I could. This happened several years later when, armed with my very first trusty Eurorail pass, a paper map and the relatively new app on my phone, I began a 7-month journey, exclusively on ground transport (which would include as many trains as I could find).
Train station in Grodno, Belarus
Trains present a unique travel opportunity. They are almost a world onto themselves (even as I sit here, writing this, I look wistfully out the window, counting down the days to my next train trip – currently only 9 days away, thanks for asking!)
They effortlessly transport you from one place to another, but not only do you get to your destination (and with the European high-speed trains, you often get there just as quickly as you would if you had flown), but while you’re on the train, you are a part of a unique little world. This is especially true on longer distance trains, where your car-mates are your new friends for many, many hours.
There is really something almost romantic about train travel. Whether because it takes me back to simpler times (re: my memories of childhood train travel), or because there was a time when train travel was the only option. Train travel always seems to make me think of times long past. Whatever the reason though, train travel will win in my books over pretty much any other mode of transportation.
Endless trains.
Train travel is comfortable. I’ve never felt uncomfortable on a train. You can get up and move around. Even if you’re the type of person to book a seat on an overnight trip (guilty!), figuring you can sleep anywhere. It’s still comfortable. Compare to traveling on a plane. Travel on trains is spacious. There are rarely (I’ve never found any) luggage restrictions. Depend on your own toiletries that can’t fit into a one-litre bag? No problem! If you can carry it, you can bring it! (And many countries and rail stations have porters that, for the price of a tip, will help you carry it on!) And maybe best of all, your luggage can’t get lost. It’s always in your sight.
Additionally, trains are rarely sold out (except perhaps western Europe in the summer…) Having that extra seat beside you is a God-send on a long trip. Take your shoes off. Stretch out. Enjoy. Guilt-free.
Train travel is efficient. In most countries, trains depart exactly on time, and will arrive exactly on time. I took the transSiberian train across Russia. Across seven time zones and some 12,000kms. Know how often we pulled into a station late? Never. I read once about a Japanese train that was ten minutes late. The train manager himself came through each car and personally apologized for the inexcusable delay.
Train stations are frequently located in the centre of the city. Often, many major tourist attractions are close to the station. If you have a short period of time in the city, you can often check your luggage, check out the town, and be back in time for your next journey.
Train travel is relaxing. It’s kept up well with modern technology, with most trains offering power to help your devices stay powered up, and increasingly, trains are adding wifi (good or bad…it’s coming).
Train journey around Lake Baikal, Russia
Even with wifi, train travel is social. This is perhaps the best part of train travel. I can’t remember the last time I had a conversation with my seat-mate on an airplane. I am frequently in contact with many people I meet on trains. Through train travel, I’ve been guided through interesting border crossings, I’ve met local city guides who’ve offered to show me their city, and received countless local tips from either locals themselves, or from other that have visited the destination city before.
Perhaps most importantly, train travel can take you to corners and areas of the world that very few other methods of travel can bring you to.
- The Bergen/Flaam railway in Norway takes you from Bergen, through the fjords to Myrdal, and then to Oslo, going through stunning glaciers, waterfalls, and scenery along the way.
- The transSiberian/Mongolian/Manchurian train journey takes you from St Petersburg/Moscow through the largest country in the world, ending at the pacific ocean in either Vladivostok or Beijing. With an average speed of just 50 kilometres per hour, you will definitely get your fill of forest-type landscapes with tiny villages interspersed throughout, until your arrival at Baikal, the deepest fresh water lake in the world.
Mongolian Desert
- Amtrak’s Coast Starlight runs from Seatland to Los Angeles across the length of the US east coast passing stunning ocean views and into the California desert.
Not to mention hundreds of other, almost-everyday train journeys transporting locals and tourists alike. Twenty years ago, it would have been unheard of to be able to travel from London to Europe solely by train. To travel across countries between meals, or go to sleep in Spain and wake up in Germany. Today, not only is is done, but it’s enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people every year.
When you’re listening to the steady clickety-clack of the wheels, eyes glazing over at the scenery flying by, or perhaps lost in your latest novel or listening to your favourite playlist. It is a wonderful study in being present, a form of meditation if you will. There is nothing you can do to speed up the time. Nothing you do will get you there early, so you might as well enjoy the ride.
So the next time you find yourself questioning ‘train or plane’, choose train. Curl up in a seat. Read a book, eat a picnic and bring your wine onboard. Strike up a conversation with the people around you. No matter how and where your journey ends, you will be better for having made it. By train!
Train journey between France and Switzerland.
Leave a Reply