Over the past four decades I’ve travelled by train on six continents. I’ve jumped freight trains in America, ridden steam trains in Africa and seen the blur from high-speed shinkansen, Spanish Patos and the German ICEs. If that makes me a train spotter I’ll put down the notebook and come quietly, but I’m unrepentant. Trains are the most wonderful form of long-distance travel. Here’s what I know.
1. Love takes the train
Cupid may have wings but he prefers to travel by rail, so beware. I have fallen in love twice on trains — first on a night service through Romania, and second on a TGV bound for Spain. Screenwriters are well aware of the risks: Brief Encounter, Before Sunrise, Anna Karenina, Casino Royale and Some Like It Hot all warn of the potential effects of train travel on the heart. I can’t think of one classic love story that begins on a plane.
2. The views are better
You watch box sets on Boeings but see real life from the train. The Shalimar Express from Ahmedabad in Gujarat to Nagpur takes 14 hours longer than the plane, but the £4.50 sleeper fare includes the secrets of India. I have lists of these wonders: a cricket match in a garbage dump; a trackside exorcism; a party at a pink temple; a collapsed Victorian bridge; a dozen peacocks in a pond; a travelling salesman watching wistfully from his bike; and a junction to an unbuilt city. And that was just the first hour.
3. Reserve the right seat
Window, obviously, but which side of the train? On a recent trip from Nairobi to Mombasa I ended up watching trucks on Kenya’s A109 from the left side of the train while those on the right were looking at elephants, giraffes and zebras in the dusty Tsavo National Park. On the slow train down the Rhine the right side was the wrong side. The river was on the left.
Picking the right side to sit on can make a world of difference
WESTEND61/GETTY IMAGES
4. Prepare to share
Compartments are communities and at dinner time passengers share. In Katni, India, an accountant offered me a gold foil-wrapped mango — the first, precious fruit of the season. In Poland a squad of female soldiers plied me with Kielbasa mysliwska sausage and 100-proof vodka. In Mexico a family from Chiapas insisted I ate snail stew and tamales with them — reheated on a spirit stove on the floor of the compartment. In all cases I had nothing to offer in return, so now, when provisioning, I cater for eight.
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5. Trains are greener
On journeys of less than 600 miles, the carbon cost of travelling by rail is up to 96 per cent less than flying. London to Paris by train emits 2.4kg of CO₂ per passenger. By plane it’s 66kg. Amsterdam is 3.9kg v 70.9 kg. Barcelona is 10kg v 200kg. On longer journeys the differential is less dramatic, and savings are dependent on passenger load (a full plane can be cleaner than an empty train), but the train is almost always the greenest option.
Chris on the Santiago de Compostela
6. Book the best ticket
Climate-conscious European governments encourage train travel by offering great value passes. The Renfe Spain Pass offers up to ten individual one-way train journeys of any length in one month on the entire network (from £165; venta.renfe.com). Portugal’s Rail Pass gives seven days’ travel in a month (from £108; cp.pt) and Germany offers up to 15 days (from £143; int.bahn.de). A six-day Swiss Travel Pass, buses and boats included, is £355 (swissrailways.com) and the Netherlands day pass gives unlimited travel on all public transport for £40 (ns.nl). If you can, print your tickets as a back-up in case of phone failure.
7. Buy a pillow
The pillows supplied on sleeper services offer the comfort of a breeze block, so take your own. The feather pillow I bought in Istanbul cost £8, and, as we waited in a snowdrift on the night train to Sofia, it was better than a biz-class upgrade. I then left it with a homeless bloke in Bucharest.
Travelling by train is more environmentally friendly than flying
SCULPIES
8. Lower bunks are best
If you need to pee at 2am while crossing the Caucasus, you’ll have to descend a steel ladder from the top bunk in a rocking compartment in the dark without stepping on the face of the passenger below. On the way back you’ll bump your head on the ceiling. Avoid all of the above by booking the lower bunk.
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9. Nothing arrives like a train
The slow crossing of the Pont des Lagunes into Venice. The sunset approach to Melbourne across Victoria’s Volcanic Plain. The jungle line from Badulla to Colombo in Sri Lanka. The dash into Washington through America’s derelict back yard. Arriving in Edinburgh via the Northumbrian coast. Planes don’t come close.
What’s your favourite train route? Let us know in the comments below
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