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For the most part, trains travel outside major cities, through vast terrain, and into the wilderness. This makes for an exciting voyage. The rail travels across the countryside, away from the commotion of the city. Your journey will be worth it thanks to the train’s huffing and puffing engine, which pushes the bogies across challenging terrain as it speeds along at breakneck speed.
Beautiful train excursions can take you through some of the world’s most severe terrain, including glaciers, tunnels, and the towering peaks of the Himalayas, all the while smelling like a barnyard, passing endless pasture, and passing opulent farmland. Weird and wonderful world vistas can be seen from the comfort of your seat on these train rides. Aboard these famous trains, you’ll see sights that could only be seen in a movie set in motion.
1. Nevada Northern Railway
Nevada is a four-hour drive from Las Vegas, but its vintage steam train brings visitors back in time. To get to the Ruth Copper Mining District, the Nevada Northern Railway travels through Robinson Canyon for nearly a century, as it has done so many times before. The rail line also offers a nighttime excursion, dubbed the “star train,” where passengers may enjoy the starry night sky without being bothered by city lights. Passengers can see the night sky through a telescope when the train stops. The line also offers a “Sunset, Stars, and Champagne” journey, which departs and arrives at the station a little earlier than the regular service. Champagne will be on hand for visitors to sip while they watch the sky change from day to night at the event’s name. A year in advance, this tour sells out, so get your tickets now!
2. Switzerland’s Glacier Express
Prepare your camera for action. From St. Moritz to Zermatt, the Glacier Express travels through various Swiss Alps landscapes, including age-old woods, quaint towns, and magnificent glaciers, as its name suggests. The Landwasser Viaduct, the Rhine Gorge, or the “Grand Canyon of Switzerland” are just a few well-known landmarks you’ll witness. If you’re looking for an experience like no other, you’ll be pleased to know that luxurious train service is available. Guests in the Excellence Class can enjoy five-course meals, unlimited drinks and coffee, and a lively bar car where they can sip cocktails while taking in the scenery.
3. Expo Rail, Sri Lanka
The Kandy-Ella train journey is a kaleidoscope of the best of the island nation and is considered one of the gorgeous excursions in South Asia. It’s often considered one of the best ways to see Sri Lanka’s rolling grasslands, tea plantations, and breathtaking waterfalls. You can also take a break in Nuwara Eliya and enjoy the Pictures that do not do the 6-hour adventure justice.
4. Hudson River Rail Excursions
Hudson River Rail Excursions is the way to go if you want to see the sights while dressed in vintage garb. New York Central’s 20th Century Limited train, dubbed “the most renowned train in the world,” takes passengers back to the 1940s and 1950s on a round-trip journey from New York City to Albany. The costumed expedition (yes, you may dress up!) takes place every Friday and Sunday in October and June. As soon as tickets go on sale, they will likely sell out quickly.
5. Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer
Four unique rail routes are operated by the Canadian Rocky Mountaineer, each more scenic than the last. Passengers can enjoy spectacular vistas of woods, fields, peaks, and valleys as they travel through the Rocky Mountains between British Columbia and Alberta. Passengers can enjoy 360-degree views from a glass-domed double-level train vehicle as part of the GoldLeaf service. Even better, there’s an outdoor observation platform where you can enjoy the mountain air while admiring the scenery.
6. Myanmar’s Yangon Circular Railway
The Yangon Circular Railway is the finest method to gain a sense of Myanmar’s capital city. With a laid-back atmosphere, people lounge around in their flip-flops, chatting, sewing flowers for market, and selling everything from eggs and papayas to freshly roasted corn on the cob board the ship. “To protect their wares from the intense heat, travelers often disembark the train before it has even come to a complete stop. Hessian bags filled with fruit are waiting for you, so take the time to explore them and bargain with the women dressed in loose cotton blouses and flowery longyis. Take the next bus back to Yangon and complete your journey there.
7. Vietnam’s Reunification Express
The Reunification Express departs Hanoi station with a creak and a cry, taking two nights to traverse the country’s backbone to Saigon. As passengers peer out of limp-curtailed windows, they’re taken through the heart of Vietnam, where chefs hose pots, moms braid their children’s hair, and small colored vests dry on homemade laundry lines. Between Hué and Da Nang, the jungle grows around the train, waxy leaves slap the sides, and bright sunshine bursts through the barred windows as the railway speeds through the jungle. The South China Sea stretches out below in a hazy blue expanse, with a frothy finger of cream sand running around its rim.
8. Coast Starlight, USA
Aboard the Coast Starlight, departing from Seattle’s waterfront, Amtrak’s westernmost route offers the greatest vistas, food, and conversation that the railroad provides. Sit back and enjoy the vista of the Pacific Ocean, where turquoise hues blend into one another, and little waves peak above the horizon from the sightseer lounge. People of all ages gather around to play cards, sing songs, and tell stories about their days on the old trains. The dining car is the heart of the action, serving everything from enchiladas to prawns in lobster sauce, where strangers and acquaintances alike meet and share stories until the train slams into Los Angeles Union Station.
9. India’s Mandovi Express
It is an engineering marvel, with the Western Ghats on one side and the Arabian Sea on the other, running along the southwest coast of India. With the doors flung open and the warm air billowing up the aisles, trains make their way through coconut groves, palm trees, and vast swaths of damp greenery. One of the several services on this route, the Mandovi Express is generally regarded for having the best pantry car on Indian Railways, with merchants making their way up the aisles with baskets of hot pakoras, chicken lollipops, and pots of fresh biryani topped with yogurt.
10. The Skeena, Canada
The Skeena is a well-kept secret that connects Jasper, Alberta, with Prince Rupert, British Columbia’s northernmost north. First Nations people who have no other means of transportation in this remote region rely on the train to and from their communities, which is why it’s so popular with tourists. While traveling across the Rocky Mountains in two days by train, we were treated to stunning views of their snow-capped summits and water-smooth surfaces. Passengers will likely see moose, caribou, golden eagles, and even a brown bear in the lakes’ forests. They emerge from the trees like mushroom pickers, fishers, and hikers and flag down the train whenever it has to stop.
11. The Venice Simplon-Orient Express
It’s safe to say that riding on the Orient Express will transport you back to a time when travel was more luxurious and exciting. Lacquered marquetry, varnished walls, and personal attendants make the cabins of the train an oasis of luxury. Dinner includes foie gras, chicken oysters, and sweet lobster tail as the train winds through the Dolomites and around Lake Geneva. Upon arrival in Paris, guests are greeted with warm pastries and fresh coffee from the railway’s galley kitchen. The train leaves its passengers in Calais since it cannot cross through the Channel Tunnel. Still, a British Pullman service is waiting in Kent to take them on the last leg to London Victoria while providing sandwiches with salmon, cucumber, and hot teapots.
12. Tranzalpine, New Zealand
On New Zealand’s South Island, the TranzAlpine train travels daily from Christchurch to Greymouth, from the east to west coasts. Following the train’s departure from Christchurch, you’ll be able to take in breathtaking views of steep gorges as the railway travels along the ice-fed Waimakariri River. Afterward, it travels into the Southern Alps, where spectacular vistas of the chiseled alpine terrain await. Finally, after a long day of travel, the train reaches Greymouth on the West Coast, a fantastic starting point for trips to Punakaiki and the glaciers at Franz Josef and Fox Glacier.
13. China’s Qinghai-Tibet Railway
This 1,215-mile (1,956-kilometer) high-altitude railway connects Qinghai Province’s capital Xining with Tibet’s capital Lhasa. This route passes across the Tanggula Pass, the world’s highest at 16,640 feet (5,072 meters). Permafrost and a shortage of oxygen threaten the delicate environment at 13,000 feet (4,000 meters), where more than half of the journey takes place. Everyone on the train has access to oxygen tanks, and there is always a doctor on call. Mountains, snow, lush valleys, and Tibetan mythology combine to provide a once-in-a-lifetime vacation experience for visitors to Tibet.
14. Belmond Hiram Bingham, Peru
The journey from Cusco to Machu Picchu, the sacred Inca city high in the Andes highlands, may be completed in less than four hours on this exquisite train. Hiram Bingham’s stunning blue and gold livery shines out against Peru’s green environs and is named after the US explorer who re-discovered Machu Picchu in 1911. There are two dining cars, a bar car, and an open-air scenery vehicle aboard the train, accommodating up to 84 passengers. Each train car has been decorated in the style of 1920s Pullman coaches, with polished wood, brass armchairs, and huge comfortable seats. The train is operated by Belmond, one of the world’s most esteemed hotel chains.
15. The Ghan, Australia
The renowned Ghan will carry you deep into the Australian heartland on a lifetime journey. The Ghan, operated by The Great Southern Rail, travels from Adelaide, South Australia, to Darwin, Australia’s Top End, in two nights and three days. In the middle of Australia and the vastness of the Outback, the 1,851-mile (2978-kilometer) adventure takes place. Both Alice Springs and Katherine provide four-hour rest periods and sightseeing opportunities. Succulent meals, plush accommodations, and a friendly group of passengers await you onboard. Simply because of the distance traveled and the stunning scenery, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
16. The Brocken, Germany
This is a stunning train ride from the town of Drei Annen-Hohne on the fringe of Harz National Park to the peak of Brocken, a mountain in the Harz Mountains. With 40km/h speed limits, the route is filled with hairpin twists, dramatic valleys, snowy vistas, and mind-blowing scenery to occupy your thoughts. When their ride is over, these passengers will have reached the summit of the Brocken, Northern Germany’s tallest mountain. Adults will have to pay €49 for a round-trip ticket.
