Top 5 most amazing journeys by train

Here are our top 5 most amazing train journeys in the world, from the 1920s-style Orient express to the hypermodern Japanese bullet train. Which one’s on your bucket list?

#5 Darjeeling Railway

This Indian railway was constructed at the end of the 19th century and is nicknamed the ‘Toy Train’. The small locomotive runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling and performs a few loops and other antics to gain height as the landscape goes on rising to the 3,000m level where Darjeeling is situated. The train is particularly famous for its role in the drama-comedy Darjeeling Limited (2008).

#4 Orient Express

In 1883, work began on building the Orient Express railway, with the aim of making a faster and more comfortable way to travel from England to Turkey. During the golden age of train travel (the 1920s), the route was at the peak of its popularity. Passengers could board at, amongst other places, Paris, Budapest and Bucharest.

If you hop on today, you can imagine yourself back in those golden days. The coaches’ interior décor belongs to the style of the 1920s and ‘30s, and the service is 5 star. Just like your great-grandparents would have appreciated.

#3 Bullet train

Not only nostalgia thrives in our top 5. The hyper-modern bullet train that runs throughout Japan will quicken the heart of devoted train travellers there as well. The train is designed in the most aerodynamic form imaginable and reaches speeds of 320 kilometres per hour. The railway links all of Japan’s bigger cities, and the ride is also worthwhile for the beautiful scenery it opens up over rice fields and snowy mountains.

#2 Himalaya Express

The highest railtrack featured in this list goes up to heights of 5,000 metres above sea level and takes you right across the Himalayan mountains from Peking to Lhasa (Tibet). At certain points along the way, you get an automatised extra-oxygen service, and there’s a doctor on board every trip just in case the altitude really boggles your mind.

#1 Indian Pacific

The railway that runs all the way from the east to the west coast of Australia is considered one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world. The train takes you through the heart of the outback, but also offers a view of the green landscape of the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney. One extraordinary feature: the railway includes the largest straight section of track in the world,  a straight line 478 kilometres long across the Nullarbor Plain. On top of that, it’s also the only transcontinental route on the planet.

By Anne Brugts, content manager Story Terrace 

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This month we serve up stories in our monthly theme ‘Romance of the Railways’. Also read our article Focus on: early 20th century train travel. What’s your fondest memory of train travel?