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means you can spend more Travellers by rail also do at any time, regardless of the vibration found on
time exploring and less time not have to worry about whether your aircraft or slower railways, while air
lining up, stripping down, and heavy snow, heavy fog, a bus is in motion, and do travel remains affected
standing around waiting. major storm, or barometric so without climbing over by turbulence. Trains
conditions. Except in the other passengers, then the can also accommodate
Trains are most severe conditions, train is for you. Travellers intermediate stops, which
allow passengers to alight
almost all train departures
on shorter journeys are not
less prone to leave regardless of the required to be strapped into and stretch their legs. On
trains such as The Indian
delays weather. In colder conditions, their seats, and have more Pacific and The Ghan, these
space to stretch out, without
trains do not need to be de-
iced either – rather, services being constricted by the stops are by design, with
Whether travelling by such as Canada’s VIA Rail and confinements of other modes each town the train calls on
aircraft or road, trains are the Trans-Siberian Railway of transport. Those on longer acting like a port-of-call for
less prone to delays due to in Russia are battle-tested, and more luxurious train a cruise ship, bringing its
congestion on particularly often inside purpose-built journeys have it even better, own flavour and fun to the
busy routes, which is where freezer rooms, to ensure they with a wide variety of cars for journey, such as Kalgoorlie,
rail has historically been can withstand the brittle dining, relaxing, and more, where visitors can go to
most successful. Even when a conditions. providing the feel of a moving the town’s ‘Super Pit’, and
train is late by a few minutes hotel, like you get aboard Katherine’s local Katherine
– which in the case of the Trains are the Venice-Simplon Orient Museum, the home of the
Japanese Shinkansen, is Express’ art deco finery, original ‘Flying Doctor’.
almost never – it does not far more and the British Pullman,
have to wait for another slot A Belmond Train, and its Trains are a
to open up to arrive at its comfortable 1950s-built ‘Cygnus’ carriages.
destination, nor does it have Technological advances journey
to wait for airspace to clear If you’ve ever wanted to such as continuously
to leave either. rise up out of your seat welded rail have minimised Travelling by train is not
just about whether you
get from A to B, it’s about
Clockwise from how you do it, and each
top:
iconic train trip around the
The Shinkansen world introduces the rider
in Japan is to the personality of the
known for its
punctuality and destinations it serves, such
speed. as the Royal Scotsman,
Interior of the A Belmond Train, which
Royal Rajasthan explores Scotland’s lochs,
on Wheels, the castles, and countryside,
ultimate luxury
train journey and does so with tartan
through India. wool blankets, iconic Scotch
The Trans- whiskey, and a Highland-
Siberian Railway style mahogany dining car.
is built to Meanwhile, South Africa’s
withstand icy
conditions. Rovos Rail, which journeys
from Pretoria to Cape
Town, takes passengers
through the grasslands of
the highveld to the desert
of the Karoo, and does it
in the quintessential South
African way, with open-air
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