by Ernest H. Robl for GiftedTravel.com
Train travel is like going into another dimension.
People simply behave differently on trains. Being able to get up and walk around on the train, people talk to each other in ways they would never do while traveling by plane or car.
Planes put you above everything. Between struggling through the departure airport, the transfer hub airport, and the arrival airport, you are usually sandwiched into a confined space that’s often rigorously defended against intrusions.
Travel by car, especially if you are driving, forces you to concentrate on the road and, almost anywhere in the world, shows you mostly the roadside world of fast-food restaurants and gasoline (petrol) stations.
Train travel puts you among a moving community, whose members join and depart over a long trip. You see both spectacular scenery and people’s back yards — without having to concentrate on steering the car, watching for directional signs, or finding the next gas station or restaurant.
Train travel has its appeal, whether you travel alone, with family, or a group of friends. Particularly for family groups, a long-distance train trip allows for togetherness without the forced confinement of travel by car. For larger groups, multiple compartments let members spend time by themselves watching the scenery, reading, listening to music, napping, or any combination of these. Yet, trips to the dining or lounge car inevitably bring you into contact with others — people you might never encounter elsewhere.
Alike and Different
While train travel all over the world has some similarities, the trains of each country, continent, or region of the world have their own character.
If you’ve only traveled by train in the United States or Canada, you’ll find the trains of Europe a completely different experience. Throughout most of Europe, a dense network of passenger trains reaches into almost every corner of each country.
You can take super-fast trains that reach speeds of 200 miles per hour between major cities. And you can take regional trains that wander through appealing scenery at a slow pace — with cars where you can still open windows to let in the mountain air or to make photographs unobstructed by glass panes.
America’s long-struggling Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system, falls short of the best trains found elsewhere in the world, but it also isn’t anywhere as bad as some of its critics sometimes paint it to be.
While this probably isn’t the place for a detailed analysis of Amtrak’s financial situation, it’s worth noting that no passenger rail systems anywhere in the world make a profit. Yet, most developed countries find investment in good passenger rail service a good choice. (Other modes of travel, such as the highway systems also don’t make a profit, yet most countries have no problem spending money on these. And, airlines would not be able to make a profit it weren’t for such publicly funded parts of air travel as airports and the air traffic control system.)
Amtrak’s Scenic Routes
Amtrak offers some wonderfully scenic long-distance routes. At the same time, service on shorter routes, often within a single state and supported by that state, is becoming more frequent and more reliable.
Amtrak issues an annual travel planner — available from Amtrak stations and travel agents —that helps you understand the services and accommodations available on various routes. The travel planner is a different publication from the national timetable, which is usually updated twice a year. Both are about the size of a weekly news magazine.
Among Amtrak’s most popular long-distance routes, on which trains often sell out during peak travel seasons, are
- The Empire Builder, which runs between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest;
- The California Zephyr which takes you between Chicago and Oakland over both the Rockies and the Sierra Mountain ranges; and
- The Southwest Chief, connecting Chicago with Los Angeles via Topeka and Albuquerque.
Other trains follow the East and West Coasts and reach much of the U.S. Heartland.
The Empire Builder, which runs through the northernmost tier of states in the West, skirts Glacier National Park and provides good connections to many of its facilities. The Izaak Walton Inn at Essex, Mont., popular with railroad enthusiasts, has its own station platform. You can rent a car there to tour the surrounding area.
The Empire Builder runs a combined consist between Chicago and Spokane, Wash., where the train splits. One part continues to Seattle and another to Portland, Ore. On the return trip, the two sections from the West Coast are again combined at Spokane.
The California Zephyr features almost non-stop mountain scenery west of Denver, including a trip over famed Donner Pass.
Sleeping Accommodations
While coach seats are fine for trips of up to half a day, sleeping accommodations, which come in a variety of sizes, configurations, and price ranges, are well worth considering for longer trips. They not only give you some privacy when you want it, but also include meals, which otherwise have to be purchased individually.
Amtrak travel can be an enjoyable experience, as long as you are not absolutely dependent on punctual arrival. Amtrak’s long-distance trains often run late due to congestion on the tracks that its trains have to share with freight trains of railroads that own most of the tracks Amtrak operates on.
VIA Rail Canada fulfills the same function as Amtrak in Canada — and offers some connections with Amtrak trains from the U.S.
Europe
But, to experience the world standard in train travel, you need to spend one or two weeks in Western Europe. Trains are not only extremely punctual, except under the worst of weather, but also so frequent that you usually don’t even need a timetable.
On main routes, trains often operate at intervals of as little as 15 minutes. Simply go to the platform serving a particular route, and take the next train.
Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and much of Scandinavia offer scenic routes.
Railpasses for non-European residents are still a good value, but have to be purchased before departure from North America.
Tourist Trains
Finally, don’t forget about tourist trains, both in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. Often operating with historic equipment, including steam locomotives, these railroads focus on the experience of train travel, rather than getting you from one location to another.
Train Publications
And for those of all ages interested in trains, here are some American magazines worth considering:
Passenger Train Journal
Trains
Railfan & Railroad
Though he’s written about and photographed many subjects, Ernest H. Robl is best known for his coverage of railroads. He’s produced more than 40 magazine features on railroads and related subjects, with these ranging from travel pieces to examinations of technical aspects of railroading. He’s also produced several books for railroad enthusiasts. Visit his extensive Web site at www.robl.w1.com.
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As a European I thank you for your kind words on the European train service, but as a Brit I have to wonder if you mean to include the notoriously inefficient and expensive UK rail network in your comment!
Personally I love Amtrak – it’s the original global social networking place where people from all over the world pass the time by coming together and talk about their American experiences and compare them with “back home”. While it may have a few timing issues, the ever changing vistas of America that it offers far outweigh the problems!