There are loads of reasons why your next holiday should be a rail trip. Hope you find this information useful. Where would you like to travel to by train? (and I’m not talking about local trains!)
Eco-friendly
Taking the train is the most environmentally friendly way of traveling. In fact, compared to cars and airplanes, trains emit between 66 and 75 percent less carbon. In terms of energy consumption, use of space, and noise levels, trains are far more sustainable too. A report published by the European Environment Agency in 2020 found that rail travel is the best and most sensible mode of travel, apart from walking or cycling. Some rail holidays will obviously include an element of air travel, especially if you’re travelling outside of Europe.
Central arrivals
Railway stations are almost always located in the centre of a town or city, making it a practical arrival location for city breaks in particular. Small towns all over Europe have stations, meaning that you can explore more of a country and really see the “real” country.
Friendly
Unlike a plane journey, its easy to move around on a train – you can get meals in a buffet car or at your seat. On long journeys, its always a good idea to keep moving and this is easier to do on a train than a plane or in a car. The other brilliant thing about rail travel is that the stations themselves are amazing. Take a tour of Grand Central station in New York, the stained glass windows at Prague Station are beautiful. I love looking at the departure boards in European stations – just to see what is possible!!
Where can you travel by rail?
Europe is perfect for rail journeys. Start your journey with Eurostar from London to Paris or Brussels. From Brussels, you can get to most of central and southern Europe. We did a rail trip some years ago starting in London and then to Cologne via Brussels, then onwards to Vienna and Salzburg via Munich. The journey from Cologne to Munich takes around four and a half hours. How about a journey that starts in Paris and finishes in Rome – you can break your journey in Strasbourg, Basel, Lucerne, Milan, Bologna and Florence. In the USA, you could take a trip around the USA – starting in Chicago, with destinations including Seattle, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Washington DC. You might not associate Australia with rail journeys but there are 2 iconic journeys that you could take – one from Adelaide all the way north to Darwin and the other from Sydney to Perth. Throughout the world, there are many more itineraries that visit the places you really want to visit. And I haven’t even started about trains in India!!
