Let's see if this kind of thread gets some traction!
Train Travel General!
Share awesome train routes
Share experiences
Share tips/advice
Ask questions about train passes, best time to go, route options, which side of the train is the best and anything related to trains around the world!
For some extra info on trains in general:
seat61.com
Would also love to see this type of thread gets some atraction!
Man, I love traveling with trains. In december I headed east from Andermatt, Switzerland. Saw some of the most amazing views of the mountains in the sunny skies.
>>1116892
I really want to take the Glacier express. Read it's amazing!
Just need to decide if I should go in October this year or May next year.
Pretty much anywhere in tibet or the tibetan autonomous regions is beautiful to see by train, deserts and snowcapped mountains in the same shot.
>>1116897
cant really tell. what other stuff are u going for excluding the train trip?
The Metra from Chicago to outlying cities around Chicago and southeastern Wisconsin is the shit and extremely useful when you don't want to drive into the city.
It also goes to both Union Station and Oglvie Transportation center depending on the line you take, and connects to the Amtrak.
Took a train from Chicago to Las Vegas. Worst traveling experience of my life.
Slow as fuck.
Mostly vending machine quality food but expensive, only exception was the decent steak.
Full of screaming kids, poor people, and odd religious people who fear flying.
No Wi-Fi at all. Have to wait for cars to pass. Thank god I got off before LA.
Haven't traveled by train since I was a tiny kid, but I'd love to again.
Here's a pic I saw recently for inspiration
>>1116506
One day anons, one day I'll ride these rails.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/reliving-the-golden-age-of-train-travel-in-southern-africa-1463084342
Flying to Germany for business and taking a vacation afterwards being my first time in Europe
Would be looking to take a train from Bonn to Amsterdam on 6/5 would anyone have a recommendation.
Any train hoppers around here?
>>1117053
Hobos died out with the depression anon
>>1117063
F-fuck you, the dream is alive ;~;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNPbokfyotY
I'm looking at taking an executiveclass train from Jakarta and go east wards. It looks very scenic from what I've seen online
>>1116506
I take the train everyday, 100km through southern France
I don't pass through stunning places with that particular road but it's comfy
Best train experience I've had has to be on the Tazara from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania to Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia.
Given that I was taking a train in Africa I imagined it was going to be hell, but the train was very modern (thanks China), staff kept it clean, TV lounge area, bar and restaurant. Mad African scenery the whole way and the train passes through the Selous Game Reserve so we got a bit of a free safari as well.
>>1116506
Corsica railway is barely used for non touristic purpose but it's worth it
>>1116506
Local train Chiang Mai -> Bangkok
> took the 5 AM something train
> reach Bangcock at 9-10 PM
> 40 non-american degrees outside all during the ride
> only fans
> I manage to open a window only to find out they're burning crops by the side of the tracks
> blackface.pga from trying to sleep leaning my head at the open window
> my snickers are melted so no more food
> No I don't trust the women shouting Pad Thai every minute of the ride to not result in massive diarrhea
> amazing landscapes along the route through the jungle with rivers and tunnels.
> arrive in Bangalore ... Ehm, bangkok...
> go directly to sleep.
> 1UP on local experience + real traveler ftw
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
>>1116951
Looks comfy as fugg
>>1116506
Did the Trans-Siberian last year from Beijing to St Petersburg.
Shit was gnarly
>>1117914
>Trans-Siberian
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiVr0nyFADA
>>1117914
Lucky fuck, one day I will do this.
Also, technically that's the Trans-Mongolian.
Anyone have experience with the Jungle Line through Malaysia?
>>1117938
You're right, technically it is.
Moscow - I have NEVER seen SO many gorgeous women in such concentration. I swear, it was easier to point out the girls that weren't stunning. Went on a tinder date there, and we're still in contact even though I came back to Melbourne.
Mongolian women are also stunners.
The train was basic as fuck. I bunked up with 3 other guys I didn't know for the whole 3 weeks, made some friends for life, and had some amazing experiences.
To be honest, it was a far cry from luxury, but I was 30, and I signed up for an adventure. That's what I got. Recommended! Also would highly recommend getting a guide, as without a native speaker in most of these places, you're buggered.
>>1117205
I took the train from Bangkok>Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai>Bangkok, and I thought it was great. The scenery was beautiful and the experience adventurous. They lasted for 14 hours, but they were worth it. I got lost once during the trip, what a blast I had!
>>1117963
>he's not fluent in body language.
Wew, laddy.
>>1117977
Explain losing the part of your migration card that allows you to actually leave Russia with body language.
>>1117976
Is it a direct ticket or do you buy various tickets along the way?
>>1118229
Direct, and yes it is beautiful. But prepare if you take the day train. 14 hours is a long time!
>>1116506
>Share awesome train routes
Anchorage to Seward was fucking insane.
Sorry for the shitty pic, I only had my cell phone.
Would this be something nice to do?
http://www.rome2rio.com/trip/ycqyrrhm
And I have the impression you're not very flexible travelling by train. How easy is it to get to national parks? Just take another bus probably..
Been planning to go from Istanbul to Mongolia by train (and campion sea ferry) this summer, supposedly doable between my readings of seat61 and caravanistan.
Fucking Azerbaijan visa is being a bitch to get tho
>>1118637
Howd you go with uzbek visa?
>>1118638
I was taking the ferry to aktau, kazakhstan for simplicity and time constraints somewhat, I only have three weeks and I would like to get in some decent steppe wandering in.
so I'm actually am currently planning on not going through uzbekistan which I am torn about as I am not sure if I am missing out on the most central-asia-ey stan or not. I still have time to apply but obviously it will be a process.
maybe I should just go through with the Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan route, but the alternative is surprisingly pain-free visa-wise as an american If I only want to do kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan.
Plus the backwater authoritarianism vibe gives me a bit of the willies about if I was found just wandering about in the middle of nowhere. Will already get my fill of that going overland through Xinjaing.
Train from Oslo to Bergen in Norway is fantastic
>>1118729
Why do you think that about Xinjiang? It's China lad, there's cities everywhere. Don't miss turban and the Danxia landforms, skip Urumqi unless you've never been to a chink city before.
>>1118861
Turpan*
>>1118843
I second that. I want to take that trip in the winter.
>>1118863
It's pretty boring in winter, actually. Just of lots of snow everywhere, and half the train trip is going to be in the dark not including the tunnels.
>>1119099
My guess is that most train routes on the northern area of the globe are boring during winter because of the lack of light?
>>1119120
Snow, clear skies and full moon can be the most breathtaking scenery ever. Especially in lonely landscapes with little no artificial lights. Pic kinda related. But photos do it little justice, with all the trickery and HDR stuff thats possible nowadays. Its hard to believe just how bright such a night can be. Bright enough to read a book.
Or those eerie sparks icy overhead lines produce sometimes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EnLcjwj5Ik
>>1119142
Yeah, if you're lucky enough to be traveling when the sky is clear and the moon is full.
Though I don't know how often that's the case during winter on the northern side. I guess it depends on the place?
Bumo
>>1117185
how much did you pay for train fares in Africa? Any info you could share?
Hey guys, what is the best way to go from Krakow to Budapest?night train?train during the day?blablacar?
please share stories about trips on the eastern europe in general.Thanks,
Any anon that's done cross country on Amtrak in the US - I have the money and all the free time in the world. Did you think it was worth it? Would probably do Empire Builder
>>1119779
most of my friends would just do bus (I think it's eurobus or something like that) because they were students and that was the cheapest option. There should also be plenty of blablacar options available, since it's a pretty common route. No idea about trains.
If you find a cheap wizzair flight from Warsaw to Budapest (they go for as low as £10), then a train or bus from Krakow to Warsaw might not be a bad idea.
>>1119805
>If you find a cheap wizzair flight from Warsaw to Budapest (they go for as low as £10), then a train or bus from Krakow to Warsaw might not be a bad idea.
that would definitely be a bad idea as it won't save you more than 2 hours and together with train tickets it would cost much more than polskibus or other similar cheap buses
>>1118843
Which way is better? Oslo to Bergen or Bergen to Oslo?
>>1117914
I never drank as much vodka as I did on the Trans-Siberian from Moscow to Vladivostok. Once you're well into Siberia, the drinking becomes fucking aggressive and the clocks are all on Moscow time so it makes no sense with the scenery outside. You'll be waking up from blacking out the night before and the clocks will say noon and the sun is at the horizon and you no longer know if it's setting or rising. I honestly lost track of how many days I was on the train. It was like I was going insane. Plus, constant drinking and arm wrestling contests because I'm American. Also they kept asking me, "who won World War 2?" just to bait me into saying, "the allies" so they could spend half an hour correcting me that Russia deserves all the credit. There was this one guy, he was like 6'6", 400lbs, body of a sumo wrestler with an MMA gym shirt on, I think he was a trainer or something. He didn't speak any English and I didn't speak any Russian, but we somehow ended up in a drinking competition going glass to glass with vodka. Each glass holds maybe 10-13oz and they were filled to the brim, first with my whisky (which he shot back instead of sipping, forcing me to follow and chuck some 12 year old scotch down the hatch without tasting it) then with shitty raspberry schnapps and then, finally, with plain vodka. We both woke up the next "morning" (again, the clocks and sun make no sense in the train once it's in Siberia) feeling royally fucked up and a big, putrid package of pickled herring sprawled open on the table. I'm pretty sure I was eating some of that rotten garbage food because I was so fucking gone. He also had some sausages he said were made from horse penis (he made a horse sound and then pointed to his dick), he motioned like it was healthy or made you strong or something like that. Tasted like pure gristle.
Shit got even weirder when I arrived in Vladivostok.
My favorite train experiences were all in India. During the low season, it's perfect. You can walk into almost any rural train station and get a ticket for the next train out and jump on board (and sometimes I literally mean JUMP on board). You can open the doors on the side of the train and dangle your legs out, let the wind (and dust and soot) blow over your face, watch the villages pass before you. Since everyone is used to the trains passing through their backyards, they ignore them and go about their business like they would if it weren't there, so you get this opportunity to people watch and see all these little slice of life scenes of people doing chores, cooking, talking, fixing motorcycles, burning garbage, as the train slowly lurches across their neighborhoods.
In the day time pretty much anything can come running through the train from chai wallahs to boys selling the most delicious samosas you've ever had for less than a nickel each to a guy with a fucking basket and a cobra insisting on shoving it into everyone's faces as he marches down the aisle. You meet all kinds of people who want to know what you're up to, where you came from, where you're going, what you think about India, etc. Sometimes they share their food with you, sometimes they give you little insider tips about where you're going. The ones that try to be invisible and don't talk to anyone might be thieves, one of those ripped an earring out of an Indian woman sitting next to me before jumping off the train in motion. It's a whole world in those trains, it's comfy, it's ugly, it's awesome, it's scary, it's hilarious, it's just one big fucking juicy adventure. Definitely recommend it.
>>1119955
Right on muthafucka.
Just spent the last few weeks riding the hell out of Ukrainian trains. Took the train from Berlin to Lviv and then just bought tickets when it was time to move onto another city. Crossing the border into Ukraine from Poland is pretty hellish because it's always late at night and it takes about 6 hours to change the rails of the train (due to different track width) and to deal with customs and immigration for both sides. You don't get any sleep at all. I took about 4 night trains and didn't sleep one minute on any of them. Visited plenty of different cities and saw just about all of the Ukrainian countryside. Was pretty bummed out that during those several weeks of riding trains I didn't meet one person who had any knowledge of English so that means I couldn't share stories with anyone or talk to pass the time.
I just arrived back home today after a 40 hour journey from Odessa to Berlin with layovers in Kiev and Warsaw. Two nights with no sleep does wonders.
Oh yeah and I'm a 20 year old that solo traveled all of it without knowing more than a few random words of Russian.
Pic related is on the train from Kiev to Odessa. We had about a 20 minute stop in Жмepинкa where everyone got off of the train to buy fish, meats, and baked goods from the local babushkas. 10/10 will definitely visit Ukraine again soon.
>>1120086
>Crossing the border into Ukraine from Poland
whenever you're going into Ukraine, be it through Poland, Hungary or whatever, it's best to take the train to the border and then cross on foot, then take the train again on the other side. Saves you plenty of time.
>>1116506
The train ride from Zurich to Milan absolutely fantastic. The worst part is finding a part of the train where you can switch sides to look at the scenery from all directions.
It's also pretty hilarious because as soon as you make your first stop in Italy, the ambient talking on the train train becomes noticeably louder!
Any good train ride in Latin America?
>>1116506
I loved the train ride in Bosnia from Sarajevo to Mostar.
It takes about 2-3 hours. The pastoral sights are great. Rolling fields with tiny houses and mosques. Mountains. Neretva River. Beautiful.
Not my picture, BTW.
>>1117185
hnnnnng that sounds awesome anon
>>1117939
no, but it looks neat as fuck
>>1120086
>bundeswehr on vacation
>>1120466
Bumping cause I'm interested too.
bump. Best train rides in southern europe/balkans?
Recently rode the train from Jakarta to Yogyakarta in Indonesia. Rice terraces and mountains would recommend.
>>1116506
I took the AmTrak to Chicago once. I was great, but those trains have to use tracks that don't belong to AmTrak so it can be slow, but the space in sitting is 100x better than on a plane. Each train has a viewing car that you can just sightsee. I did however learn the hard way that food on the AmTrak is expensive as fuck.
>>1118729
>turkmenistan
implying you are going to get in
I've wanted to ride the trans-Siberian for a few years now. What should I know before doing it, and what are good places to stop at along the way? I'm American and I don't know a word of Russian, should I let that stop me?
Anyone else have any negative experiences with train based holidays?
>Always loved Japan
>Wanted to go to Japan and tide the Japanese trains
>Saved for 3 years
>Knew I would be nervous and homesick due to my social anxiety
>Decide to take a copy of pic related on my journey
>Metro is a free newspaper you get at train stations in the UK
>wanted to use it as an 'anchor'
>fly to Japan
>get a coach to my hotel
>straight away grab my Metro and my backpack and head to the nearest train station
>get to the station
>really fucking busy
>very overwhelming
>fucking supermarkets at the train station which I didn't expect
>need to do something to settle my mind
>take out my Metro newspaper
>drop it onto the floor
>want to pretend to pick it up, like I am getting the train back home
>as I drop it and bend over I accidentally slip onto the floor
>face starts to go red, can feel people looking at the stupid white foreigner
>start to feel sick
>sit down on the floor for 2 minutes
>eventually stand up with my paper
>notice a group of Jap schoolgirls looking at me
>try to play it cool by saying 'I just realised this is yesterdays paper'
>they probably didn't understand
>ran back to hotel
>nearly broke down in tears whilst having some green tea
Other than that the trip was very nice, I rode lots of trains and even a bullet train which was fucking amazing.
Other anons have mentioned the train to Chiang Mai. I took the night train and got liquored up in the "nightclub" car and grinded on some Thai girls before passing out for most of the ride. The train from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi was really cool and scenic and the river Kwai was a great place to pick up girls and get lit. Trains in Australia blow almost as much as the Amtrak in the states, a bunch of sections of track on the east coast seemed to be endlessly under construction. First double decker train car I've been in was around Sydney which was pretty neat. I take the train from Kalamazoo, MI to Chicago often and it fucking blows. The train station is in the ghetto and I always get hassled by hood rats and crazies. Some guy got beaten to death in the bathroom a few years ago by some schizophrenic asshole having an episode. The best part of the ride is going through Gary and being reminded of how lucky I am to not live in a shit hole like that. A friend and I jumped onto a freight train around Blenheim, NZ with a bottle of whiskey and when the workers found us they let us ride in the front of the train because we "looked cold" god bless the kiwis.
>>1119955
This sounds like a fucking nightmare.
Thanks for warning me before I went.
Traveled from Sweden (home) to Italy by train, seeing the gradual change in climate was really cool.
I left in late spring with a friend of mine and we only brought a pair of sleeping bags pretty much, jumped off one station before the mayor cities, sleept outside in whatever we could find or under the stars if the weather allowed it. Then caught the train into town the next day.
We jumped off in a small town called Bergen in Germany, we climbed the nearest mountain and fell asleep on top of it, it was one of my best memories, such a beautiful place.
>>1125026
did you have a Eurorail ticket or something like that? What's a cheap way of getting train tickets? What you did sounds kinda expensive.
Last page bump.
>>1119955
What happened when you arrived in Vladivostok? You have my interest now
>>1119955
Russians are fucking crazy.
>>1119790
Best part of Empire Builder should be Glacier, but they make the schedule so you go through that at night. Either get off and spend a day their, or take California Zephyr.
I was thinking of using Amtrak to visit a friend in Cincinnati. I live in Texas. Anyway, should I get a room? I've heard it is cheaper than flying to go coach, but coach can be hellish if you want sleep.
choo choo
In 2000 I took a train from Geneva to Milan on a Pendolino (tilting train) through the Alps. Blew my mind.
I'm doing some travel with a friend using an interrail pass. We're gonna be going from Amsterdam to Paris, and then we're making our way to Italy. Any trains that are worth doing?
Took a lot trains while I lived in Russia for the year.
They're slow as fuck, hot, stuffy and smelly (I always did platzkart). But I loved every trip. Whether it was trying to have conversations with Russians, trading foods, smoking cigarettes (before they banned it) and just the joy of getting to step out of the train in some bum-fuck city to buy homemade pies.
Is talking about freight train hopping allowed here?
>>1128554
Sure. I'd love to hear some stories of those who have done this.
>>1117978
this almost happened to me. i thought i lost it (the small fragile piece of paper you get on your arrival) and coming to the russian-mongolian border i was somewhat scared as i heard some stories about problems i am about to face. luckily i found that shit when i was in the line to the immigration officer so i had no problems leaving the country. how did you manage the situation?
that was two years ago when i took the train from moscow to ulan ude, then by bus to ulaanbatar. shit was cash. i drank a shitload of vodka, was swimming naked and drunk in the midnight in the baikal lake, met some crazy russians in the train and as >>1119955 described got completely mindfucked by the timezones in the train. once we got 4 cellphones to check the time and every single on of them was showing completely different time. im pretty sure none of them was correct though.
man, i need to visit russia again
pic related vodka + pickles in the night
>>1116898
I took that train in 2007
Got busted smoking cigarettes between cars a couple of times, train was full of oxygen. every time I lit that lighter was tibetan roulette
Some of my favorite train trips include:
Tayshet to Irkutsk
Shanghai to the airport on the maglev
Almaty to Semey
Luxembourg to Paris
Haflong to Tinsukia
Man i love traveling with trains, i prefer it over every other form of transport.
So much good memories. We used to(and still do, but not as often) go to festivals with trains every summer.
That anticipation before the train arrives, boarding it in a rush, and that feeling when it takes off, taking you and your buddies on an adventure far from responsibilities like college or work. Love it.
Used to get drunk and party like a motherfucker in them too. We have train coupes so we weren't bothering anyone.
One memory that comes to mind is comming back from a festival with hundreds of other people wanting to ride the same train. Every coupe was full, and the hallways were full of people sitting and laying basically on top of eachother, chatting with eachother, passing joints and water canisters around and having a laugh together. It was exhausting, but in restrospect, a pretty fun time
Train in Myanmar from Pyin U Lwin to Hsipaw, bumpy as fuck but with great scenery.
>>1128743
>>1119779
For the love of god do not take the overnight train. It's expensive as fuck.
Also my experience was sharing a tiny 6 bed cabin with a bunch of drunk obnoxious Irish slobs who had no intention of sleeping and smelled of piss and sweat
