🌍World's Best Train Rides

As former offsite student I had my fair share of train rides during University years and thought I would hardly set foot on them for a long time...then I moved to Japan and had to ride subways almost everyday!
Yet I had so much fun when I travelled throughout the country on the famous shinkansen (bullet train) and, to be completely honest, I wouldn't mind to jump on one of the trains listed below!

From Europe and Russia, to South Asia and South America, here's a few of the world's most majestic and spectacular train rides!

The Orient Express

Created in 1888, the Orient Express is known universally as the setting of one of Agatha Christie's most famous detective novel, 'Murder on the Orient Express'.

The train's original route departured from Paris and ended in Constantinople (now Istanbul), but got shortened starting from the 70's and definitely ceased to operate in 2009.
The journey had several stops: Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Bucarest, before reaching Istanbul.

ph Belmond

Nowadays the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) can be considered Orient Express heir, in terms of luxury and routes: the main journey is from London to Venice, passing through Paris and Milan, but sometimes they offer alternative destinations like Cologne, Rome, Florence, Lucerne, or Copenhagen. 

Jacobite Steam train

Needless to say, likewise the Orient Express, this train as well became extremly popular thanks to a famous series of book, which eventually became an even more famous series of movies...I'm talking about Harry Potter's train to Hogwarts.

ph HERE

The Jacobite Steam train doesn't leave at platform 9¾ from Kings Cross Station, but from Fort William to Mallaig in the Scottish Highlands (which is even more awesome, if you ask me!).
It runs from April to October and it pass by some of the most interesting and scenic Scottish place, such as Loch Nevis (deepest seawater lake in Europe), Loch Morar or all the characteristic villages.

Trans-Siberian

ph HERE

Trans-Siberian is a section of the world's longest train route and goes from Moscow to Vladivostok, so it's a 'west to east' journey through Russia.

The Tran-Mongolian variant keep on all the way till Beijing, so you can experience both Russian landscapes and cities and the eastern vibes once arrived in the Chinese capital.

 Kandy to Ella train journey

Moving to South Asia, this train ride is considered the most beautiful one: it's the Kandy to Ella journey in Sri Lanka. The train has 1st, 2nd and 3rd class options, but everyone suggest to book one of the latter in order to enjoy the breathtaking views of the hills, tea plantations and waterfalls thanks to the open doorways, while having the chance of snapping shots like these below:

Ph: HERE

Ph: HERE

Devil's Nose (Nariz del Diablo)

Another spectacular railway ride is in Ecuador, South America, known as the Devil's Nose railway, going from Alausì to Sibambe and back. It's just a 40 minutes ride, but has a lot to offer.

ph HERE

The railroad descents from 2,340 to 1,400 meters above sea level and, beside being a show of Andine nature and wildlife, it's a remarkable work of engineering. The great thing about this journey is that a tourguide will explain a bit about the train's story and, in Sibambe, passengers will have the chance to visit a local Museum and witness the preentation of a folk dance, while in site. 

And these were just a few of the most spectacular train rides, check these others out!

Switzerland/Japan (both photos curtesy of @everchanginghorizon)

IN MOVIES

Trains are the perfect scenario for both novels and movies, so it's no surprise that many of them are completely or partially set on a train. Beside the usual suspects, we have:
- Train of Life (1998) with Lionel Abelanski. A tragicomic movie about members of a town that decide to build a train and stage a Jews deportation, while their actual destination is Palestine.
- The Polar Express (2004) with Tom Hanks. A young boy, who's skeptical about Santa Claus existene, jumps on a train headed to North Pole to meet him in person.
- The Darjeeling Limited (2007) with Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman. The story of three brothers on a journey through India, in order to bond with each other. 
- Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) - with Denzel Washington and John Travolta. A group of armed men take hostage a train full of passengers, blackmailing in the meantime dispatcher Walter Garber.
- Source Code (2009) with Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan. A soldier keeps on living the same 8 minutes of the same day on a commuter train, in hope of finding out who's behind a terroristic attack.
- Snowpiercer (2013) with Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton. Set in a world were a climate experiment killed most of world's population, survivors ride non stop a train, the whealthies in first class and the poor relegated, in precarious conditions, at the end of it.
- The Girl on the Train (2016) with Emily Blunt and Haley Bennett. A divorcee becomes entangled in a missing persons investigation that promises to send shockwaves throughout her life (imdb.com summary).
- The Commuter (2018) with Liam Neeson. An Insurance Salesman/Ex-Cop is caught up in a criminal conspiracy during his daily commute home (imdb.com summary).
- The 15:17 to Paris (2018) with Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler. American Marines discover a terrorist plot on a Paris-bound train (imdb.com summary).

So, tell me...which train ride intrigues you? Just one or all of them? 

Which is your favourite memory on a train?