The Joys of Train Travel

Whether it’s the TGV (otherwise known — or said in English — as the Tay-zhay-vay) or the Deutsche Bahn or the Eurostar or even Amtrak, train travel is a low-stress, roomy, and scenic way to travel.

Although train travel in other parts of the world, especially in East Asia, specifically Japan and China, have high speed trains, the focus here will be on Europe and the United States.

Now think about it: what are the train travel benefits you think of while riding on the rails? Whether you’re in a space of focusing on eco-friendly transportation to merely wanting to take your eyes off the road and sleep while traveling, or that you don’t want to deal with the semi-organized chaos of airports, here are a few features to harken back to when thinking of the joys of train travel.

Comfort, Space, and Freedom

Imagine a driving or airport scenario right now: are you getting annoyed with other drivers that keep braking when they don’t need to? Are you shaking your head at getting to the airport early and even still, there are long lines at security checkpoints with the people ahead of you seemingly unsure of how security checkpoints work?

Now, think of the comfort of a train. Yes, you still need to arrive on time, and early in fact, for your departure time. However, even if you’re traveling internationally (a la Eurostar going from say London to Paris) and require security and customs clearance, there is an organized way about all of it with train travel.

Meanwhile, once you’re on the train, it’s roomy and there’s hardly anywhere you can’t go — hell, you can even go to the restaurant or bar car and hang out and eat and drink there instead of going back to your seat  — while the seat areas are comfy, especially in newer trains.

Similar to planes, you have the space to walk around the aisle, but unlike planes, riding the rails allows you to enjoy the freedom of movement just that little bit more.

Scenic Views

You can get scenic views through any mode of transportation, however, the view from trains is that much more special. Especially on high speed trains throughout Europe, landscapes zoom past you at nearly 200 mph, leaving little room to capture the scene. However, you get the picture (pun intended) of what it looks like as the blue skies, windmills (old school in the Netherlands or new in the north of France), and green grass rolling hills speed past.

Furthermore, as the train pulls into the stations for the few stops along the route, you’re able to see the outskirts of whatever cities you’re pulling into. Whether that’s Antwerp as you’re traveling from Amsterdam to Paris, or Gothenburg during your Oslo to Copenhagen trip, or even having one change stop in Verona on your way from Milan to Munich, the partial city views are an inspiration for future trips.

Eco-Friendly Transportation, Social, and Cultural Impacts

Although for many people, getting to their destination is the main point of contention, for others, traveling to their trip location is about doing it sustainably for the environment. As it is, train travel by way of, especially these days without steam powered or coal powered trains but rather, electricity, is gaining popularity. 

Although diesel is very much the name of the game in the United States, many train lines in Europe, whether Spain, France, or Italy, are moving toward the sustainability of electric trains. What’s more, whether it’s traveling to and from London or traveling within Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands on trains versus planes, there’s up to 97% and 79%, respectively, lower carbon emissions.

Additionally, not only is train travel eco-friendly but socially and culturally friendly. Language, cultural backgrounds, and social norms are passed more seamlessly as people using trains can reach large, well-known and internationally-acclaimed destinations, while also stopping along the rails at smaller towns and cities that may not have been otherwise learned about, stopped at, or thought of.

Practicality and Accessibility

Eco-friendliness aside, it’s often easier to travel by train for many people for multiple reasons, leading to train travel being a top reason to utilize what’s nearby. 

For instance, would you prefer traveling from London to Amsterdam by train or plane?

Think about it: heading out to Heathrow or Gatwick takes a good 45 to 60 minutes by the tube (the Lizzie line is great for getting to Heathrow now from the city center!) or other Gatwick Express. Then, once at the airport, you need to go through security, and then wait for your plane’s boarding time. Then it’s boarding and then takeoff, the flight and landing, disembarking, and then finally customs. Then you need to take the train or a cab into the main part of Amsterdam. Although it’s only an hour flight, everything else included means you’re at about 3-4 hours of travel.

Or the train scenario: Arrive at King’s Cross in the city center, and check in through customs for France (since you’ll be passing through to get to Amsterdam), which takes about 10 minutes. Then wait for the train so you can get on. Then you’re off with likely 2-4 stops and you arrive about 4 hours later. There’s no air pressurization (so no headaches if you get that glass of wine for lunch along the way) and there’s a bit more room to move about. Also, with being on the ground, there’s more WiFi capabilities so if you have work to do or emails to read, you’re not totally switched off, or get spotty plane WiFi.

Since this is the best European scenario, the accessibility, practicality, refurbishment, and growth of high speed train travel is not lost on the author when it comes to the United States. There’s a lot more to be done for the expansion of high speed rail in the US, but at the crux of it, it’s easy and simple to ride the rails from state to state or country to country. 

What are you waiting for? Look for your next destination and see if you can connect your trip via train travel for even more wonderment than you thought possible.