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Travel Guide: Rail travel
TRAVELLING by train is, for many people, one of the good things in life. Smug Europeans feel sorry for their American friends who, by and large, miss out on the thrill of the railway. Such pity usually ends abruptly when their journey is delayed by confused Americans trying to catch the right train from the right platform; or when they themselves are travelling in Asia where everybody but them seems to know what is going on.
In many countries, rail is the best way to travel - it is cheaper than flying and can be just as fast over even quite long distances. It is less stressful than driving, especially around cities. And, as all great train travellers will tell you, it allows you to meet people. If the train is your preferred method of travel then see if you can get a rail pass. These are widely available in Europe and other regions and can allow substantial savings.
Below are a list of useful links, mostly to railroad companies (generally nationalised outside the US) that have varying degrees of useful information available. Often the most challenging thing about train travel in Europe is the ticketing. Hopefully, some research in advance can help you navigate this particular maze when you get to the ticket counter - or just order online where possible.
You may also be able to save yourself a lot of scrolling time by accessing Deutsche Bahn's Europe-wide timetable (includes the UK).
Or if you want an excellent city subway resource, then try the Subway Navigator site.
| Website | What it offers |
| United Kingdom |
The TrainLine
www.thetrainline.com | The best way to buy UK tickets online. |
Railtrack Travel Timetable
www.railtrack.co.uk | The definitive timetable. |
National Rail
www.nationalrail.co.uk | Provides links to Britain's complex and creaky rail network. |
Eurostar
www.eurostar.com | The best way to cross the English Channel. |
London Underground
www.thetube.com | Everything you ever wanted to know about London's famous "tube" including the map. |
| Europe |
RailEurope
www.raileurope.com | Official representative for many of Europe's railroad companies. Worth investigating. |
Eurostar
www.eurostar.com | The best way to cross the English Channel. |
Thalys
www.thalys.com | High-speed transnational service in north-west Europe. |
French Railways (SNCF)
www.sncf.com | Full Europe-wide information and booking service. |
German Railways (DB)
www.bahn.de | The mother of all rail websites. Fantastically easy to use Europe-wide timetable, and lots of other information. |
| National Railways Austria(OBB), Belarus(BRW), Belgium(SNCB), Bulgaria(BDZ), Croatia(HZ), Czech Republic(CD), Denmark(DSB), Estonia(ERW), Finland(VR), Greece(OSE), Hungary(MAV), Ireland(IE), Italy(FS), Latvia(LDz), Lithuania(LG), Luxembourg(CFL), Moldova(SE), Netherlands(NS), Norway(NSB), Poland(PKP), Portugal(CP), Romania(CFR), Russia(MPS), Slovakia(ZSR), Slovenia(SZ), Spain(RENFE), Sweden(SJ), Switzerland(SBB/CFF/FFS), Turkey(TCDD), Ukraine(UZ) |
| North America |
Amtrak
www.amtrak.com | Amtrak operates through 45 US states and is the closest thing to a US national rail network. |
National Association of Rail Passengers
www.narprail.org | List of all US railroad companies offering passenger services. Some of the links are out of date. |
BCRail
www.bcrail.com | BCRail offers tourists the chance to see some of British Columbia's spectacular scenery. |
VIA Rail Canada
www.viarail.ca | Canada's only national rail company offering passenger services. |
| Asia |
Indian Railways
www.indianrailways.gov.in | The world's largest employer has a good site, with useful tourist information. |
China
www.travel.com.hk | Information on China's extensive rail network is hard to come by. Try this for starters, or this from the same site, or this list of stations and phone nos. |
Trans-Siberian
www.russia-travel.com | The Russian tourist office's Trans-Siberia page. Also see www.trans-siberia.com for a good personal site. If you're stopping off in Mongolia, you might try Gobi Expeditions (commercial site) |
Japan Railways
www.japanrail.com | All the info on Japan's impressive (and famously fast) rail connections. |
| Africa |
Kenya Railways
www.africaonline.co.ke | Timetable and fare info. |
South Africa
www.spoornet.co.za | Scroll right down to the bottom for "Passengers". |
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