One of the truths that we have been reminded of several times since we started travelling again this year is that train travel is best. Don’t get us wrong, for trips over a certain length, flying is incredibly efficient.
To get from A to B quickly air travel is perfect, and often cost effective. But let’s be honest, it’s never truly an enjoyable experience even if you are sitting right at the front of the aircraft.
Train travel (and to a lesser extent bus journeys) are different. They are fun, comfortable and relaxing. Here are our 7 reasons why you should ditch the airplane and car if you can and “let the train take the strain.”
Table of Contents
1. Your Vacation Starts Earlier
We all know that flying is miserable. It is a means to an end, and that end is to arrive somewhere quickly so that you can start enjoying yourself.
When you choose to travel by rail the fun starts as soon as you get onto the train. You board, sit back and enjoy the views.
Sure, there may be some form of check-in and security process, but you can be sure that it will be much quicker and far easier than those at any airport.
On a bus this is sometimes the case, but much of the time your view is dominated by a busy highway.
If you have a window seat on a plane, you will get views for a few minutes after take-off and before landing, but for the rest of the time it’s blue skies and clouds, hardly invigorating!
I’ve never been to Pisa, but I got a great view of the famous leaning tower from the window of a train between Nice and Rome. That would never have happened on Air France or Alitalia.
2. It’s a More Eco-friendly Way to Travel
As much as we love travel, I always feel a pang of guilt about the size of my carbon footprint every time I board an aircraft. I often imagine an indignant Greta Thunberg, a distraught Al Gore or an angry Bill Oddie looking down at me disapprovingly.
I do hope that at least one of these environmentalists and champions of climate registers with you, otherwise they are just irrelevant cultural references.
When you travel by train you contribute less to both carbon and noise pollution than someone who chooses car or aircraft travel. According to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Data on Fuel Efficiency, trains use 30% less energy than cars and 20% than aircraft per passenger mile.
A growing trend is companies offering additional vacation to employees who opt for what is called “slow travel.” In other words, get more vacation time if you pick train travel over flying. And, as you already know, your vacation starts earlier when you opt for rail travel.
Maybe you can ask your boss or HR about this. Companies are always looking for ways to be more socially and environmentally responsible.
3. End Your Journey in the Heart of the City.
Most train stations are located in or very close to city centres. Think Gare du Nord in Paris, Waterloo in London or Penn Station in New York.
In every case, you step off the train and find yourself instantly in the heart of an amazing city. We’ve done the same using Roma Termini in Rome, Madrid’s Atocha Railway Station and Berlin Hauptbahnhof.
Remember this is not just an issue on arrival, you will need to travel to your departure airport too and where will that be? Nine times out of ten, some distance outside your home city.
4. Train Travel Can Be Quicker
OK, our recent trip from Montreal to Amsterdam was flown courtesy of KLM. I mean, it’s a distance of more than 5,000 km, mostly over water.
Of course, I did receive an imaginary visit from a famous environmental activist, but at least I was able to counter in my head that I had no other choice and that once we reached Europe we would largely be using bus and rail travel. So, my guilt was slightly abated as I “chatted” with famous Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki. I do try to keep it geographically relevant, and I don’t know any similar Dutch activists.
However, even relatively lengthy train journeys can be faster than the seemingly quicker flight time.
I have travelled from London to Paris several times on the Eurostar train. As this takes almost 3 hours surely a flight of just over an hour from Heathrow would be quicker.
But then you remember the times involved in traveling to Heathrow, passing through security lines, waiting at the airport and the train or taxi (very expensive) journey from Charles de Galle Airport to the centre of Paris. And, of course, the train is also way more enjoyable than the stressful misery of modern-day air travel.
Just a few weeks ago we went from Toronto to Ottawa. Although almost 5 hours on VIA Rail, it was only marginally longer than taking a plane, as Ottawa airport is pretty close to the city.
What’s more, we arrived relaxed and happy, ready to enjoy our first night with a smile. Even if the train is a little longer than the plane, remember you’ll still be enjoying your vacation earlier because it starts as soon as you board.
5. It’s easier to Stay Connected
While many planes now offer onboard Wi-Fi, it’s often terrible quality and nearly always pricey. Trains, on the other hand, frequently provide complementary Wi-Fi and the quality of the connection is usually significantly better than that offered most airlines.
This was certainly our recent experiences when we compare the Wif-Fi on KLM and American Airlines to that on trains in Canada and Europe.
If Wi-Fi isn’t available, such as was the case during our August train trip from Balsicas-Mar Menor to Orihuela, you can always use your own data connection. That’s certainly not an option when you are flying.
As a sidebar, I really encourage you to pick up a local SIM card with a decent data package whenever you arrive in a new country. In this case, I had picked up 25GB of data for less than €20, which was great on the train and worked in every EU country.
6. Train Travel is More Comfortable
Unless, unlike us, your budget stretches to regular Business Class tickets, we all know that aircrafts are becoming more cramped and less comfortable.
It is a simple fact that economy class seats are now narrower and provide less legroom, as airline struggle to operate as economically as possible. Train travel is just so much more comfortable and spacious.
Not only that, you rarely need seat belts and you can easily walk along carriages. Sometimes you can even spend a few moments having a quick stroll along a platform. Just be sure to get back on before the train leaves.
As I mentioned, we can’t afford premium airline tickets, but even the notoriously parsimonious Monique lets me buy First Class train tickets. This year we enjoyed the premium carriage for our train trip from the south coast of Spain to Madrid for an extra of just €10 each and a couple of years ago we had a fabulous First Class experience from Vienna to Ljubljana for less than €8 more per ticket.
7. The Food and Drink Options are Better
For someone brought up on the notorious British Rail sandwich, I had to think carefully about this one.
However, on balance, I genuinely think that the options on trains are usually better than those in the air. I mean, our latest flight to Jamaica took 4 hours and we were given the world’s smallest bag of mini pretzels.
Some trains have dining cars, where you can purchase fabulous meals served on china plates and even buffet cars offer a fairly wide choice of snacks and meals. When you pay the small supplement for First Class the refreshments can be awesome.
This was certainly the case during the aforementioned trip involving the capitals of Austria and Slovenia. We also took a Business Class trip on VIA Rail from Montreal to Toronto, and I really enjoyed the complimentary meal.
In some countries you can pick up fabulous food and drink from platform vendors during short stops along the way. I’ve done this in several countries, including Italy, and can’t wait to try it in India soon.
I hope that I have convinced you to include more train travel in your next vacation. We are planning to do so in Southeast Asia next year.
I’m also trying to persuade Monique that we should splash out on a luxury train trip across India. Wish me luck, as I keep reminding her: you only live once.
Author
Nick Abbott
Hi, I’m Nick. Visiting foreign countries has been an important part of my life since my parents moved to Kano in Nigeria in 1977. Since then, as both a military officer and in later jobs I have enjoyed the huge privilege of being exposed to many different countries and cultures.
I am delighted to be able to support my wife Monique and Yes2Yolo primarily by contributing travel articles, providing editing and proof-reading services and being a general sounding board.
Great article Nick! I travelled by train from London to Liverpool several times while I was studying in Liverpool and had absolutely no regrets.Also, commuting from central London to North London was via rail and it was always so relaxing to just sit and look out the window.
Thanks so much Elizabeth! Undoubtedly, train travel is one of the most relaxing experiences. Glad you had the chance to try the London ones!