a thread to discuss traveling by train, why it is the best, and how to do it better.railrat.net - amtraktrains.fyi - all the trains
new acela is decent. wish they could run one to chicago and south to atlanta and miami.
I prefer to travel by train mostly because of the sleeper options, in India for example sleeper trains are probably the only peace you'll get in the country.Eurail has sort of fallen apart because of the sunk cost in Spanish services, usually I bus Europe. As soon as you've got to take connecting services the appeal of trains evaporates. Long haul rail, scenic rail, either that's what you want or it isn't. The trans Siberian, ghan, its an experience in its own right. Sometimes you want to pack your own amenities, wool blanket, battery pack Thermos/heater, you can't really wash anything so extra undergarments are usually called for but you might not need heavy waterproof clothing. Dry soap and microfibre strongly recommended and you will still wants day pack/laundry bag depending on what luggage can be secured. So probably business luggage. Train and ferry work well together. Risk of drugging on trains is still a notable threat because a mix of locals and internationals will probably stillhave access to carriages. Rohipnol can be sprayed onto you so it's not just things you might eat. Be wary of ointments, oils, perfumes and items like hand sanitisers/wipes. Consider how/if you can signal distress while onboard. Who you can lock out of a carriage/berth should also be considered in the context of where you might get locked in. It's an issue fairly specific to trains, and rather then a general risk gangs commit these crimes in spates. Air tags are great for luggage but put them on items rather then the bag, thieves often just upend a tourists bag into a duffel bag and leave the bag.
>>2885611being drugged sounds bad. i dont think i will leave the USA
>>288574310-20% of americans are on long term antidepressant use so there's a very good chance you're already pretty drugged
>>2885865long train trip would cheer them up
Train routes are so limited compared to bus routes in most of the world. So while buses have none of the grand cruising style of a train or the soulful scenery that is found along railroad tracks, the Real Traveler can't help but prefer riding road transport for the simple reason that it opens up so much more of the map to exploration. Even in India, a country with one of the most extensive railway networks in the world, I resorted to traveling almost exclusively by bus, because everywhere I wanted to go was only accessible by bus.
>>2886321pfft. real travellers walk. maybe swim
>>2886321i am not so adventurous. the train usually drops off in the middle of town and walking from there is good enough for me.
>>2886362Yeah, if it's your first time in a country you might as well ride the train from one town to the next. The problem is the scarcity of towns along most railway routes. You ride through what looks like 100 km of nothingness to get from one town to another. A map check reveals that there are countless places beyond walking distance of the railway stations. In some countries like Poland they have bus stands near the train stations. After a train arrives, the buses fill up with passengers going to various towns nearby. Others have no such well-planned conveniences.
>>2887186what do you consider walking distance? closer to 30 minutes or 3 hours?
new acela. not impressed
>>2886321It sucks but it’s true.Taking the train in Africa is so captivating in theory but in reality it’s impossible. It has no schedule and the ticket office is never open. Whereas the bus can always either be booked ahead of time or you just show up and hop on. This is true everywhere all the way down to the poorest countries like Malawi.The train though? Ok the only place I have seen the Zimbabwean Railway ticket office open was in Maputo…after I had just come from Zimbabwe desperately wanting to at least take the train from Harare to Mutare.That said I’ve had some great trips. The best online resource continues to be themaninseat61 but even he’s grown stale over time. Not his fault, just a lot of pre coof assumptions.
>>2887238ESL always confusing "how long is the distance to the destination" with "how long does it take to get there". Time is not distance. The average traveler would not want to walk farther than 5 km or 3 mi from a point of transit to his destination.
>>2890388its like driving, distance isnt as important as time. the differences arent as bad because theres usually not much traffic on foot but difficult highway crossings or bad neighborhoods can stretch 1 mile into 30 minutes.
