2019-09-01_Lonely_Planet_Traveller

CHICAGO–

SANFRANCISCO,USA

In1869,thesetrackswerethe

firstto crosstheContinental

Divide,linkingtheAtlanticand

thePacific,andthere’sstilla

senseof pioneeringadventure

if youmakethejourneytoday.

Onits epic2,438-milevoyage

betweenChicagoandthe

SanFranciscoBayArea,

theCaliforniaZephyrtackles

sheergorges,hotdesert,

snowymountainsanda tonne

of tunnelsandswitchbacks.

FTheZephyrleavesChicago

at 2pmdaily.Bookearlyfor

thelowestfaresandbest

availability;ticketscanbe

bookedupalmosta year

ahead.Theentirejourneytakes

51½hoursnonstop(amtrak.

com/california-zephyr-train).

HANOI–SAIGON,

VIETNAM

NicknamedtheReunification

Express when it resumed

serviceaftertheVietnamWar,

this1,072-mileride(pictured

above)betweenHanoiand

HoChiMinhCity(Saigon)runs

thelengthof thecountry.It’sa

perfectVietnamesediorama,

takingin historictowns,rice

paddies,emeraldhillsandthe

glitteringSouthChinaSea.

FForthe35-hourjourney,

choosefromhardseat

(cheapest)or soft,hardberth

(six-bedcompartment),soft

berth(four-bed)or VIPcabin

(twobeds).Book in advance

(vr.com.vn).

KAPIRIMPOSHI–

DARESSALAAM,

ZAMBIAANDTANZANIA

Isit a sleepertrainor a rolling

two-nightsafari?TheTazara

Railwaycrossesrivers,gorges

andsomeimpressivefeats

of railwayengineering

whiletrundlingthroughthe

enormous,wildlife-filled

expanse of Tanzania’s Selous

GameReserve.Youmightspot

elephants,rhinos,lionsand

morefromyourwindow.

FTicketscan’tbeboughtonline,

so you’llneedto buythemat

stationsin Dares Salaam

(Tanzania)or KapiriMposhi

(Zambia)or viaa localtravel

agency.Thejourneytakes

about 46 hours.Formore info,

seetazarasite.com.

ROME–SYRACUSE,ITALY

TogetfromtheItaliancapital

to thehistoricSiciliancityof

Syracuse,thisovernighttrain

hasto boarda boat,which

makesthejourneyevenmore

exciting.Havingtracedthe

Calabriancoast,it’sliftedonto

a ferryto crosstheStraitsof

Messina,beforebeinglifted

backoffto continueonits way.

FTwosleepertrainsleaveRome

dailyat around9.30pmand

11pmforthe12-hourtrip

(including 30 minutesat sea).

Book at trenitalia.com.

HERE’SSOMETHING

enduringlyromantic

abouttraintravel.The

slowerpace,thegentle

rhythmofthetracks,theabilityto

surrenderresponsibilityandjust

gazeoutofthewindow.That’s

especiallytrueofthesleepertrain,

thehotelonwheelsaboardwhich

youcanbeddowninonecountry

andwakeupinanother.Onwhich

youcanspendhoursadmiringthe

view,chattingtonewcompartment-

mates,sharingbread/biscuits/tea/

vodka,watchingsunrisesand

sunsetsasyourolleveron.

Ofcourse,it’sgenerallyquickerto

fly. But if youdon’thaveto, whyrush?

Rovingbyrailmeansyou’rebetter

abletounderstandtheconnections

betweenplaces,andseethescenery

segueascitiesbecomesuburbs,

whichbecomefarmland,which

becomefoothillsordesertsorplains.

Suchjourneyscanbedoneinstyle,

channellingthebygoneglamourof

theOrientExpressortheopulence

of a maharaja’spalace.But youdon’t

needsuchaccoutrementswhenthe

greatestjoyisthejourneyitself.Even

a dirty,frustratinglyslowtrainhas

itsownappeal.Squeezedintoa

second-classIndianbunk,unfolding

yourcouchetteasyoubumpacross

Europe,orlazingbackinanintercity

serviceinChina,youmightnotget

a lotofactualsleeponyoursleeper,

but you’ll have a dream of a ride.

Overnighttrainsare

a greeneralternative

to planes– andfun

in themselves

Take

the

sleeper

train

T

PHOTOGRAPH: MATT MUNRO