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The automobile is an important part of the cultural heritage in the United States, and while
they have a marvelous network of well-maintained highways, and cars are fairly comfortable, the railway network is no less developed. There are many lines and the Amtrak
network covers just about the entire territory. Not only are railroads a practical means of transport, but they are a good way of covering long distances, in the greatest of comfort.
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Two large companies share the East-West traffic or vice versa. The Canadian Pacific (CP
Rail) successfully established the first transcontinental line in 1885 and between 1917 and 1923, Canadian National (CN) integrated a large number of lines to provide greater coverage
to the country's southern regions. Be it on CP or CN lines, or with Via Rail, a national network allows passengers to travel both short and long-distance routes. Here, as in the
United States, trains are more than just a practical means of transport, they also allow you to travel on a romantic escapade.
The network is very dense and there are a great number of trains. For example, between
Florence and Venice or Florence and Rome, there's a train every twenty or thirty minutes. European trains take great pride in their punctuality; they usually arrive and depart right on
time. Except for the TGV, you can take a train without reserving in advance, but during the tourist season it's best to reserve.
A question often asked: Is it worthwhile buying a "rail-pass"? Yes, if you're going long
distances, but not if you're just going short distances. If you're planning, for example, to travel Madrid-Paris, Paris-Berlin, Berlin-Zurich, Zurich-Rome, Rome-Marseilles, you may find it
beneficial to buy a 5-day Euro-pass (you can do 5 trips on 5 different days). But, as another example, you're on the Riviera and you're staying in Nice, and you plan to take the
train to Cannes, Antibes, Monaco, Vintimille, Juan les Pins, then return tickets for these segments will cost you less if you buy a 5-day "France-Pass."
Japan: The network is very dense and there are very many trains. In addition to the
high-speed Shinkansen (also called the Bullet), there are trains covering and crisscrossing the entire territory. As in Europe, there are departures every 20 or 30 minutes. For the
Shinkansen, you do have to make reservations (all passengers must have a seat). In Japan it might be beneficial to buy a rail pass outside of the country (and save 50% on prices paid
within the country). With this pass you can take all Japanese trains for a given length of time (7, 14 or 21 days).
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In China, there are lines connecting the large cities, leaving and arriving every hour. They
are very safe but also very slow. The speed of the average train is only 50 km per hour and a trip from Beijing to Xi'an, for example, takes 1 hr. 15 min by plane yet 11 hours on the
train! There are two classes of tickets, but instead of being called first and second class,
the are "soft seats" and "hard seats." The "hard seats" are really just wooden benches and you travel in compartments always filled to capacity, making each trip a memorable
experience!
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India has the world's 4th largest rail network with more than 60,000 km of tracks. Each day
11,000 trains transport more than 9 million passengers between its 7,000 stations. If you're planning to use the Indian Railway, the first problem to deal with is their schedules. The
"Trains at a Glance" guide has 100 pages listing the major lines, while the "Indian Bradshaw" guide lists all the lines on 300 pages. Then there is a choice of class (1st, 2nd, with or
without air-conditioning, with or without berths, etc.), plus the train category (you can choose express trains or mail trains rather than passenger trains, that spend an infinite
amount of time in every station). Lastly, when you're about to take your train, a surprise awaits you. In India, the timetable panels usually list the trains by name but not by
destination. You'll read for example that the Cholan Express leaves at 8:45 PM but for where? You'll need to check your "Trains at a Glance" guide.
A trip on Indian trains is unlike any other. Though sometimes uncomfortable and a bit of a
test on your nerves (there're so slow), your experience will be unforgettable adventure.
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Nowadays, in certain areas of the world, it's often more advantageous to take the train
than the plane. This is particularly true in Europe or Japan, where railways will take you just about everywhere, and on high-speed trains. A trip from Tokyo to Osaka by plane takes
about 1 hr. 15 min, but due to heavy vehicle traffic in Japanese cities, it can take at least two hours (or even three!) to get from downtown to the airport, or to return
downtown. However, the Sinkansen (Japan's high-speed train) gets you from Tokyo to Osaka it in 2 hr. 15 min., downtown to downtown, so you can save at least an hour.
