The Case for Taking the Train
Rail travel is slower than flying, and that is exactly the point. Why the journey itself might be the best part of your next trip.
2 min read
On paper, the train almost never wins. The flight from one European capital to another takes ninety minutes; the train might take six hours. But that comparison leaves out everything that happens around the flight: the journey to an airport outside the city, the security queue, the boarding scrum, the wait for bags and the transfer back into town.
Count door to door and the gap shrinks dramatically. Count how you feel when you arrive, and the train starts to look like the obvious choice.
Arriving in the middle of things
Train stations are usually in the heart of the city. You step off the platform and you are already there, a short walk or tram ride from wherever you are staying. There is a particular pleasure in walking out of a grand old station into a city you have never seen, with nothing to do but find your way.
Time that belongs to you
A long train ride is one of the last places where you are allowed to do nothing. You can read for three hours without interruption. You can watch the landscape change from flat farmland to vineyards to mountains. You can eat a proper lunch from the dining car, or a picnic bought at a market that morning.
On a plane you are cargo. On a train you are a traveller.
Making it work
Book early for long routes. Fares on high-speed lines rise as departure approaches, just like flights.
Consider a sleeper. Night trains have made a real comeback, and waking up in a new country is hard to beat.
Pack food you love. Good bread, cheese and fruit turn any journey into an occasion.
Choose a forward-facing window seat, and check which side of the train has the better view.
Rail travel asks you to give up a few hours. In return, it gives you the journey back, and makes it part of the trip rather than an obstacle to it.
