World's Greatest Train Journeys The most scenic and storied train journeys on Earth, ranked — the Glacier Express, Trans-Siberian, Rocky Mountaineer and more. Re-sort by region or name.
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1. Trans-Siberian Railway
Moscow to Vladivostok, Russia
The world's longest continuous rail journey, 9,289 km across seven time zones, taiga, Lake Baikal and the Urals over roughly seven epic days.
2. Rocky Mountaineer
Vancouver to Banff, Canada
Daylight-only glass-dome luxury through the Canadian Rockies, past Kicking Horse Pass, Spiral Tunnels and the canyons of the Fraser and Thompson rivers.
3. Glacier Express
Zermatt to St. Moritz, Switzerland
The 'slowest express in the world' crosses 291 bridges and 91 tunnels over the Oberalp Pass and UNESCO-listed Landwasser Viaduct beneath the Matterhorn.
4. Bernina Express
Chur to Tirano, Switzerland/Italy
A UNESCO-listed Alpine crossing climbing to 2,253 m without rack rail, spiralling over the Brusio circular viaduct from glaciers to Italian palm trees.
5. The Ghan
Adelaide to Darwin, Australia
A 2,979 km traverse of Australia's Red Centre, slicing through the Outback past Alice Springs and Katherine Gorge over three transcontinental days.
6. Belmond Andean Explorer
Cusco to Arequipa via Puno, Peru
South America's first luxury sleeper crosses the high Andean altiplano above 4,000 m, past Lake Titicaca and snow-capped volcanoes.
7. Tren a las Nubes
Salta loop, Argentina
The 'Train to the Clouds' climbs to 4,220 m through 29 bridges and 21 tunnels, crossing the dizzying La Polvorilla viaduct in the Andes.
8. Flåm Railway (Flåmsbana)
Myrdal to Flåm, Norway
One of the world's steepest standard-gauge lines plunges through 20 tunnels past the thundering Kjosfossen waterfall down to Aurlandsfjord.
9. Jacobite Steam Train
Fort William to Mallaig, Scotland
A steam journey over the curved Glenfinnan Viaduct (of Harry Potter fame) past lochs, Ben Nevis and the wild West Highland coast.
10. Trans-Mongolian Railway
Moscow to Beijing via Ulaanbaatar, Russia/Mongolia/China
Branches off the Trans-Siberian across the Gobi Desert and Mongolian steppe, linking Siberian forest to the Great Wall in one ride.
11. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling, India
A UNESCO 'Toy Train' on 2-foot gauge loops and zig-zags up to Ghum at 2,258 m through tea estates with Kanchenjunga views.
12. West Highland Line
Glasgow to Mallaig, Scotland
Regularly voted the world's most scenic rail trip, crossing Rannoch Moor, Glenfinnan Viaduct and remote Highland wilderness to the sea.
13. TranzAlpine
Christchurch to Greymouth, New Zealand
Crosses the Southern Alps via Arthur's Pass, climbing through the Waimakariri gorges, beech forest and Otira Tunnel coast to coast.
14. Qinghai–Tibet Railway
Xining to Lhasa, China
The world's highest railway crests the Tanggula Pass at 5,072 m with oxygen-supplied carriages across the permafrost Tibetan Plateau.
15. Bergen Line
Oslo to Bergen, Norway
Northern Europe's highest mainline crosses the snowbound Hardangervidda plateau above the treeline between Norway's two great cities.
16. Coastal Pacific (Coastal Starlight equivalent)
Picton to Christchurch, New Zealand
Hugs the rugged Kaikoura coast where the Southern Alps meet the Pacific, passing seal colonies, surf beaches and 20 tunnels.
17. Coast Starlight
Seattle to Los Angeles, USA
Amtrak's flagship runs the Pacific coast and Cascade peaks past Mount Shasta, Oregon forests and the surf cliffs of California.
18. California Zephyr
Chicago to San Francisco, USA
Crosses the Rockies and Sierra Nevada through Colorado's Glenwood Canyon and Donner Pass, a 3,924 km two-night American panorama.
19. Eastern & Oriental Express
Singapore to Bangkok, Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand
A vintage luxury sleeper through tropical Malaysia and Thailand, gliding past rice paddies, jungle and the River Kwai bridge.
20. Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
London to Venice, UK/France/Italy
Restored 1920s Art Deco carriages carry the romance of golden-age travel across the Alps from London to the Venetian lagoon.
21. Rovos Rail (Pride of Africa)
Pretoria to Cape Town, South Africa
Restored wood-panelled luxury crosses the Highveld, Karoo and Hex River mountains, often billed as the most luxurious train in the world.
22. Blue Train
Pretoria to Cape Town, South Africa
A five-star 'hotel on wheels' rolls 1,600 km across the Highveld and the dramatic Hex River Pass to Table Mountain.
23. Hiram Bingham / PeruRail to Machu Picchu
Cusco to Aguas Calientes, Peru
Follows the Urubamba River through the Sacred Valley's vertiginous cloud-forest gorge to the foot of Machu Picchu.
24. Chihuahua al Pacífico (El Chepe)
Chihuahua to Los Mochis, Mexico
Engineering marvel of 37 bridges and 86 tunnels through the Copper Canyon, deeper and wider than the Grand Canyon.
25. Reunification Express (North–South Railway)
Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Hugs the coast over the spectacular Hai Van Pass past beaches, paddies and lagoons spanning the length of Vietnam.
26. Semmering Railway
Gloggnitz to Mürzzuschlag, Austria
The world's first UNESCO-listed mountain railway, an 1854 masterpiece of viaducts and tunnels through the Eastern Alps.
27. Cass Scenic / Durango & Silverton
Durango to Silverton, USA
Coal-fired narrow-gauge steam clings to the Animas River gorge through the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, unchanged since 1882.
28. Maharajas' Express
Mumbai, India
India's most opulent train links Rajasthan's palaces, the Taj Mahal and tiger country in regal carriages on multi-day journeys.
29. Indian Pacific
Sydney to Perth, Australia
Spans 4,352 km coast to coast, including the world's longest straight stretch of track across the vast, treeless Nullarbor Plain.
30. Konkan Railway
Mumbai to Mangalore, India
A monsoon-green coastal marvel of 2,000 bridges and 92 tunnels threading the Western Ghats, waterfalls and Arabian Sea estuaries.
31. Centovalli Railway
Locarno to Domodossola, Switzerland/Italy
The 'hundred valleys' line crosses chestnut forests, gorges and stone-arch viaducts between Swiss Lake Maggiore and the Italian Alps.
32. Kuranda Scenic Railway
Cairns to Kuranda, Australia
Winds through World Heritage rainforest past the Barron Falls and 15 tunnels on a line hand-cut into the Queensland mountainside.
33. Empire Builder
Chicago to Seattle, USA
Traces the northern frontier across the Great Plains and skirts Glacier National Park's peaks over Marias Pass to the Pacific Northwest.
34. Bernese Oberland / Jungfrau Railway
Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch, Switzerland
Tunnels through the Eiger and Mönch to Europe's highest station at 3,454 m, the 'Top of Europe' amid eternal glaciers.
35. Settle–Carlisle Line
Settle to Carlisle, England
England's most scenic mainline crosses the Yorkshire Dales and the iconic 24-arch Ribblehead Viaduct over wild Pennine moorland.
36. Gornergrat Railway
Zermatt to Gornergrat, Switzerland
A cog railway climbs to 3,089 m for a 360-degree panorama of the Matterhorn and 29 surrounding 4,000-metre peaks.
37. Mount Pilatus / Rigi cog railways
Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm, Switzerland
The world's steepest cog railway at 48% gradient hauls visitors up sheer cliffs above Lake Lucerne to a dragon-legend summit.
38. Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
Chama to Antonito, USA
America's highest and longest narrow-gauge steam line climbs Cumbres Pass at 3,053 m through aspen groves and the Toltec Gorge.
39. Transcantábrico
León to Santiago, Spain
A vintage narrow-gauge luxury train winds the green Bay of Biscay coast through Asturias, Cantabria and the Picos de Europa.
40. Gono Line
Akita to Aomori, Japan
The Resort Shirakami hugs the dramatic Sea of Japan coastline past the World Heritage Shirakami-Sanchi beech forests.
41. Seven Stars in Kyushu
Kyushu grand loop, Japan
Japan's pioneering luxury sleeper tours Kyushu's volcanoes, hot springs and coast in exquisitely crafted wood-and-lacquer carriages.
42. Dar es Salaam / TAZARA
Dar es Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi, Tanzania/Zambia
Crosses the Selous game reserve where elephants and giraffe roam beside the track, climbing the dramatic Mlimba escarpment.
43. Nairobi–Mombasa SGR (Madaraka Express)
Nairobi to Mombasa, Kenya
Cuts across Tsavo National Park where the track frames giraffe, elephant and zebra against Kilimanjaro on the way to the coast.
44. Adirondack
New York to Montreal, USA/Canada
Runs the shore of Lake Champlain and the Hudson Valley through the Adirondack Mountains, spectacular under autumn foliage.
45. Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic / Denali Star
Anchorage to Fairbanks, USA
Glass-domed cars pass Denali, glaciers, the Nenana River canyon and wilderness only reachable by rail through the Alaskan interior.
46. Rauma Line
Dombås to Åndalsnes, Norway
Spirals through the Romsdalen valley past the sheer Trollveggen cliff and the Kylling Bridge over a turquoise glacial river.
47. Cinque Terre coastal line
La Spezia to Levanto, Italy
Threads tunnels and clifftop ledges linking the five pastel fishing villages above the sparkling Ligurian Sea.
48. Mont Blanc Express / Train du Montenvers
Chamonix to Montenvers, France
A cog railway climbs from Chamonix to the Mer de Glace, France's largest glacier, beneath the soaring Mont Blanc massif.
49. Petit Train Jaune (Yellow Train)
Villefranche to Latour-de-Carol, France
A canary-yellow narrow-gauge line crosses the highest railway viaducts in the French Pyrenees, climbing to 1,593 m.
50. Brocken / Harz narrow-gauge steam
Wernigerode to Brocken, Germany
Steam locomotives climb through the forests of the Harz mountains to the misty 1,141 m Brocken summit of folklore.
51. Snowdon Mountain Railway
Llanberis to Snowdon Summit, Wales
Britain's only public rack railway hauls passengers to the 1,085 m summit of Wales's highest peak for sweeping Eryri views.
52. Ferrocarril Central Andino
Lima to Huancayo, Peru
One of the world's highest standard-gauge lines crests Galera at 4,781 m via 69 tunnels and 58 bridges in the Andes.
53. Serra Verde Express
Curitiba to Morretes, Brazil
Descends the Atlantic-forest Serra do Mar through tunnels and waterfalls on a 19th-century line clinging to misty green cliffs.
54. Ella / Hill Country line (Kandy to Ella)
Kandy to Ella, Sri Lanka
Climbs through emerald tea plantations and cloud forest over the Nine Arch Bridge, one of Asia's most photographed rail rides.
55. Death Railway (Thai–Burma Railway)
Bangkok to Nam Tok, Thailand
A poignant WWII-era line skirts the River Kwai on the cliff-hugging Wampo wooden viaduct through jungle gorges.
56. Kalka–Shimla Railway
Kalka to Shimla, India
A UNESCO narrow-gauge 'Toy Train' negotiates 102 tunnels and 800-plus bridges climbing into the Himalayan foothills to the Raj capital.
57. Nilgiri Mountain Railway
Mettupalayam to Ooty, India
India's only rack railway grinds up the Nilgiri Hills through 16 tunnels and 250 bridges amid tea gardens and shola forest.
58. Canadian (VIA Rail)
Toronto to Vancouver, Canada
A four-day transcontinental odyssey across the boreal shield, prairies and Rockies in classic stainless-steel dome cars.
59. Caledonian Sleeper
London to Fort William, Scotland
Wake to the Highlands as the sleeper traverses Rannoch Moor and remote glens to the foot of Ben Nevis.
60. Arctic Circle / Nordland Line
Trondheim to Bodø, Norway
Crosses the Arctic Circle through fjords, forests and tundra on Norway's longest line into the land of the midnight sun.
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