World's Greatest Train Journeys

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.