Best Things About Traveling by Train

Nowadays, for short distance travel, people typically choose to go by car. For long distances, people choose planes more often than not, or sometimes ships, but more and more people are starting to travel both long and short distances by train.

There was a time when trains were the preferred method of travel. Back then, trains were the only high speed way to travel long distances, especially when the alternative was horses or horse driven wagons. People would travel across the country or across the state. Train travel back then was certainly much slower than it is now, but this may also be why train travel has always had a certain mystique about it. Trains have always had something special about them; they are more romantic than any other mode of transport and can harken back to olden days when things were much simpler and life seemed much slower.

Train travel is generally less costly, faster and more efficient than some other methods of travel. The best thing about traveling by train is that you don’t have to experience any traffic jams and you are still moving along the ground. Train travel is quite leisurely, as you can do many things on the train like take a walk, go to the dining car, make friends and chat with other travelers, look at the views, play cards, read or just sleep. You can enjoy yourself much more on a train than making the same trip with a car. With a car, you must be alert at all times. With a train, you can sleep the entire time, if you wish. There’s no need to worry about getting there on time, following directions, getting gas, getting lost, weather or where to stop for food either.

The very best thing and biggest advantage of traveling by train is the amount of relaxation you can have. You are able to relax by sitting in any position you want, in a padded seat. You can also take a pillow and a blanket with you to make you more comfortable during your ride. You can also get food from the food cart. This is typical for day trips. For overnight trips, the luxuries available are far more. You can purchase a sleeper cabin, which usually has a toilet and sink for washing up and a comfy bed. Sometimes you may need to share the cabin, other times it will be completely private, depending on what is available on the particular train you are traveling on. Also, on overnight trips, you can take advantage of entertainment, fancier dining and even a bar.

Many cities of Europe are close together, so if you travel by train you get to see a lot of the sights and enjoy other benefits as well. In many parts of Europe, train travel is relatively inexpensive, especially if you take advantage of special rail passes that are available that offer unlimited travel by train on many rail lines in Europe. With these rail passes, it is possible to travel the whole of Europe quite cheaply.

Lastly, modern trains are highly environmentally friendly. Most use eco-friendly sources of power and generate much less pollution than similar travel by plane or car.

China Train Travel Guide – Train System of China

China has paid great attention to the development of the railway system, and they’ve made significant achievement on building the railway network. Since China has over 1.3 billion people, traveling always becomes a big headache when most people travel which is why trains are so important in China.

Now most china cities can be reached by trains, no matter it is fast train or slow one, no matter it is direct trains to big cities or trains running between two small nearby cities. Traveling by rail is convenient and cheap.

China trains are divided into 4 different types: the number with no English letter means slow trains. T/K ones represent fast trains, Z trains for direct line between two cities while D trains for China Railway High-speed (CRH), the fastest train in China.

For a typical train in China, there are mainly 3 type tickets: seat, sleeper and luxurious cabin. Seat has two type soft seat and hard seat. Sleeper has hard sleeper and soft sleeper too, and hard ones are cheaper than soft ones.

If you want to travel from one big city to another city by railway, you can choose to take express train which is called D train, ticket number started with letter D. It is the fastest and most comfortable type in China. The train with just number and no English letter is slow train which always stops at small city and town stations. T or Z trains are also fast trains and suggested to take for travelers.

China train tickets are available at railway stations and train ticket agents which can be found at different corners of a city. Travelers are allowed to buy the tickets 5-20 days before its departure, and different ones has different advance booking period. The Z and D trains allow travelers to book tickets 20 days ahead.

When you travel in China and want to travel by railway, remember to avoid the travel peak season become if you travel during the peak days, you will have great difficulty buying the tickets. For example, national holidays, such as China national day, the new year(spring festival) and May day etc.

Travel by Train – An Alternative To Flying

With airfare through the roof for some routes and the potential threat to privacy of security screening, more and more people are opting to travel domestically either by car or by train these days. Once not too long ago, most long-distance travel was accomplished comfortably by train.

Some families have chosen the comfort and luxury of the railway over the stuffed, turbulent travel in a tube of a plane. Some people also consider travel by train a way of giving back to the environment by using a less pollution producing means of travel.

The ones who do use cars know that a “good trip” might mean that there is fast food, dirty rest stops and potential accidents waiting around every curve. Back when cars were scarce and people took trains more often than today traveled in a luxury that an airplane and car simply cannot compete with.

In those days there weren’t a lot of paved highways anyway, so the ride was horrible. Today there are plenty of great travelways but you have to contend with traffic, poor drivers and frequent stops for gas. Airplanes today are nothing more than pollution producers and do not provide the comforts of train travel.

Back when trains were a primary source of long distance travel air travel was only for those who had lots and lots of money. So people traveled by train, and passenger comfort wasn’t high on the priority list of the train companies. Today, however, times have changed! You can have full cooked meals in the luxury of your own sleeping compartment.

There is an observation car that you get to see the countryside that you pass through. If you are doing business, there is highspeed internet access and in some trains the sleeping compartments even have TV’s with console games for the kids.

Back in the day when trains were a primary source of long distance travel every trip was an adventure and had the appeal of something right out of the pages of a novel.

Today, train travel is fast, safe and still holds the air of adventure. It’s not as fast as air travel, of course, but it is very fast compared to a bus or even a car in some respects. In many foreign countries, train travel even rivals air travel for speed and exceeds air travel in punctuality which can be of importance to business travelers.

Many times when people choose to travel by train today, the destination is important, but the adventure of the trip can be well more than half the fun.

How to Enjoy Traveling by Train

There are all kinds of different ways that you can travel when you decide to take a vacation. One way to experience a vacation is if you travel in a train. It might not be the best way for everyone but if you are looking for a way to travel in a leisurely manner, want to see a lot of the countryside without actually driving it yourself the this could be the way to go for you. There are a few ways that you can enjoy train a lot better and have a great way to enjoy your vacation.

Before even beginning the planning for you trip you might want to consider talking with other family members or friends who may have taken a train trip before. You could also think about joining a chat with other train travelers and find out what this type of travel is really like and you should be able to figure out then if this is the way you really want to go.

When you travel by train you will find out really quick that the old saying that “traveling is a journey and not a destination” is extremely true when you travel in a train. It’s important then that you are not just thinking about getting to your destination but realize that the trip there will be filled with lots of interesting things to see and experience.

When you do decide to book your train trip, no matter where you are planning on going, it is important that you plan your train trip a few weeks a head of time, especially if you are planning on reserving a sleeping berth. This is very important if you plan to travel during the summer months.

It is always a good idea when you plan to travel in a train that you take along different ways to help amuse yourself and a companion. Bring some books, playing cards, board games that are travel versions and your favorite music for listening to while traveling.

If you are the kind of person that has trouble sleeping at night it might be a good idea to bring some sort of sleeping aid with you as well as ear plugs because trains can be noisy at times. Also the movement of the train and it’s occasional shifting which can be abrupt can cause problems for some people.

When you are on the train, you will find that this is a good way of meeting new and interesting people, however; make sure to respect their privacy. For example if you see someone sitting a lone and just staring out the window is more than likely willing to have a little friendly conversation that the person you see intensely reading a book.

Another good thing you can do is get yourself a journal and keep a fun travel journal of all your experiences, this could be something fun to read at a later date. It will help you keep track of how you feel about your experiences and what you see a long the way.

When there are train stops, don’t stay on the train, you don’t want to miss out on a little adventure. If the layover is for a while make sure to visit little shops or cafes nearby the station. Or just take a short walk around just to take in the atmosphere.

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