The Kalka Shimla Railway. Photo by Mridula Dwivedi

GoNOMAD's Railroad Page

There's something about a train trip that makes it more exciting than a bus or a train for many travelers. Maybe it's the clickety-clack of the wheels or the chugging of the engine. Maybe it's the rich history of railroading.

For all you railroad enthusiasts, we offer our stories about train trips in countries all over the world:

The Kalka Shimla Railway: All Aboard the Choo-Choo Train

The toy trains from Kalka to Shimla are now part of the UNESCO World Heritage. They run on narrow gauge on slow speeds amidst beautiful mountains. Shimla is a popular hill station and full of honeymooning couples. We were quite glad that we were getting down at Barog.

The Barog station is such a beauty! The wooden buildings are small and painted in blue and white. There are purple and yellow flowers in plenty and the surrounding hills were shrouded in mist that day.

There is a refreshment room for food and a tea shop at the station itself. From early morning to 9.00 pm toy trains pass through. And the frequent visitors on the yellow/orange flowers were crimson sunbirds, bees and butterflies.

In the evening we walked along the railway lines towards the next station, Solan. It seems that everyone living nearby takes their evening walk along the railway tracks. Read more

Zambia to Zanzibar: Train Ride to Paradise

Women selling bananas and chapattis run alongside the Tazara train. Photo by Anthony Ellis.

Standing at the train station in Kapiri Mposhi in central Zambia, if it hadn’t been for our fellow travellers, we could have been forgiven for thinking we were in China. The Tazara Railway was financed and built by the People’s Republic of China in the 1970s.

The strange, stark pale blue building stands out amongst the muddy countryside. We experienced a further moment of disorientation when we saw Chinese signs dotted around the carriages, but the good thing about this is that the Chinese trains are usually in pretty good condition with decent size cabins.

We had booked an upper class cabin on the train to Dar es Salaam and found ourselves sharing with two friendly Australians, who in turn shared some champagne with us in pint glasses. Read more

The Ghan Train. Photo by Kent St. John.

The Ghan Train Arrives in Darwin At Last

For seventy years Darwin's residents have been waiting for the legendary Ghan Train to make it the 882 miles up from Alice Springs. It was finally opened February 2004 and immediately was a hit. The excitement of loading my bag aboard was enlarged when I checked into my Gold Kangaroo berth, complete with bathroom.

As I wandered down to the dining room and lounge cars, I knew I was in for a distinct treat. Shortly that familiar feeling of "riding the steel wheels" kicked in. Train travel is by far the best way, in my opinion, to travel. It is stimulating yet relaxing and full of literary allusions. Read more

Read more GoNOMAD stories about train travel:


Postlingberg in Linz, Austria: A Journey to Fairyland

Norway in a Nutshell: Seeing the Beauty of the Fjords by Coach, Train & Ferry

Riding the Ghan Railway Between Darwin and Adelaide

Cape Town's Metrorail: False Bay to Simon's Town

Touring Canada by Train: It's The Way to Go!

Korea: Fly the Bullet Train From Seoul to Busan

The Deccan Odyssey: Romance on the Railroad

Enjoying the Scenic Railways of New Zealand

Riding Mexico's Scenic Copper Canyon Railway

Riobamba, Ecuador: Riding Down the Devil's Nose

Austria: From Graz to Kitzbuhel by Train

Hopping Freight Trains and Living the Life of a Hobo

Arizona Rocks: The Grand Canyon by Air and Rail

A Whirlwind Weekend on Atlanta’s Train and Bus System

Riding Trains and Ferries in Ireland and France

Across the US on Amtrak's Southwest Chief

A Railway Tour of Sweden and Finland

From Mongolia to Germany on the Trans-Siberian Railway

Adventurous New Ways to Travel by Rail

Take the Train: Railpasses Around the World

Worth the Ride: Train'Shares Offers Luxury Train Travel