[ { "id": "eurostar-london-paris", "name": "Eurostar", "from": "London", "to": "Paris", "category": "high-speed", "train": "e320 · Class 374", "operator": "Eurostar", "distance_km": 492, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "2 h 16 min", "opened": 1994, "pax_per_year": 7500000, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" }, { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "Drops 75 m below the sea through the 50.5 km Channel Tunnel — the world’s longest undersea rail tunnel.", "fame_rank": 19, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/eurostar-london-paris/" }, { "id": "tgv-paris-marseille", "name": "TGV inOui", "from": "Paris", "to": "Marseille", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TGV Duplex", "operator": "SNCF Voyageurs", "distance_km": 750, "top_speed_kmh": 320, "duration": "3 h 05 min", "opened": 1981, "pax_per_year": 3500000, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "France’s original 1981 LGV forms the first leg; today the TGV holds 320 km/h nearly all the way to the Mediterranean.", "fame_rank": 127, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tgv-paris-marseille/" }, { "id": "ave-madrid-barcelona", "name": "AVE", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Barcelona", "category": "high-speed", "train": "S-103 Velaro E", "operator": "Renfe · Ouigo · iryo", "distance_km": 621, "top_speed_kmh": 310, "duration": "2 h 30 min", "opened": 2008, "pax_per_year": 9000000, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Scheduled at 310 km/h — Europe’s fastest timetable — this line flipped one of the world’s busiest air routes to rail.", "fame_rank": 69, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ave-madrid-barcelona/" }, { "id": "ave-madrid-seville", "name": "AVE", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Seville", "category": "high-speed", "train": "S-100 (Alstom)", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 471, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "2 h 20 min", "opened": 1992, "pax_per_year": 3000000, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Spain’s first AVE, built for Expo ’92 in standard gauge — the line that reset Spanish railways.", "fame_rank": 211, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ave-madrid-seville/" }, { "id": "ice-berlin-munich", "name": "ICE Sprinter", "from": "Berlin", "to": "Munich", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ICE 3", "operator": "Deutsche Bahn", "distance_km": 623, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "3 h 55 min", "opened": 2017, "pax_per_year": 5000000, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "The €10bn VDE 8 project: 26 tunnels and 37 viaducts through the Thuringian Forest halved the Berlin–Munich journey.", "fame_rank": 92, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ice-berlin-munich/" }, { "id": "ice-cologne-frankfurt", "name": "ICE", "from": "Cologne", "to": "Frankfurt", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ICE 3neo", "operator": "Deutsche Bahn", "distance_km": 180, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "1 h 04 min", "opened": 2002, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "A roller-coaster alignment beside the A3 autobahn with 40 ‰ grades — only the most powerful ICE sets are cleared for it.", "fame_rank": 625, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ice-cologne-frankfurt/" }, { "id": "frecciarossa-milan-rome", "name": "Frecciarossa", "from": "Milan", "to": "Rome", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Frecciarossa 1000", "operator": "Trenitalia · Italo", "distance_km": 562, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "2 h 59 min", "opened": 2009, "pax_per_year": 8000000, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "Italy’s flagship corridor: since 2009 the airlines’ share has collapsed, and the ETR 1000 is engineered for 360 km/h.", "fame_rank": 91, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/frecciarossa-milan-rome/" }, { "id": "eurostar-paris-amsterdam", "name": "Eurostar (Thalys)", "from": "Paris", "to": "Amsterdam", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TGV PBKA", "operator": "Eurostar", "distance_km": 545, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "3 h 20 min", "opened": 1996, "pax_per_year": 3000000, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" }, { "code": "BE", "name": "Belgium" }, { "code": "NL", "name": "Netherlands" } ], "highlight": "The crimson Thalys — folded into Eurostar in 2023 — chains French, Belgian and Dutch high-speed lines into one dash.", "fame_rank": 121, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/eurostar-paris-amsterdam/" }, { "id": "lner-london-edinburgh", "name": "LNER Azuma", "from": "London", "to": "Edinburgh", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 800 Azuma", "operator": "LNER", "distance_km": 632, "top_speed_kmh": 201, "duration": "4 h 20 min", "opened": 1862, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "The Flying Scotsman’s route since 1862 — and where Mallard set the never-beaten steam record of 203 km/h in 1938.", "fame_rank": 441, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/lner-london-edinburgh/" }, { "id": "alfa-lisbon-porto", "name": "Alfa Pendular", "from": "Lisbon", "to": "Porto", "category": "classic", "train": "CP 4000 Pendolino", "operator": "Comboios de Portugal", "distance_km": 336, "top_speed_kmh": 220, "duration": "2 h 50 min", "opened": 1999, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PT", "name": "Portugal" } ], "highlight": "A tilting Pendolino leaning through the curves of the 19th-century Linha do Norte between Portugal’s two great cities.", "fame_rank": 683, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/alfa-lisbon-porto/" }, { "id": "eip-warsaw-krakow", "name": "EIP Pendolino", "from": "Warsaw", "to": "Kraków", "category": "classic", "train": "ED250 Pendolino", "operator": "PKP Intercity", "distance_km": 293, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "2 h 21 min", "opened": 2014, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PL", "name": "Poland" } ], "highlight": "Rides Poland’s 1970s Central Main Line (CMK), engineered decades ahead of its time and now being upgraded to 250 km/h.", "fame_rank": 697, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/eip-warsaw-krakow/" }, { "id": "railjet-vienna-budapest", "name": "Railjet", "from": "Vienna", "to": "Budapest", "category": "classic", "train": "Railjet", "operator": "ÖBB · MÁV", "distance_km": 243, "top_speed_kmh": 230, "duration": "2 h 20 min", "opened": 2008, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" }, { "code": "HU", "name": "Hungary" } ], "highlight": "Follows the old Orient Express alignment down the Danube plain — centre to centre faster than any flight.", "fame_rank": 705, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/railjet-vienna-budapest/" }, { "id": "x2000-stockholm-gothenburg", "name": "SJ X2000", "from": "Stockholm", "to": "Gothenburg", "category": "classic", "train": "X2 tilting EMU", "operator": "SJ", "distance_km": 455, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "3 h 05 min", "opened": 1990, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SE", "name": "Sweden" } ], "highlight": "Sweden’s tilting flagship since 1990, sprinting the Western Main Line between the country’s two biggest cities.", "fame_rank": 663, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/x2000-stockholm-gothenburg/" }, { "id": "nightjet-paris-vienna", "name": "Nightjet", "from": "Paris", "to": "Vienna", "category": "night", "train": "Nightjet sleeper", "operator": "ÖBB · SNCF", "distance_km": 1200, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "≈ 14 h", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" }, { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" }, { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" } ], "highlight": "Revived in 2021 after a 14-year gap: dinner near the Eiffel Tower, breakfast on the Danube.", "fame_rank": 61, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/nightjet-paris-vienna/" }, { "id": "euronight-stockholm-hamburg", "name": "EuroNight", "from": "Stockholm", "to": "Hamburg", "category": "night", "train": "EuroNight sleeper", "operator": "SJ", "distance_km": 1150, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "≈ 13 h", "opened": 2022, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SE", "name": "Sweden" }, { "code": "DK", "name": "Denmark" }, { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Scandinavia’s night-train revival — across the Öresund while you sleep, into Germany by breakfast.", "fame_rank": 403, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/euronight-stockholm-hamburg/" }, { "id": "santa-claus-express", "name": "Santa Claus Express", "from": "Helsinki", "to": "Rovaniemi", "category": "night", "train": "Double-deck sleeper", "operator": "VR", "distance_km": 900, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "≈ 12 h", "opened": 1909, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FI", "name": "Finland" } ], "highlight": "Rolls out of Helsinki by night and crosses into Lapland by morning — sleepers and car carriers bound for the Arctic Circle.", "fame_rank": 329, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/santa-claus-express/" }, { "id": "vsoe-paris-venice", "name": "Venice Simplon-Orient-Express", "from": "Paris", "to": "Venice", "category": "night", "train": "1920s CIWL carriages", "operator": "Belmond", "distance_km": 1270, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "≈ 21 h", "opened": 1982, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" }, { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" }, { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" }, { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "Belmond’s restored Art Deco sleepers of the 1920s–30s — black tie encouraged as the Alps slide past the champagne bar.", "fame_rank": 3, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vsoe-paris-venice/" }, { "id": "glacier-express", "name": "Glacier Express", "from": "Zermatt", "to": "St. Moritz", "category": "scenic", "train": "Panorama cars · metre gauge", "operator": "RhB · MGB", "distance_km": 291, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "≈ 8 h", "opened": 1930, "pax_per_year": 250000, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "“The world’s slowest express”: 291 bridges, 91 tunnels and the 2,033 m Oberalp Pass at an average of 36 km/h.", "fame_rank": 2, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/glacier-express/" }, { "id": "bernina-express", "name": "Bernina Express", "from": "Chur", "to": "Tirano", "category": "scenic", "train": "Allegra panorama", "operator": "RhB", "distance_km": 144, "top_speed_kmh": 70, "duration": "≈ 4 h", "opened": 1910, "pax_per_year": 400000, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" }, { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "A UNESCO World Heritage railway: 7 % grades with no rack, the Brusio spiral, and the highest rail crossing of the Alps at 2,253 m.", "fame_rank": 4, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/bernina-express/" }, { "id": "bergensbanen", "name": "Bergensbanen", "from": "Oslo", "to": "Bergen", "category": "scenic", "train": "Vy long-distance", "operator": "Vy", "distance_km": 496, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "6 h 30 min", "opened": 1909, "pax_per_year": 1000000, "countries": [ { "code": "NO", "name": "Norway" } ], "highlight": "Northern Europe’s highest main line — over the bare Hardangervidda plateau at 1,237 m, through 182 tunnels.", "fame_rank": 50, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/bergensbanen/" }, { "id": "west-highland-line", "name": "West Highland Line", "from": "Glasgow", "to": "Mallaig", "category": "scenic", "train": "Class 156 · Jacobite steam", "operator": "ScotRail", "distance_km": 264, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "5 h 20 min", "opened": 1901, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Regularly voted the world’s most scenic railway — around Rannoch Moor and over the 21-arch Glenfinnan Viaduct of film fame.", "fame_rank": 24, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/west-highland-line/" }, { "id": "tokaido-shinkansen", "name": "Tokaido Shinkansen", "from": "Tokyo", "to": "Osaka", "category": "high-speed", "train": "N700S", "operator": "JR Central", "distance_km": 515, "top_speed_kmh": 285, "duration": "2 h 21 min", "opened": 1964, "pax_per_year": 150000000, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "The original bullet train, opened for the 1964 Olympics — the world’s busiest high-speed line, with departures every few minutes past Mount Fuji.", "fame_rank": 5, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tokaido-shinkansen/" }, { "id": "beijing-shanghai-hsr", "name": "Jinghu High-Speed", "from": "Beijing", "to": "Shanghai", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CR400 Fuxing", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 1318, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "4 h 18 min", "opened": 2011, "pax_per_year": 200000000, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "The world’s fastest scheduled trains — 350 km/h Fuxing sets covering 1,318 km in under four and a half hours.", "fame_rank": 55, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/beijing-shanghai-hsr/" }, { "id": "trans-siberian", "name": "Trans-Siberian Railway", "from": "Moscow", "to": "Vladivostok", "category": "night", "train": "Rossiya № 1/2", "operator": "RZD", "distance_km": 9289, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "≈ 7 days", "opened": 1916, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RU", "name": "Russia" } ], "highlight": "The longest railway on Earth: 9,289 km, eight time zones and seven nights between Moscow and the Pacific.", "fame_rank": 1, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/trans-siberian/" }, { "id": "qinghai-tibet", "name": "Qinghai–Tibet Railway", "from": "Xining", "to": "Lhasa", "category": "scenic", "train": "Oxygen-enriched coaches", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 1956, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "≈ 21 h", "opened": 2006, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "The roof-of-the-world railway — 5,072 m over the Tanggula Pass on permafrost, with oxygen piped to every seat.", "fame_rank": 14, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/qinghai-tibet/" }, { "id": "ktx-seoul-busan", "name": "KTX", "from": "Seoul", "to": "Busan", "category": "high-speed", "train": "KTX-Sancheon", "operator": "Korail", "distance_km": 417, "top_speed_kmh": 305, "duration": "2 h 15 min", "opened": 2004, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KR", "name": "South Korea" } ], "highlight": "Korea’s TGV-derived flagship halved the Seoul–Busan run — today the corridor is one of the most intensively served on Earth.", "fame_rank": 78, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ktx-seoul-busan/" }, { "id": "rajdhani-delhi-mumbai", "name": "Mumbai Rajdhani", "from": "New Delhi", "to": "Mumbai", "category": "night", "train": "Tejas Rajdhani rake", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 1384, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "≈ 16 h", "opened": 1972, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "India’s first Rajdhani — the overnight flagship linking the capital with the financial capital, now in bright Tejas livery.", "fame_rank": 394, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/rajdhani-delhi-mumbai/" }, { "id": "acela-boston-washington", "name": "Acela", "from": "Boston", "to": "Washington, D.C.", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Avelia Liberty", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 735, "top_speed_kmh": 240, "duration": "≈ 6 h 45 min", "opened": 2000, "pax_per_year": 3500000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "America’s fastest train threads the dense Northeast Corridor — 240 km/h bursts between five major downtowns.", "fame_rank": 65, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/acela-boston-washington/" }, { "id": "california-zephyr", "name": "California Zephyr", "from": "Chicago", "to": "San Francisco", "category": "scenic", "train": "Amtrak Superliner", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 3924, "top_speed_kmh": 127, "duration": "≈ 52 h", "opened": 1949, "pax_per_year": 400000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Two nights, seven states: through the Rockies’ canyons and over Donner Pass — widely called America’s most beautiful train ride.", "fame_rank": 12, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/california-zephyr/" }, { "id": "rocky-mountaineer", "name": "Rocky Mountaineer", "from": "Vancouver", "to": "Banff", "category": "scenic", "train": "GoldLeaf dome cars", "operator": "Rocky Mountaineer", "distance_km": 957, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "2 days, daylight only", "opened": 1990, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "All-daylight luxury through the Canadian Rockies — glass-domed coaches, an overnight hotel stop and the Kicking Horse Pass.", "fame_rank": 7, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/rocky-mountaineer/" }, { "id": "cusco-machu-picchu", "name": "Cusco–Machu Picchu", "from": "Cusco", "to": "Machu Picchu", "category": "scenic", "train": "Vistadome panorama", "operator": "PeruRail", "distance_km": 92, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "≈ 3 h 30 min", "opened": 1928, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PE", "name": "Peru" } ], "highlight": "Down the Sacred Valley of the Incas beside the Urubamba rapids — the rails are the only road to Machu Picchu.", "fame_rank": 9, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cusco-machu-picchu/" }, { "id": "blue-train", "name": "The Blue Train", "from": "Pretoria", "to": "Cape Town", "category": "night", "train": "Luxury sleeper stock", "operator": "Transnet", "distance_km": 1600, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "≈ 31 h", "opened": 1946, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ZA", "name": "South Africa" } ], "highlight": "A five-star hotel on rails — butlers, marble bathrooms and the Karoo semi-desert rolling past for 1,600 km.", "fame_rank": 16, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/blue-train/" }, { "id": "al-boraq", "name": "Al Boraq", "from": "Tangier", "to": "Casablanca", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Alstom Euroduplex", "operator": "ONCF", "distance_km": 323, "top_speed_kmh": 320, "duration": "2 h 10 min", "opened": 2018, "pax_per_year": 3000000, "countries": [ { "code": "MA", "name": "Morocco" } ], "highlight": "Africa’s first high-speed railway — 320 km/h along the Atlantic between Tangier and Casablanca, named after a mythical steed.", "fame_rank": 106, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/al-boraq/" }, { "id": "the-ghan", "name": "The Ghan", "from": "Adelaide", "to": "Darwin", "category": "night", "train": "Expedition sleeper", "operator": "Journey Beyond", "distance_km": 2979, "top_speed_kmh": 115, "duration": "≈ 54 h", "opened": 2004, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "Named for the Afghan cameleers — 2,979 km straight through the Red Centre, completed to Darwin only in 2004.", "fame_rank": 6, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/the-ghan/" }, { "id": "indian-pacific", "name": "Indian Pacific", "from": "Sydney", "to": "Perth", "category": "night", "train": "Expedition sleeper", "operator": "Journey Beyond", "distance_km": 4352, "top_speed_kmh": 115, "duration": "≈ 65 h", "opened": 1970, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "Ocean to ocean across Australia — including the world’s longest railway straight: 478 dead-level kilometres on the Nullarbor.", "fame_rank": 21, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/indian-pacific/" }, { "id": "tranzalpine", "name": "TranzAlpine", "from": "Christchurch", "to": "Greymouth", "category": "scenic", "train": "AK panorama cars", "operator": "KiwiRail", "distance_km": 223, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "≈ 5 h", "opened": 1987, "pax_per_year": 200000, "countries": [ { "code": "NZ", "name": "New Zealand" } ], "highlight": "Coast to coast across the Southern Alps — the Waimakariri gorges, Arthur’s Pass and the 8.5 km Otira Tunnel in one morning.", "fame_rank": 39, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tranzalpine/" }, { "id": "tgv-paris-bordeaux", "name": "TGV inOui", "from": "Paris", "to": "Bordeaux", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TGV Duplex", "operator": "SNCF Voyageurs", "distance_km": 581, "top_speed_kmh": 320, "duration": "2 h 04 min", "opened": 2017, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "The LGV Sud Europe Atlantique put Bordeaux’s vineyards two hours from Paris — and emptied the air shuttle.", "fame_rank": 570, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tgv-paris-bordeaux/" }, { "id": "tgv-paris-strasbourg", "name": "TGV Est", "from": "Paris", "to": "Strasbourg", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TGV Euroduplex", "operator": "SNCF Voyageurs", "distance_km": 439, "top_speed_kmh": 320, "duration": "1 h 46 min", "opened": 2007, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "Where a modified TGV hit 574.8 km/h in 2007 — still the world rail speed record for steel wheels.", "fame_rank": 591, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tgv-paris-strasbourg/" }, { "id": "ave-madrid-valencia", "name": "AVE", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Valencia", "category": "high-speed", "train": "S-112 “Pato”", "operator": "Renfe · Ouigo · iryo", "distance_km": 391, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "1 h 40 min", "opened": 2010, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Madrid to the Mediterranean paella coast in 100 minutes aboard the duck-nosed “Pato”.", "fame_rank": 600, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ave-madrid-valencia/" }, { "id": "ave-madrid-malaga", "name": "AVE", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Málaga", "category": "high-speed", "train": "S-102 Talgo 350", "operator": "Renfe · iryo", "distance_km": 513, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "2 h 20 min", "opened": 2007, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Splits from the Seville line at Córdoba and dives through the Sierra to the Costa del Sol.", "fame_rank": 580, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ave-madrid-malaga/" }, { "id": "frecciarossa-rome-naples", "name": "Frecciarossa", "from": "Rome", "to": "Naples", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Frecciarossa 1000", "operator": "Trenitalia · Italo", "distance_km": 225, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "1 h 10 min", "opened": 2005, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "Italy’s first true alta velocità line — Vesuvius on the horizon barely an hour after leaving Rome.", "fame_rank": 620, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/frecciarossa-rome-naples/" }, { "id": "ice-hamburg-berlin", "name": "ICE", "from": "Hamburg", "to": "Berlin", "category": "classic", "train": "ICE 4", "operator": "Deutsche Bahn", "distance_km": 286, "top_speed_kmh": 230, "duration": "1 h 45 min", "opened": 1846, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Germany’s busiest city pair rides an alignment opened in 1846 — dead straight across the northern plain.", "fame_rank": 479, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ice-hamburg-berlin/" }, { "id": "caledonian-sleeper", "name": "Caledonian Sleeper", "from": "London", "to": "Fort William", "category": "night", "train": "Mk 5 sleeper", "operator": "Caledonian Sleeper", "distance_km": 966, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "≈ 13 h", "opened": 1873, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "The “Deerstalker Express”: fall asleep at Euston, wake up crossing Rannoch Moor with red deer at the window.", "fame_rank": 62, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/caledonian-sleeper/" }, { "id": "flamsbana", "name": "Flåmsbana", "from": "Myrdal", "to": "Flåm", "category": "scenic", "train": "El 18-hauled panorama", "operator": "Vy · Flåm AS", "distance_km": 20, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 1 h", "opened": 1940, 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"Thailand" } ], "highlight": "Cream-and-green carriages gliding past rubber plantations — colonial-era glamour from the Lion City to Siam.", "fame_rank": 18, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/eastern-oriental-express/" }, { "id": "reunification-express", "name": "Reunification Express", "from": "Hanoi", "to": "Ho Chi Minh City", "category": "night", "train": "SE sleeper", "operator": "Vietnam Railways", "distance_km": 1726, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "≈ 33 h", "opened": 1936, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "VN", "name": "Vietnam" } ], "highlight": "Two nights along the South China Sea — the Hải Vân Pass clings to cliffs the road never dared.", "fame_rank": 60, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/reunification-express/" }, { "id": "whoosh-jakarta-bandung", "name": "Whoosh", "from": "Jakarta", "to": "Bandung", "category": "high-speed", "train": "KCIC400AF (CR400 derivative)", "operator": "KCIC", "distance_km": 142, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "≈ 45 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"CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "Four nights in 1955 stainless-steel dome cars — Ontario lakeland, prairie infinity, then the Rockies at dawn.", "fame_rank": 20, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/canadian-toronto-vancouver/" }, { "id": "chepe-copper-canyon", "name": "El Chepe", "from": "Los Mochis", "to": "Chihuahua", "category": "scenic", "train": "Chepe Regional", "operator": "Ferromex", "distance_km": 653, "top_speed_kmh": 70, "duration": "≈ 16 h", "opened": 1961, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MX", "name": "Mexico" } ], "highlight": "Sea level to 2,400 m through Copper Canyon — 37 bridges and 86 tunnels in country deeper than the Grand Canyon.", "fame_rank": 23, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/chepe-copper-canyon/" }, { "id": "tren-maya", "name": "Tren Maya", "from": "Cancún", "to": "Palenque", "category": "classic", "train": "Alstom X’trapolis", "operator": "Tren Maya", "distance_km": 900, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "≈ 11 h", "opened": 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"distance_km": 110, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 4 h", "opened": 1885, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BR", "name": "Brazil" } ], "highlight": "Down the Serra do Mar through Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest — an 1885 line of viaducts pinned to green cliffs.", "fame_rank": 284, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/serra-verde-express/" }, { "id": "alaska-denali-star", "name": "Denali Star", "from": "Anchorage", "to": "Fairbanks", "category": "scenic", "train": "Alaska Railroad domes", "operator": "Alaska Railroad", "distance_km": 570, "top_speed_kmh": 95, "duration": "≈ 12 h", "opened": 1923, "pax_per_year": 500000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Twelve hours of wilderness with Denali filling the dome windows — flag stops still serve trailside cabins.", "fame_rank": 155, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/alaska-denali-star/" }, { "id": "andean-explorer", "name": "Andean Explorer", "from": "Cusco", "to": "Arequipa", "category": "night", "train": "Belmond luxury sleeper", "operator": "Belmond · PeruRail", "distance_km": 600, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "2 days", "opened": 2017, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PE", "name": "Peru" } ], "highlight": "South America’s first luxury sleeper — over a 4,319 m pass and along Lake Titicaca under Andean stars.", "fame_rank": 27, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/andean-explorer/" }, { "id": "rovos-pretoria-victoria-falls", "name": "Rovos Rail", "from": "Pretoria", "to": "Victoria Falls", "category": "night", "train": "Restored Edwardian stock", "operator": "Rovos Rail", "distance_km": 1600, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "≈ 3 days", "opened": 1989, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ZA", "name": "South Africa" }, { "code": "BW", "name": "Botswana" }, { "code": "ZW", "name": "Zimbabwe" } ], "highlight": "“The Pride of Africa” — teak-panelled suites through the bushveld to the smoke that thunders.", "fame_rank": 15, 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"highlight": "Africa’s first fully electrified cross-border railway — highlands to the Red Sea in a day.", "fame_rank": 99, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/addis-djibouti/" }, { "id": "xpt-sydney-melbourne", "name": "Melbourne XPT", "from": "Sydney", "to": "Melbourne", "category": "night", "train": "XPT (HST derivative)", "operator": "NSW TrainLink", "distance_km": 960, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "≈ 11 h", "opened": 1982, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "Australia’s InterCity 125 cousin runs the overnight between its two biggest rivals — cricket ashes optional.", "fame_rank": 414, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/xpt-sydney-melbourne/" }, { "id": "spirit-of-queensland", "name": "Spirit of Queensland", "from": "Brisbane", "to": "Cairns", "category": "classic", "train": "Diesel tilt train", "operator": "Queensland Rail", "distance_km": 1681, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "≈ 25 h", "opened": 2014, 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"name": "Enterprise", "from": "Dublin", "to": "Belfast", "category": "classic", "train": "De Dietrich push-pull", "operator": "Iarnród Éireann · NI Railways", "distance_km": 181, "top_speed_kmh": 145, "duration": "2 h 10 min", "opened": 1947, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IE", "name": "Ireland" }, { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Jointly run from both capitals since 1947, it rolls over the 1855 Boyne Viaduct at Drogheda and crosses the invisible Irish border without a pause.", "fame_rank": 713, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/enterprise-dublin-belfast/" }, { "id": "nordlandsbanen", "name": "Nordlandsbanen", "from": "Trondheim", "to": "Bodø", "category": "scenic", "train": "Di 4 diesel-hauled", "operator": "SJ Norge", "distance_km": 729, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "9 h 50 min", "opened": 1962, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NO", "name": "Norway" } ], "highlight": "Norway’s longest railway — 729 km of fjordside, 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"https://trainrouter.com/routes/nightjet-hamburg-vienna/" }, { "id": "kyiv-warsaw-night", "name": "Kyiv–Warsaw Sleeper", "from": "Kyiv", "to": "Warsaw", "category": "night", "train": "UZ sleeping cars", "operator": "Ukrzaliznytsia", "distance_km": 780, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "14 h", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "UA", "name": "Ukraine" }, { "code": "PL", "name": "Poland" } ], "highlight": "Wartime lifeline to the EU: at the Bug border every carriage is jacked up and its bogies swapped from 1,520 to 1,435 mm gauge while passengers doze.", "fame_rank": 420, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/kyiv-warsaw-night/" }, { "id": "regiojet-night-prague-kosice", "name": "RegioJet Night Train", "from": "Prague", "to": "Košice", "category": "night", "train": "RegioJet couchette & sleeper cars", "operator": "RegioJet", "distance_km": 700, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "10 h", "opened": 2014, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CZ", "name": "Czechia" }, { "code": "SK", "name": "Slovakia" } ], "highlight": "Open-access yellow night train since 2014 — cheap couchettes out of Prague, over the Jablunkov Pass and beneath the dark High Tatras to Košice.", "fame_rank": 424, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/regiojet-night-prague-kosice/" }, { "id": "icn-zagreb-split", "name": "ICN Zagreb–Split", "from": "Zagreb", "to": "Split", "category": "scenic", "train": "RegioSwinger tilting DMU", "operator": "HŽPP", "distance_km": 424, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "7 h", "opened": 2004, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "HR", "name": "Croatia" } ], "highlight": "Tilting railcars lean through the bare karst of the Lika plateau beneath Velebit, then swoop down to the palm-fringed Adriatic at Split.", "fame_rank": 349, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/icn-zagreb-split/" }, { "id": "bohinj-railway", "name": "Bohinj Railway", "from": "Jesenice", "to": "Nova Gorica", "category": "scenic", "train": "Diesel railcar", "operator": "Slovenske železnice", "distance_km": 89, "top_speed_kmh": 75, "duration": "1 h 50 min", "opened": 1906, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SI", "name": "Slovenia" } ], "highlight": "Habsburg Transalpina of 1906: the 6.3 km Bohinj tunnel, the emerald Soča, and Solkan’s 85 m arch — the world’s longest stone rail span.", "fame_rank": 288, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/bohinj-railway/" }, { "id": "bucharest-brasov-prahova", "name": "Prahova Valley Railway", "from": "Bucharest", "to": "Brașov", "category": "classic", "train": "Loco-hauled InterRegio", "operator": "CFR Călători", "distance_km": 166, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "2 h 30 min", "opened": 1879, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RO", "name": "Romania" } ], "highlight": "Climbs the Prahova gorge past Peleș Castle at Sinaia to Predeal, Romania’s highest station at 1,032 m, beneath the Bucegi’s 2,500 m walls.", "fame_rank": 514, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/bucharest-brasov-prahova/" }, { "id": "zssk-ic-bratislava-kosice", "name": "ZSSK InterCity", "from": "Bratislava", "to": "Košice", "category": "classic", "train": "ZSSK InterCity", "operator": "ZSSK", "distance_km": 445, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "4 h 51 min", "opened": 1872, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SK", "name": "Slovakia" } ], "highlight": "Up the Váh valley, then along the 1872 Košice–Bohumín railway — the High Tatras panorama, crowned by 2,655 m Gerlach, sweeps past at Poprad.", "fame_rank": 456, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zssk-ic-bratislava-kosice/" }, { "id": "westbahn-vienna-salzburg", "name": "WESTbahn", "from": "Vienna", "to": "Salzburg", "category": "classic", "train": "Stadler KISS double-decker", "operator": "WESTbahn", "distance_km": 315, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "2 h 30 min", "opened": 2011, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" } ], "highlight": "Austria’s first open-access challenger, running since 2011 — 200 km/h Stadler KISS double-deckers that drove fares down on the Vienna–Salzburg run.", "fame_rank": 692, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/westbahn-vienna-salzburg/" }, { "id": "soko-belgrade-subotica", "name": "Soko", "from": "Belgrade", "to": "Subotica", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Soko (Stadler KISS 200)", "operator": "Srbija Voz", "distance_km": 182, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "1 h 19 min", "opened": 2022, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RS", "name": "Serbia" } ], "highlight": "Serbia’s first 200 km/h railway, built with Chinese and Russian contractors — Novi Sad in 36 minutes since 2022, Subotica since October 2025.", "fame_rank": 624, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/soko-belgrade-subotica/" }, { "id": "sunrise-seto-izumo", "name": "Sunrise Express", "from": "Tokyo", "to": "Izumo", "category": "night", "train": "285 series", "operator": "JR West · JR East", "distance_km": 953, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "12 h 8 min", "opened": 1998, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Japan’s last regular sleeper; the Izumo half splits at Okayama and threads the Hakubi Line gorges to the sacred San’in coast by breakfast.", "fame_rank": 71, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sunrise-seto-izumo/" }, { "id": "tadami-line", "name": "Tadami Line", "from": "Aizu-Wakamatsu", "to": "Koide", "category": "scenic", "train": "KiHa E120 DMU", "operator": "JR East", "distance_km": 135, "top_speed_kmh": 65, "duration": "4 h 30 min", "opened": 1971, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Reopened in 2022 after 11 years of flood repairs; drifts over the mist-wreathed Tadami River bridges through Japan’s deepest snow country.", "fame_rank": 366, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tadami-line/" }, { "id": "hongkong-beijing-hsr-sleeper", "name": "Hong Kong–Beijing High-Speed 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trains climb 2,186 m in 71 km via the Dulishan spiral and summit switchbacks; fully reopened in 2024, 15 years after Typhoon Morakot.", "fame_rank": 41, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/alishan-forest-railway/" }, { "id": "nilgiri-mountain-railway", "name": "Nilgiri Mountain Railway", "from": "Mettupalayam", "to": "Ooty", "category": "scenic", "train": "X-class steam rack loco", "operator": "Indian Railways (Southern Railway)", "distance_km": 46, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "4 h 50 min", "opened": 1899, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "India’s only rack railway: X-class steam pushes the blue coaches up 1-in-12 grades from palm plains to Ooty’s tea hills; UNESCO-listed in 2005.", "fame_rank": 42, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/nilgiri-mountain-railway/" }, { "id": "vande-bharat-delhi-varanasi", "name": "Vande Bharat Express", "from": "New Delhi", "to": "Varanasi", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Vande Bharat 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"https://trainrouter.com/routes/death-railway/" }, { "id": "ktm-ets-kl-butterworth", "name": "KTM ETS", "from": "Kuala Lumpur", "to": "Butterworth", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 93 EMU", "operator": "Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTMB)", "distance_km": 380, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "4 h", "opened": 2015, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MY", "name": "Malaysia" } ], "highlight": "Metre gauge yet electric at 140 km/h — among the fastest narrow-gauge trains anywhere — sweeping past Ipoh’s karst hills to the Penang ferry quay.", "fame_rank": 674, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ktm-ets-kl-butterworth/" }, { "id": "tulpar-talgo-almaty-astana", "name": "Tulpar Talgo", "from": "Almaty", "to": "Astana", "category": "night", "train": "Tulpar-Talgo", "operator": "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ)", "distance_km": 1300, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "16 h 19 min", "opened": 2002, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KZ", "name": "Kazakhstan" } ], "highlight": "Kazakh-assembled Talgo sets glide low over the steppe, hugging Lake Balkhash’s western shore all night between the old and new capitals.", "fame_rank": 398, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tulpar-talgo-almaty-astana/" }, { "id": "telaviv-jerusalem-hsr", "name": "Jerusalem High-Speed Link", "from": "Tel Aviv", "to": "Jerusalem", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TRAXX-hauled Twindexx", "operator": "Israel Railways", "distance_km": 57, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "32 min", "opened": 2018, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IL", "name": "Israel" } ], "highlight": "Israel’s first electrified line tunnels and bridges through the Judean Hills to Yitzhak Navon station, 80 m beneath Jerusalem, in half an hour.", "fame_rank": 629, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/telaviv-jerusalem-hsr/" }, { "id": "city-of-new-orleans", "name": "City of New Orleans", "from": "Chicago", "to": "New Orleans", "category": "night", "train": "Superliner", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 1500, "top_speed_kmh": 127, "duration": "19 h 30 min", "opened": 1947, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Immortalized in Steve Goodman’s 1971 song — overnight down the Mississippi Delta past Memphis, Yazoo City and the Louisiana bayous.", "fame_rank": 391, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/city-of-new-orleans/" }, { "id": "southwest-chief", "name": "Southwest Chief", "from": "Chicago", "to": "Los Angeles", "category": "classic", "train": "Superliner", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 3645, "top_speed_kmh": 145, "duration": "43 h", "opened": 1936, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Heir to the Santa Fe Super Chief, “Train of the Stars” — crests 2,388 m Raton Pass on the old Santa Fe Trail.", "fame_rank": 434, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/southwest-chief/" }, { "id": "sunset-limited", "name": "Sunset Limited", "from": "New 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"https://trainrouter.com/routes/pacific-surfliner/" }, { "id": "auto-train", "name": "Auto Train", "from": "Lorton", "to": "Sanford", "category": "night", "train": "Superliner", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 1376, "top_speed_kmh": 127, "duration": "17 h 30 min", "opened": 1971, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Cars and motorcycles ride in autoracks behind the sleepers — often the world’s longest passenger train, nonstop Virginia to Florida.", "fame_rank": 395, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/auto-train/" }, { "id": "durango-silverton", "name": "Durango & Silverton", "from": "Durango", "to": "Silverton", "category": "scenic", "train": "Coal-fired K-36 steam", "operator": "Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad", "distance_km": 72, "top_speed_kmh": 29, "duration": "3 h 30 min", "opened": 1882, "pax_per_year": 200000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "1882 gold-rush narrow gauge — steam-hauled ever since, on the Highline ledge blasted 120 m above the Animas River gorge.", "fame_rank": 46, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/durango-silverton/" }, { "id": "ocean-montreal-halifax", "name": "Ocean", "from": "Montréal", "to": "Halifax", "category": "night", "train": "Renaissance", "operator": "VIA Rail", "distance_km": 1346, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "24 h", "opened": 1904, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "North America’s oldest continuously named train, since 1904 — overnight past the Matapédia salmon rivers and Chaleur Bay to the Atlantic.", "fame_rank": 325, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ocean-montreal-halifax/" }, { "id": "winnipeg-churchill", "name": "Winnipeg–Churchill", "from": "Winnipeg", "to": "Churchill", "category": "classic", "train": "Budd stainless cars", "operator": "VIA Rail", "distance_km": 1697, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "45 h", "opened": 1929, 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"https://trainrouter.com/routes/tazara-dar-kapiri/" }, { "id": "dakar-ter", "name": "Dakar TER", "from": "Dakar", "to": "Diamniadio", "category": "classic", "train": "Coradia Polyvalent bi-mode", "operator": "SETER", "distance_km": 36, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "45 min", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": 22600000, "countries": [ { "code": "SN", "name": "Senegal" } ], "highlight": "West Africa’s first modern electric railway carried 22.6 million riders in 2024, sweeping past Dakar’s gridlock at 160 km/h.", "fame_rank": 213, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dakar-ter/" }, { "id": "lagos-ibadan-sgr", "name": "Lagos–Ibadan Train Service", "from": "Lagos", "to": "Ibadan", "category": "classic", "train": "CRRC standard-gauge express", "operator": "Nigerian Railway Corporation", "distance_km": 157, "top_speed_kmh": 150, "duration": "2 h 45 min", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NG", "name": "Nigeria" } ], "highlight": "Nigeria’s first double-track 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"duration": "45 min", "opened": 2010, "pax_per_year": 7900000, "countries": [ { "code": "ZA", "name": "South Africa" } ], "highlight": "South Africa’s 160 km/h Electrostars dive under Sandton’s bank towers, stitching Johannesburg to Pretoria in under an hour.", "fame_rank": 105, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/gautrain/" }, { "id": "kuranda-scenic", "name": "Kuranda Scenic Railway", "from": "Cairns", "to": "Kuranda", "category": "scenic", "train": "Heritage diesel tourist train", "operator": "Queensland Rail", "distance_km": 37, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "1 h 55 min", "opened": 1891, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "Navvies hand-carved 15 tunnels and 37 bridges up Barron Gorge in the 1880s; trains still pause at the falls’ lookout above the rainforest.", "fame_rank": 63, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/kuranda-scenic/" }, { "id": "the-overland", "name": "The Overland", "from": "Melbourne", "to": "Adelaide", "category": "classic", "train": "Journey Beyond day train", "operator": "Journey Beyond", "distance_km": 828, "top_speed_kmh": 115, "duration": "11 h", "opened": 1887, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "Running since 1887 as the Intercolonial Express, Australia’s oldest interstate rail journey now crosses the Wimmera wheat belt twice weekly.", "fame_rank": 439, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/the-overland/" }, { "id": "coastal-pacific", "name": "Coastal Pacific", "from": "Picton", "to": "Christchurch", "category": "scenic", "train": "Great Journeys scenic day train", "operator": "KiwiRail", "distance_km": 348, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "5 h 30 min", "opened": 1945, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NZ", "name": "New Zealand" } ], "highlight": "Pinched between the Kaikōura ranges and Pacific surf past fur-seal colonies, on a line the 2016 quake lifted bodily out of the sea.", "fame_rank": 351, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/coastal-pacific/" }, { "id": "xpt-sydney-brisbane", "name": "Brisbane XPT", "from": "Sydney", "to": "Brisbane", "category": "night", "train": "XPT (HST derivative)", "operator": "NSW TrainLink", "distance_km": 988, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "14 h", "opened": 1990, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "The overnight run still books twin sleepers as it corkscrews through the Border Loop spiral, blasted through rainforest ranges in 1932.", "fame_rank": 412, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/xpt-sydney-brisbane/" }, { "id": "prospector-perth-kalgoorlie", "name": "The Prospector", "from": "Perth", "to": "Kalgoorlie", "category": "classic", "train": "WDA/WDB diesel railcar", "operator": "Transwa", "distance_km": 653, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "6 h 45 min", "opened": 1971, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "Australia’s fastest diesel railcars shadow the 1903 goldfields water pipeline across the Wheatbelt to Kalgoorlie’s Golden Mile.", "fame_rank": 645, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/prospector-perth-kalgoorlie/" }, { "id": "joetsu-shinkansen", "name": "Joetsu Shinkansen", "from": "Tokyo", "to": "Niigata", "category": "high-speed", "train": "E7 “Toki”", "operator": "JR East", "distance_km": 300, "top_speed_kmh": 275, "duration": "1 h 29 min", "opened": 1982, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Dives under the Tanigawa range into Kawabata’s snow country — Tokyo to metres-deep Echigo-Yuzawa powder and Niigata’s sake coast in under ninety minutes.", "fame_rank": 612, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/joetsu-shinkansen/" }, { "id": "akita-shinkansen", "name": "Akita Shinkansen", "from": "Tokyo", "to": "Akita", "category": "high-speed", "train": "E6 “Komachi”", "operator": "JR East", "distance_km": 663, "top_speed_kmh": 320, "duration": "3 h 37 min", "opened": 1997, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Crimson “Komachi” units ride the Hayabusa at 320 km/h to Morioka, then swap to single-track mountain rails past Lake Tazawa — a bullet train on a branch-line stage.", "fame_rank": 561, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/akita-shinkansen/" }, { "id": "yamagata-shinkansen", "name": "Yamagata Shinkansen", "from": "Tokyo", "to": "Shinjo", "category": "high-speed", "train": "E8 “Tsubasa”", "operator": "JR East", "distance_km": 421, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "3 h 10 min", "opened": 1992, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Japan’s first mini-shinkansen — beyond Fukushima the “Tsubasa” threads re-gauged valley rails beneath Zao’s slopes into cherry and soba country.", "fame_rank": 593, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/yamagata-shinkansen/" }, { "id": "nishi-kyushu-shinkansen", "name": "Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen", "from": 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"name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "A rapid that idles on purpose — shamisen players aboard, the Sea of Japan breaking at Senjojiki, and UNESCO’s Shirakami beech forests behind the dunes.", "fame_rank": 356, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/resort-shirakami/" }, { "id": "sagano-scenic-railway", "name": "Sagano Scenic Railway", "from": "Kyoto (Arashiyama)", "to": "Kameoka", "category": "scenic", "train": "Torokko open coaches", "operator": "Sagano Scenic Railway (JR West)", "distance_km": 7, "top_speed_kmh": 25, "duration": "25 min", "opened": 1991, "pax_per_year": 1000000, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "A retired JR alignment above the Hozugawa rapids — twenty-five slow minutes of maples and gorge that the modern main line skips through tunnels.", "fame_rank": 70, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sagano-scenic-railway/" }, { "id": "yufuin-no-mori", "name": "Yufuin no Mori", "from": "Fukuoka", "to": "Yufuin", "category": "scenic", "train": 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"https://trainrouter.com/routes/saphir-odoriko/" }, { "id": "sl-gunma", "name": "SL Gunma", "from": "Takasaki", "to": "Minakami", "category": "classic", "train": "D51 498 · C61 20 steam", "operator": "JR East", "distance_km": 59, "top_speed_kmh": 65, "duration": "≈ 2 h", "opened": 1988, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Restored D51 498 “Degoichi” and C61 20 haul retro coaches up the Joetsu Line on weekends — steam echoing off the Tone gorge under Tanigawa’s wall.", "fame_rank": 372, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sl-gunma/" }, { "id": "seven-stars-kyushu", "name": "Seven Stars in Kyushu", "from": "Fukuoka", "to": "Fukuoka", "category": "night", "train": "DF200-hauled 77 series suites", "operator": "JR Kyushu", "distance_km": 1000, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "≈ 4 days", "opened": 2013, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Japan’s first luxury cruise train — ten suites 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"Tunisia" } ], "highlight": "The Bey of Tunis’s 1910 saloon cars, freshly restored — creeping into the Selja gorge’s ochre cliffs, photo stops included, in phosphate country.", "fame_rank": 297, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/lezard-rouge/" }, { "id": "tanzania-sgr-dar-dodoma", "name": "Tanzania SGR", "from": "Dar es Salaam", "to": "Dodoma", "category": "classic", "train": "CRRC EMU & loco-hauled sets", "operator": "Tanzania Railways Corporation", "distance_km": 460, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "3 h 42 min", "opened": 2024, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TZ", "name": "Tanzania" } ], "highlight": "East Africa’s first electric railway — 160 km/h from Dar’s Indian Ocean humidity to the capital in under four hours, opened 2024 and already packed.", "fame_rank": 662, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tanzania-sgr-dar-dodoma/" }, { "id": "warri-itakpe-express", "name": "Warri–Itakpe Train", "from": "Warri", "to": "Itakpe", "category": "classic", "train": 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"fame_rank": 56, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/puffing-billy/" }, { "id": "spirit-of-the-outback", "name": "Spirit of the Outback", "from": "Brisbane", "to": "Longreach", "category": "night", "train": "Loco-hauled sleeper, Tuckerbox diner", "operator": "Queensland Rail", "distance_km": 1325, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "≈ 25 h", "opened": 1993, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "Up the coast to Rockhampton, then dead west into Matilda country — sleepers and the Tuckerbox diner, 1,325 km to the stockman’s capital.", "fame_rank": 396, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/spirit-of-the-outback/" }, { "id": "gulflander-normanton-croydon", "name": "The Gulflander", "from": "Normanton", "to": "Croydon", "category": "scenic", "train": "RM93 railmotor (1950)", "operator": "Queensland Rail", "distance_km": 152, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 5 h", "opened": 1891, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "“From nowhere to nowhere” once a week — the 1891 Gulf line’s hollow steel sleepers shrug off every wet-season flood; the old railmotor just keeps going.", "fame_rank": 273, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/gulflander-normanton-croydon/" }, { "id": "west-coast-wilderness-railway", "name": "West Coast Wilderness Railway", "from": "Queenstown", "to": "Strahan", "category": "scenic", "train": "Abt rack steam locomotives", "operator": "West Coast Wilderness Railway", "distance_km": 35, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "≈ 4 h", "opened": 1896, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "Hauling itself up 1-in-16 grades on Abt rack cogs — the 1896 copper railway, from Queenstown’s bare hills into King River rainforest, steaming again.", "fame_rank": 116, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/west-coast-wilderness-railway/" }, { "id": "taieri-gorge-railway", "name": "Taieri Gorge Railway", "from": 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escarpment, home again each evening since 1991.", "fame_rank": 720, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/capital-connection/" }, { "id": "pichi-richi-railway", "name": "Pichi Richi Railway", "from": "Port Augusta", "to": "Quorn", "category": "scenic", "train": "Afghan Express steam", "operator": "Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society", "distance_km": 39, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "2 h 20 min", "opened": 1879, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "The original Ghan route through Pichi Richi Pass — 1879 stonework, volunteer-run steam and the 1928 “Barwell Bull” railcar to quaint Quorn.", "fame_rank": 174, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/pichi-richi-railway/" }, { "id": "mary-valley-rattler", "name": "Mary Valley Rattler", "from": "Gympie", "to": "Amamoor", "category": "scenic", "train": "C17 steam No. 45", "operator": "Rattler Railway Company", "distance_km": 20, "top_speed_kmh": 25, "duration": "1 h", "opened": 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three kilometres of resurrected line to Byron Bay’s beaches.", "fame_rank": 162, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/byron-bay-solar-train/" }, { "id": "great-southern-adelaide-brisbane", "name": "Great Southern", "from": "Adelaide", "to": "Brisbane", "category": "night", "train": "Gold & Platinum sleeper", "operator": "Journey Beyond", "distance_km": 2885, "top_speed_kmh": 115, "duration": "≈ 3 days", "opened": 2019, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "The Ghan’s summer sibling — Adelaide to Brisbane the long way round, with Grampians sunsets, Canberra and a Coffs Harbour beach stop en route.", "fame_rank": 387, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/great-southern-adelaide-brisbane/" }, { "id": "shanghai-kunming-hsr", "name": "Shanghai–Kunming HSR", "from": "Shanghai", "to": "Kunming", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CR400AF Fuxing", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 2252, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "≈ 11 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"Chengdu–Chongqing HSR", "from": "Chengdu", "to": "Chongqing", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CR400AF Fuxing", "operator": "China Railway Chengdu Group", "distance_km": 307, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "1 h 02 min", "opened": 2015, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Fuxings at 350 km/h stitch the twin megacities of the southwest into 62 minutes — hotpot in Chengdu, riverside neon in Chongqing before it cools.", "fame_rank": 610, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/chengdu-chongqing-hsr/" }, { "id": "xian-chengdu-hsr", "name": "Xi’an–Chengdu HSR", "from": "Xi’an", "to": "Chengdu", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CRH3A", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 658, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "3 h 07 min", "opened": 2017, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "The first bullet line across the Qinling — 127 km of tunnels under the range that divides north and 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"https://trainrouter.com/routes/beijing-zhangjiakou-hsr/" }, { "id": "harbin-dalian-hsr", "name": "Harbin–Dalian HSR", "from": "Harbin", "to": "Dalian", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CRH380BG (cold-climate)", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 921, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "≈ 4 h", "opened": 2012, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "The world’s first alpine high-speed line — 921 km from Siberian-cold Harbin to the ice-free port of Dalian on EMUs winterised for −40 °C.", "fame_rank": 548, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/harbin-dalian-hsr/" }, { "id": "guiyang-guangzhou-hsr", "name": "Guiyang–Guangzhou HSR", "from": "Guiyang", "to": "Guangzhou", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CRH & Fuxing EMUs", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 857, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "≈ 4 h", "opened": 2014, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Eighty-three 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"operator": "China Railway Chengdu Group", "distance_km": 1100, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "≈ 7 h", "opened": 1970, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "The impossible mountain line of 1970 — 427 tunnels and 991 bridges through the Daliangshan, where 5-yuan slow trains still double as the Yi villages’ market bus.", "fame_rank": 635, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/chengdu-kunming-railway/" }, { "id": "urumqi-kashgar-railway", "name": "Southern Xinjiang Railway", "from": "Urumqi", "to": "Kashgar", "category": "night", "train": "K/T-series sleepers", "operator": "China Railway Urumqi Group", "distance_km": 1475, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "≈ 15 h", "opened": 1999, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "All-night sleepers skirt the Tian Shan and the Taklamakan’s rim to Kashgar, the last great Silk Road bazaar before the Pamirs.", "fame_rank": 392, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/urumqi-kashgar-railway/" }, { "id": "arktika-moscow-murmansk", "name": "Arktika", "from": "Moscow", "to": "Murmansk", "category": "night", "train": "Arktika № 16/15", "operator": "RZD", "distance_km": 1940, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "≈ 35 h", "opened": 1916, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RU", "name": "Russia" } ], "highlight": "Russia’s polar flagship crosses the Arctic Circle on the 1916 Murman railway — 35 hours north to a port where winter trains arrive in round-the-clock night.", "fame_rank": 323, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/arktika-moscow-murmansk/" }, { "id": "moscow-kazan-night", "name": "Moscow–Kazan Double-Decker", "from": "Moscow", "to": "Kazan", "category": "night", "train": "Double-deck sleeper № 23/24", "operator": "RZD", "distance_km": 793, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "≈ 11 h 30 min", "opened": 2015, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RU", "name": "Russia" } ], "highlight": "Two storeys of berths slip out of Kazansky station at 23:08 and pull in beneath the Tatar kremlin by breakfast — Russia’s double-deck night-train boom, eastbound.", "fame_rank": 419, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/moscow-kazan-night/" }, { "id": "red-arrow-moscow-petersburg", "name": "Red Arrow", "from": "Moscow", "to": "Saint Petersburg", "category": "night", "train": "Krasnaya Strela № 1/2", "operator": "RZD", "distance_km": 650, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "≈ 8 h", "opened": 1931, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RU", "name": "Russia" } ], "highlight": "Departing at 23:55 nightly since 1931 to the strains of ‘Hymn to the Great City’ — the crimson Soviet flagship that outlived the state that built it.", "fame_rank": 335, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/red-arrow-moscow-petersburg/" }, { "id": "circum-baikal-express", "name": "Circum-Baikal Express", "from": "Irkutsk", "to": "Port Baikal", "category": "scenic", "train": "Retro excursion train", 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"https://trainrouter.com/routes/baikal-amur-mainline/" }, { "id": "tbilisi-batumi-intercity", "name": "Tbilisi–Batumi Intercity", "from": "Tbilisi", "to": "Batumi", "category": "classic", "train": "Stadler KISS double-decker", "operator": "Georgian Railway", "distance_km": 378, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "4 h 59 min", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GE", "name": "Georgia" } ], "highlight": "Swiss double-deckers roll from the capital through Stalin’s Gori and the Imereti vineyards to palm-lined Batumi — Georgia crossed in five hours.", "fame_rank": 675, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tbilisi-batumi-intercity/" }, { "id": "baku-tbilisi-night", "name": "Baku–Tbilisi Night Train", "from": "Baku", "to": "Tbilisi", "category": "night", "train": "Stadler sleeper", "operator": "ADY · Georgian Railway", "distance_km": 551, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "≈ 9 h 30 min", "opened": 2026, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AZ", "name": "Azerbaijan" }, { "code": "GE", "name": "Georgia" } ], "highlight": "Back after six years in May 2026 — factory-fresh Stadler sleepers with showers and a VIP lounge leave the Caspian at night and wake above the Kura in Tbilisi.", "fame_rank": 428, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/baku-tbilisi-night/" }, { "id": "baku-ganja-express", "name": "Baku–Ganja Express", "from": "Baku", "to": "Ganja", "category": "classic", "train": "Stadler KISS", "operator": "Azerbaijan Railways (ADY)", "distance_km": 363, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "≈ 4 h", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AZ", "name": "Azerbaijan" } ], "highlight": "Double-deck KISS EMUs since 2021, sprinting the Kura steppe to Azerbaijan’s second city — the quickest thing on rails between the Caspian and the Lesser Caucasus.", "fame_rank": 676, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/baku-ganja-express/" }, { "id": "yerevan-tbilisi-night", "name": "Yerevan–Tbilisi Night Train", "from": "Yerevan", "to": "Tbilisi", "category": "night", "train": "Sleeper № 371/372", "operator": "South Caucasus Railway", "distance_km": 370, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "≈ 10 h 30 min", "opened": 1902, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AM", "name": "Armenia" }, { "code": "GE", "name": "Georgia" } ], "highlight": "An every-other-night time capsule down the Debed gorge past Alaverdi’s copper smelters — extended each summer through to the beaches of Batumi.", "fame_rank": 343, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/yerevan-tbilisi-night/" }, { "id": "almaty-tashkent-talgo", "name": "Almaty–Tashkent Talgo", "from": "Almaty", "to": "Tashkent", "category": "night", "train": "Talgo wide-body sleeper", "operator": "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ)", "distance_km": 1000, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "≈ 16 h", "opened": 2024, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KZ", "name": "Kazakhstan" }, { "code": "UZ", "name": "Uzbekistan" } ], "highlight": "Central Asia’s new international Talgo, daily since December 2025 — dinner leaving Almaty under the Tian Shan, lunch next day in Tashkent.", "fame_rank": 408, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/almaty-tashkent-talgo/" }, { "id": "tashkent-khiva-night", "name": "Tashkent–Khiva Night Train", "from": "Tashkent", "to": "Khiva", "category": "night", "train": "UTY night sleeper", "operator": "Uzbekistan Railways", "distance_km": 1120, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "≈ 14 h", "opened": 2018, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "UZ", "name": "Uzbekistan" } ], "highlight": "Khiva had no railway until 2018 — now a sleeper crosses the Kyzylkum desert overnight and draws up beside the mud-walled Itchan Kala at breakfast.", "fame_rank": 404, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tashkent-khiva-night/" }, { "id": "bishkek-issyk-kul", "name": "Issyk-Kul Summer Train", "from": "Bishkek", "to": "Balykchy", "category": "scenic", "train": "Panoramic tourist cars", "operator": "Kyrgyz Temir Zholu", "distance_km": 185, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "4 h 05 min", "opened": 1948, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KG", "name": "Kyrgyzstan" } ], "highlight": "A summer-weekend crawl up the Boom Gorge to Issyk-Kul, the world’s second-largest alpine lake — panoramic cars bolted on for the mountain walls.", "fame_rank": 358, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/bishkek-issyk-kul/" }, { "id": "ashgabat-turkmenabat-night", "name": "Ashgabat–Türkmenabat Night Train", "from": "Ashgabat", "to": "Türkmenabat", "category": "night", "train": "TDY sleeper", "operator": "Türkmendemirýollary (TDY)", "distance_km": 560, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "≈ 13 h", "opened": 1886, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TM", "name": "Turkmenistan" } ], "highlight": "Down the Tsarist Trans-Caspian mainline of 1886 — overnight past Merv’s ruined oasis and the Karakum sands to the Amu Darya’s banks.", "fame_rank": 340, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ashgabat-turkmenabat-night/" }, { "id": "gornergrat-bahn", "name": "Gornergrat Bahn", "from": "Zermatt", "to": "Gornergrat", "category": "scenic", "train": "Rack railway", "operator": "Gornergrat Bahn", "distance_km": 9, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "33 min", "opened": 1898, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "Europe’s highest open-air railway climbs from Zermatt to 3,089 m — the Matterhorn framed in the window from the first curve to the summit ridge.", "fame_rank": 38, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/gornergrat-bahn/" }, { "id": "pilatus-railway", "name": "Pilatus Railway", "from": "Alpnachstad", "to": "Pilatus Kulm", "category": "scenic", "train": "Stadler rack railcars", "operator": "Pilatus-Bahnen", "distance_km": 5, "top_speed_kmh": 12, "duration": "≈ 30 min", "opened": 1889, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "The steepest rack railway on Earth — 48 % grades since 1889, with Locher’s horizontal cog wheels gripping a ladder no ordinary train could climb.", "fame_rank": 43, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/pilatus-railway/" }, { "id": "rigi-railways", "name": "Rigi Railways", "from": "Vitznau", "to": "Rigi Kulm", "category": "scenic", "train": "Rack railway", "operator": "Rigi Bahnen", "distance_km": 7, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "≈ 30 min", "opened": 1871, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "Europe’s first mountain railway (1871) still ratchets up from Lake Lucerne to the Queen of the Mountains — Mark Twain rode it and wrote home about it.", "fame_rank": 319, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/rigi-railways/" }, { "id": "brocken-railway", "name": "Brockenbahn", "from": "Wernigerode", "to": "Brocken", "category": "scenic", "train": "Class 99 2-10-2T steam", "operator": "Harzer Schmalspurbahnen", "distance_km": 34, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 1 h 45 min", "opened": 1899, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Metre-gauge steam still storms year-round to the 1,141 m Brocken — Goethe’s witches’ mountain, sealed off as a Soviet listening post until 1989.", "fame_rank": 177, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/brocken-railway/" }, { "id": "zugspitze-rack-railway", "name": "Bayerische Zugspitzbahn", "from": "Garmisch-Partenkirchen", "to": "Zugspitzplatt", "category": "scenic", "train": "Rack railway", "operator": "Bayerische Zugspitzbahn", "distance_km": 19, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 1 h 15 min", "opened": 1930, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Germany’s highest railway — cogwheels from Garmisch past the Eibsee, then 4.5 km of tunnel to snowfields at 2,588 m below the country’s highest summit.", "fame_rank": 308, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zugspitze-rack-railway/" }, { "id": "centovalli-express", "name": "Centovalli Railway", "from": "Domodossola", "to": "Locarno", "category": "scenic", "train": "Panoramic railcars", "operator": "SSIF · FART", "distance_km": 52, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "≈ 2 h", "opened": 1923, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" }, { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "Fifty-two km, 83 bridges and 31 tunnels between Piedmont and Ticino — chestnut forests, waterfalls and stone villages a hundred valleys deep.", "fame_rank": 68, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/centovalli-express/" }, { "id": "hollentalbahn", "name": "Höllentalbahn", "from": "Freiburg", "to": "Donaueschingen", "category": "scenic", "train": "Breisgau S-Bahn EMU", "operator": "DB Regio", "distance_km": 75, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "≈ 1 h 30 min", "opened": 1887, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Germany’s steepest main line climbs Hell’s Valley at 55 ‰ — through the Hirschsprung gorge and over the Ravenna viaduct into the high Black Forest.", "fame_rank": 292, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/hollentalbahn/" }, { "id": "ffestiniog-welsh-highland", "name": "Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland", "from": "Caernarfon", "to": "Blaenau Ffestiniog", "category": "scenic", "train": "Double Fairlie steam", "operator": "Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways", "distance_km": 62, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 4 h", "opened": 1836, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "The world’s oldest narrow-gauge railway company (1836) — double-ended Fairlie steam from Caernarfon castle through Snowdonia to the slate town of Blaenau.", "fame_rank": 171, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ffestiniog-welsh-highland/" }, { "id": "jacobite-steam-train", "name": "The Jacobite", "from": "Fort William", "to": "Mallaig", "category": "scenic", "train": "Black Five steam", "operator": "West Coast Railways", "distance_km": 67, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "2 h 10 min", "opened": 1901, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Steam over the 21 arches of Glenfinnan on the 1901 Mallaig extension — the working train that became the Hogwarts Express, white sands of Morar below.", "fame_rank": 13, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/jacobite-steam-train/" }, { "id": "snowdon-mountain-railway", "name": "Snowdon Mountain Railway", "from": "Llanberis", "to": "Snowdon Summit", "category": "scenic", "train": "Steam & diesel rack", "operator": "Snowdon Mountain Railway", "distance_km": 8, "top_speed_kmh": 12, "duration": "≈ 1 h", "opened": 1896, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Britain’s only public rack-and-pinion railway, Swiss-engineered in 1896 — 950 vertical metres from Llanberis to the roof of Wales.", "fame_rank": 54, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/snowdon-mountain-railway/" }, { "id": "train-jaune", "name": "Train Jaune", "from": "Villefranche-de-Conflent", "to": "Latour-de-Carol", "category": "scenic", "train": "Z 100 yellow railcars", "operator": "SNCF Voyageurs", "distance_km": 63, "top_speed_kmh": 55, "duration": "≈ 3 h", "opened": 1910, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "The canary-yellow metre gauge of the Pyrenees — open-air cars over the Séjourné and Gisclard bridges to France’s highest station at 1,593 m.", "fame_rank": 83, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/train-jaune/" }, { "id": "le-cevenol", "name": "Le Cévenol", "from": "Clermont-Ferrand", "to": "Nîmes", "category": "scenic", "train": "TER railcar", "operator": "SNCF Voyageurs", "distance_km": 303, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "≈ 5 h", "opened": 1870, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "Down the Allier gorges on viaducts stacked over a river with no road — the Massif Central crossing the TGV era forgot, kept alive by sheer beauty.", "fame_rank": 252, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/le-cevenol/" }, { "id": "ligne-des-hirondelles", "name": "Ligne des Hirondelles", "from": "Dole", "to": "Saint-Claude", "category": "scenic", "train": "TER Mobigo railcar", "operator": "SNCF Voyageurs", "distance_km": 123, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "≈ 3 h", "opened": 1912, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "36 tunnels and 18 viaducts swooping like its namesake swallows through the high Jura — stacked stone arches right above the rooftops of Morez.", "fame_rank": 279, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ligne-des-hirondelles/" }, { "id": "intercites-nuit-paris-briancon", "name": "Intercités de Nuit Paris–Briançon", "from": "Paris", "to": "Briançon", "category": "night", "train": "Corail couchette cars", "operator": "SNCF Voyageurs", "distance_km": 860, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "≈ 11 h 30 min", "opened": 1884, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "France’s southern-Alps sleeper — lights out at Austerlitz, blinds up in the Durance valley, arrival under the Vauban walls of France’s highest city.", "fame_rank": 332, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/intercites-nuit-paris-briancon/" }, { "id": "cinque-terre-express", "name": "Cinque Terre Express", "from": "Levanto", "to": "La Spezia", "category": "scenic", "train": "Rock double-deck EMU", "operator": "Trenitalia", "distance_km": 30, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "≈ 30 min", "opened": 1874, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "Village-hopping between tunnels where Liguria’s cliffs meet the sea — Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore in half an hour.", "fame_rank": 59, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cinque-terre-express/" }, { "id": "frecciarossa-milan-venice", "name": "Frecciarossa Milan–Venice", "from": "Milan", "to": "Venice", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Frecciarossa 1000", "operator": "Trenitalia", "distance_km": 267, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "2 h 13 min", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "300 km/h out of Milan, then Verona, Vicenza and Padua — finishing with the causeway glide across the lagoon to Santa Lucia’s doorstep on the Grand Canal.", "fame_rank": 616, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/frecciarossa-milan-venice/" }, { "id": "nightjet-munich-rome", "name": "Nightjet Munich–Rome", "from": "Munich", "to": "Rome", "category": "night", "train": "New-generation Nightjet", "operator": "ÖBB", "distance_km": 1100, "top_speed_kmh": 230, "duration": "13 h 58 min", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" }, { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" }, { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "Board after dinner in Bavaria, wake to Tuscan hills — mini-cabins and wireless charging on ÖBB’s newest sleepers, threading the Tauern by night.", "fame_rank": 406, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/nightjet-munich-rome/" }, { "id": "nightjet-zurich-amsterdam", "name": "Nightjet Zurich–Amsterdam", "from": "Zurich", "to": "Amsterdam", "category": "night", "train": "Nightjet sleeper", "operator": "ÖBB · NS", "distance_km": 1000, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "11 h 15 min", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" }, { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" }, { "code": "NL", "name": "Netherlands" } ], "highlight": "Asleep along the Rhine, awake on the IJ — the 2021 revival that re-linked the Alps to the canals, sliding past Cologne’s floodlit cathedral at midnight.", "fame_rank": 409, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/nightjet-zurich-amsterdam/" }, { "id": "kyiv-lviv-intercity", "name": "Kyiv–Lviv Intercity+", "from": "Kyiv", "to": "Lviv", "category": "classic", "train": "HRCS2 Hyundai Rotem", "operator": "Ukrzaliznytsia", "distance_km": 575, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "≈ 5 h", "opened": 2012, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "UA", "name": "Ukraine" } ], "highlight": "Launched for Euro 2012 and never stopped — the Hyundai-built Intercity+ keeps capital and Galicia linked across the steppe, through blackout and war.", "fame_rank": 652, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/kyiv-lviv-intercity/" }, { "id": "helsinki-turku-ic", "name": "Rantarata Coastal Line", "from": "Helsinki", "to": "Turku", "category": "classic", "train": "Sr3-hauled InterCity", "operator": "VR", "distance_km": 193, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "1 h 57 min", "opened": 1903, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FI", "name": "Finland" } ], "highlight": "Finland’s two capitals, old and new, tied by a curving shoreline track — double-deck InterCities weaving through granite cuttings and birch-lined bays.", "fame_rank": 504, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/helsinki-turku-ic/" }, { "id": "copenhagen-aarhus-lyn", "name": "Lyntog Copenhagen–Aarhus", "from": "Copenhagen", "to": "Aarhus", "category": "classic", "train": "IC3 Lyntog", "operator": "DSB", "distance_km": 330, "top_speed_kmh": 180, "duration": "2 h 39 min", "opened": 1997, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DK", "name": "Denmark" } ], "highlight": "Zealand to Jutland with no ferry — an 8 km tunnel and the 6.6 km West Bridge across the Great Belt made Denmark one rail country in 1997.", "fame_rank": 685, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/copenhagen-aarhus-lyn/" }, { "id": "sorlandsbanen", "name": "Sørlandsbanen", "from": "Oslo", "to": "Stavanger", "category": "classic", "train": "Type 73 tilting EMU", "operator": "Go-Ahead Nordic", "distance_km": 598, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "≈ 8 h", "opened": 1944, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NO", "name": "Norway" } ], "highlight": "Norway’s south-coast main line, completed in wartime 1944 — inland through pine and moor, touching salt water only at Kristiansand and the Jæren flats.", "fame_rank": 650, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sorlandsbanen/" }, { "id": "rorosbanen", "name": "Rørosbanen", "from": "Hamar", "to": "Trondheim", "category": "scenic", "train": "Type 93 Talent DMU", "operator": "SJ Norge", "distance_km": 431, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "≈ 6 h", "opened": 1877, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NO", "name": "Norway" } ], "highlight": "The original 1877 inland route to Trondheim — diesel country through Østerdalen’s forests to Røros, the UNESCO copper town still timber-built and soot-dark.", "fame_rank": 247, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/rorosbanen/" }, { "id": "inlandsbanan", "name": "Inlandsbanan", "from": "Mora", "to": "Gällivare", "category": "scenic", "train": "Y1 diesel railcars", "operator": "Inlandståg", "distance_km": 1070, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "2 days", "opened": 1937, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SE", "name": "Sweden" } ], "highlight": "Two summer days up Sweden’s green spine — moose at the window and a trackside stop at the Arctic Circle, where everyone piles out for photographs.", "fame_rank": 76, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/inlandsbanan/" }, { "id": "tren-de-soller", "name": "Tren de Sóller", "from": "Palma", "to": "Sóller", "category": "scenic", "train": "Vintage wooden electrics", "operator": "Ferrocarril de Sóller", "distance_km": 27, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 1 h", "opened": 1912, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Varnished mahogany carriages from 1912 thread thirteen tunnels through the Tramuntana into Sóller’s orange-grove valley — Mallorca’s rolling time machine.", "fame_rank": 182, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tren-de-soller/" }, { "id": "crescent", "name": "Crescent", "from": "New York", "to": "New Orleans", "category": "night", "train": "Amtrak Viewliner II", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 2216, "top_speed_kmh": 201, "duration": "≈ 30 h", "opened": 1925, "pax_per_year": 300000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Heir to the 1925 Crescent Limited — Manhattan to the French Quarter past Blue Ridge foothills, midnight Atlanta and a dawn crawl across Lake Pontchartrain.", "fame_rank": 159, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/crescent/" }, { "id": "cardinal", "name": "Cardinal", "from": "New York", "to": "Chicago", "category": "night", "train": "Amtrak Amfleet & Viewliner", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 1844, "top_speed_kmh": 201, "duration": "≈ 28 h", "opened": 1977, "pax_per_year": 110000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Amtrak’s slowest way to Chicago and its prettiest — tri-weekly through Virginia horse country and the whitewater canyons of the New River Gorge.", "fame_rank": 165, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cardinal/" }, { "id": "lake-shore-limited", "name": "Lake Shore Limited", "from": "New York", "to": "Chicago", "category": "night", "train": "Amtrak Viewliner II", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 1543, "top_speed_kmh": 177, "duration": "≈ 19 h", "opened": 1897, "pax_per_year": 350000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Heir to the New York Central’s 1897 Water Level Route — up the Hudson at dusk, along Lake Erie by night, into Chicago with morning coffee.", "fame_rank": 157, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/lake-shore-limited/" }, { "id": "silver-meteor", "name": "Silver Meteor", "from": "New York", "to": "Miami", "category": "night", "train": "Amtrak Viewliner II", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 2235, "top_speed_kmh": 201, "duration": "≈ 28 h", "opened": 1939, "pax_per_year": 300000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "The Seaboard streamliner that opened Florida’s diesel age in 1939 — 28 hours from Penn Station to palm-lined Miami, still running nightly.", "fame_rank": 158, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/silver-meteor/" }, { "id": "texas-eagle", "name": "Texas Eagle", "from": "Chicago", "to": "San Antonio", "category": "night", "train": "Amtrak Superliner", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 2102, "top_speed_kmh": 177, "duration": "≈ 32 h", "opened": 1948, "pax_per_year": 300000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "A Missouri Pacific name kept alive from the Loop to the Alamo — with through sleepers to Los Angeles, one of the longest runs on the Amtrak map.", "fame_rank": 163, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/texas-eagle/" }, { "id": "amtrak-cascades", "name": "Amtrak Cascades", "from": "Vancouver", "to": "Eugene", "category": "classic", "train": "Siemens Airo (from 2026)", "operator": "Amtrak / WSDOT & ODOT", "distance_km": 752, "top_speed_kmh": 127, "duration": "≈ 11 h", "opened": 1998, "pax_per_year": 800000, "countries": [ { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" }, { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Salish Sea beaches, Puget Sound ferries and Willamette farmland — the Pacific Northwest’s green corridor train, re-equipping with new Airo sets in 2026.", "fame_rank": 217, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/amtrak-cascades/" }, { "id": "adirondack", "name": "Adirondack", "from": "New York", "to": "Montréal", "category": "classic", "train": "Amfleet coaches", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 613, "top_speed_kmh": 177, "duration": "≈ 11 h", "opened": 1974, "pax_per_year": 90000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" }, { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "Hudson castles, Lake Champlain narrows and border-country vineyards — widely called the most scenic day train in the eastern United States.", "fame_rank": 236, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/adirondack/" }, { "id": "floridian", "name": "Floridian", "from": "Chicago", "to": "Miami", "category": "night", "train": "Amtrak Superliner", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 3340, "top_speed_kmh": 127, "duration": "≈ 47 h", "opened": 2024, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Born of a 2024 tunnel-works merger of two classic trains — one seat from Lake Michigan over the Alleghenies to Tampa and Miami, nearly two days aboard.", "fame_rank": 386, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/floridian/" }, { "id": "grand-canyon-railway", "name": "Grand Canyon Railway", "from": "Williams", "to": "Grand Canyon Village", "category": "scenic", "train": "Vintage Pullmans & F40 diesels", "operator": "Grand Canyon Railway (Xanterra)", "distance_km": 103, "top_speed_kmh": 64, "duration": "2 h 15 min", "opened": 1901, "pax_per_year": 225000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Since 1901 the painless way to the South Rim — vintage Pullmans roll across pine forest and high prairie to a log depot steps from the abyss.", "fame_rank": 52, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/grand-canyon-railway/" }, { "id": "cumbres-toltec", "name": "Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad", "from": "Antonito", "to": "Chama", "category": "scenic", "train": "D&RGW K-36 steam 2-8-2", "operator": "Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad", "distance_km": 103, "top_speed_kmh": 24, "duration": "6 h 30 min", "opened": 1880, "pax_per_year": 45000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "America’s highest steam railroad, 1880 Rio Grande narrow gauge — K-36 Mikados storm 3,054 m Cumbres Pass and teeter along the Toltec Gorge rim.", "fame_rank": 57, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cumbres-toltec/" }, { "id": "mount-washington-cog", "name": "Mount Washington Cog Railway", "from": "Marshfield Base Station", "to": "Mount Washington Summit", "category": "scenic", "train": "Marsh-rack steam & biodiesel", "operator": "Mount Washington Cog Railway", "distance_km": 4.8, "top_speed_kmh": 10, "duration": "40 min", "opened": 1869, "pax_per_year": 110000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "The world’s first mountain-climbing cog railway (1869) — still shoving trains up a 37% grade to New England’s stormiest, windiest summit.", "fame_rank": 33, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/mount-washington-cog/" }, { "id": "white-pass-yukon", "name": "White Pass & Yukon Route", "from": "Skagway", "to": "Carcross", "category": "scenic", "train": "Narrow-gauge parlor cars & steam No. 73", "operator": "White Pass & Yukon Route", "distance_km": 109, "top_speed_kmh": 32, "duration": "4 h 30 min", "opened": 1900, "pax_per_year": 500000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" }, { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "Blasted through gold-rush cliffs in 26 months (1898–1900) — 900 m of climbing out of Skagway on cantilever bridges, then along Lake Bennett to the Yukon.", "fame_rank": 45, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/white-pass-yukon/" }, { "id": "pikes-peak-cog", "name": "Pikes Peak Cog Railway", "from": "Manitou Springs", "to": "Pikes Peak Summit", "category": "scenic", "train": "Stadler cog railcars", "operator": "Broadmoor Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway", "distance_km": 14, "top_speed_kmh": 19, "duration": "1 h 10 min", "opened": 1891, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "North America’s highest railway, rebuilt with Swiss railcars in 2021 — climbing since 1891 to the 4,302 m summit that inspired “America the Beautiful”.", "fame_rank": 134, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/pikes-peak-cog/" }, { "id": "via-skeena", "name": "Skeena", "from": "Jasper", "to": "Prince Rupert", "category": "scenic", "train": "Budd stainless-steel cars", "operator": "VIA Rail", "distance_km": 1160, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "≈ 32 h", "opened": 1914, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "Two daylight days from the Rockies to the Pacific — Mount Robson, totem-pole country at Hazelton and the Skeena’s misty canyons, overnighting in Prince George.", "fame_rank": 244, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/via-skeena/" }, { "id": "polar-bear-express", "name": "Polar Bear Express", "from": "Cochrane", "to": "Moosonee", "category": "classic", "train": "Ontario Northland coaches", "operator": "Ontario Northland", "distance_km": 299, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "5 h", "opened": 1932, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "No road reaches Moosonee — Ontario Northland’s lifeline train rolls 300 km of spruce and muskeg to tidewater on James Bay, canoes and pickups riding along.", "fame_rank": 477, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/polar-bear-express/" }, { "id": "tren-interoceanico", "name": "Tren Interoceánico", "from": "Salina Cruz", "to": "Coatzacoalcos", "category": "classic", "train": "FIT 3000-series diesel", "operator": "Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec", "distance_km": 308, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "6 h 20 min", "opened": 2023, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MX", "name": "Mexico" } ], "highlight": "The 1907 Tehuantepec route reborn in 2023 — ocean to ocean across Mexico’s narrowest waist, from Pacific salt winds to the Gulf refineries.", "fame_rank": 693, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tren-interoceanico/" }, { "id": "el-insurgente", "name": "El Insurgente", "from": "Mexico City", "to": "Zinacantepec", "category": "classic", "train": "CAF Civity EMU", "operator": "Gobierno de México (SICT)", "distance_km": 58, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "50 min", "opened": 2023, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MX", "name": "Mexico" } ], "highlight": "Mexico’s 160 km/h interurban tunnels out of the Valley of Toluca — since February 2026 running the full 58 km into Observatorio in the capital.", "fame_rank": 737, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/el-insurgente/" }, { "id": "panama-canal-railway", "name": "Panama Canal Railway", "from": "Panama City", "to": "Colón", "category": "classic", "train": "F40 diesels & dome car", "operator": "Panama Canal Railway Co. 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"https://trainrouter.com/routes/tren-lima-huancayo/" }, { "id": "perurail-titicaca", "name": "PeruRail Titicaca", "from": "Cusco", "to": "Puno", "category": "scenic", "train": "PeruRail Titicaca coaches", "operator": "PeruRail", "distance_km": 388, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "10 h 30 min", "opened": 1908, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PE", "name": "Peru" } ], "highlight": "Ten leisurely hours across the altiplano from Cusco to Lake Titicaca — white-linen lunch and an open observation car over the 4,319 m La Raya pass.", "fame_rank": 248, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/perurail-titicaca/" }, { "id": "tren-patagonico", "name": "Tren Patagónico", "from": "Viedma", "to": "Bariloche", "category": "night", "train": "Sleepers, pullman & cinema car", "operator": "Tren Patagónico S.A.", "distance_km": 826, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "≈ 19 h", "opened": 1934, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AR", "name": "Argentina" } ], "highlight": "Friday nights out of Viedma — sleeper berths, a dining car and an onboard cinema crawl across the Río Negro steppe to the lakes of Bariloche.", "fame_rank": 212, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tren-patagonico/" }, { "id": "tren-fin-del-mundo", "name": "Tren del Fin del Mundo", "from": "Ushuaia", "to": "Tierra del Fuego National Park", "category": "scenic", "train": "500 mm-gauge steam", "operator": "Ferrocarril Austral Fueguino", "distance_km": 7, "top_speed_kmh": 15, "duration": "50 min", "opened": 1909, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AR", "name": "Argentina" } ], "highlight": "The southernmost railway on Earth — a 500 mm steam line laid by Ushuaia’s prison labourers in 1909, now puffing into Tierra del Fuego National Park.", "fame_rank": 85, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tren-fin-del-mundo/" }, { "id": "expreso-del-sur", "name": "Expreso del Sur", "from": "Oruro", "to": "Villazón", "category": "night", "train": "Salón & ejecutivo coaches", "operator": "Empresa Ferroviaria Andina (FCA)", "distance_km": 590, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "≈ 15 h 30 min", "opened": 1925, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BO", "name": "Bolivia" } ], "highlight": "Tuesdays and Fridays out of Oruro — past Lake Poopó’s salt shores to Uyuni by night, then down the quebradas to the Argentine border at Villazón.", "fame_rank": 339, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/expreso-del-sur/" }, { "id": "efe-santiago-chillan", "name": "Tren Santiago–Chillán", "from": "Santiago", "to": "Chillán", "category": "classic", "train": "CRRC EMU", "operator": "EFE Trenes de Chile", "distance_km": 398, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "4 h 25 min", "opened": 2023, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CL", "name": "Chile" } ], "highlight": "South America’s fastest scheduled trains — 160 km/h EMUs launched in 2023 sprint down Chile’s Central Valley past vineyards and snow-capped volcanoes.", "fame_rank": 672, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/efe-santiago-chillan/" }, { "id": "buscarril-talca-constitucion", "name": "Buscarril Talca–Constitución", "from": "Talca", "to": "Constitución", "category": "scenic", "train": "Ferrostaal buscarril railcar", "operator": "EFE Trenes de Chile", "distance_km": 88, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "≈ 3 h", "opened": 1915, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CL", "name": "Chile" } ], "highlight": "Chile’s last country branch line, a National Monument — a little railbus threads the Maule river gorge to vineyards and hamlets no road reaches.", "fame_rank": 290, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/buscarril-talca-constitucion/" }, { "id": "trem-do-corcovado", "name": "Trem do Corcovado", "from": "Rio de Janeiro", "to": "Corcovado", "category": "scenic", "train": "Swiss rack EMU", "operator": "Trem do Corcovado", "distance_km": 3.8, "top_speed_kmh": 15, "duration": "20 min", "opened": 1884, "pax_per_year": 600000, "countries": [ { "code": "BR", "name": "Brazil" } ], "highlight": "Brazil’s first electrified railway (1884) — a rack train climbing 700 m through Tijuca rainforest to Christ the Redeemer above Rio.", "fame_rank": 154, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/trem-do-corcovado/" }, { "id": "trem-carajas", "name": "Estrada de Ferro Carajás", "from": "São Luís", "to": "Parauapebas", "category": "classic", "train": "CRRC coaches (2025 fleet)", "operator": "Vale", "distance_km": 892, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "≈ 16 h", "opened": 1985, "pax_per_year": 400000, "countries": [ { "code": "BR", "name": "Brazil" } ], "highlight": "One of the world’s great everyday long hauls — 16 hours through Amazon-edge towns, sharing rails with 300-plus-wagon iron-ore trains bound for Carajás.", "fame_rank": 221, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/trem-carajas/" }, { "id": "turistren-bogota", "name": "Tren de la Sabana", "from": "Bogotá", "to": "Zipaquirá", "category": "scenic", "train": "Steam-hauled heritage coaches", "operator": 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"vande-bharat-bhopal", "name": "Bhopal Vande Bharat", "from": "New Delhi", "to": "Bhopal", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Vande Bharat EMU", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 702, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "7 h 30 min", "opened": 2023, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "India’s fastest timetabled train — a home-built Vande Bharat touching 160 km/h past Agra and Gwalior, capital to Bhopal in seven and a half hours.", "fame_rank": 558, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vande-bharat-bhopal/" }, { "id": "deccan-queen", "name": "Deccan Queen", "from": "Mumbai", "to": "Pune", "category": "classic", "train": "WAP-7 · LHB rake", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 192, "top_speed_kmh": 110, "duration": "3 h 10 min", "opened": 1930, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "Maharashtra’s beloved “Queen” since 1930 — India’s first deluxe electric express, still climbing the monsoon-soaked Bhor Ghat with the network’s last dining car.", "fame_rank": 505, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/deccan-queen/" }, { "id": "matheran-hill-railway", "name": "Matheran Hill Railway", "from": "Neral", "to": "Matheran", "category": "scenic", "train": "NDM narrow-gauge diesel", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 21, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "2 h 40 min", "opened": 1907, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "A 1907 two-foot-gauge toy train corkscrewing 21 km up to a car-free hill station — 281 curves, the “One Kiss Tunnel”, and monkeys pacing the carriages.", "fame_rank": 306, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/matheran-hill-railway/" }, { "id": "maharajas-express", "name": "Maharajas’ Express", "from": "Delhi", "to": "Delhi", "category": "night", "train": "IRCTC luxury rake", "operator": "IRCTC", "distance_km": 2400, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "7 days", "opened": 2010, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "IRCTC’s rolling palace — a week-long royal loop from Delhi through Ranthambore’s tigers, champagne breakfast beside the Taj, and evening prayers on the Ganges.", "fame_rank": 40, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/maharajas-express/" }, { "id": "island-express", "name": "Island Express", "from": "Bengaluru", "to": "Kanniyakumari", "category": "night", "train": "WAP-7 express rake", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 929, "top_speed_kmh": 110, "duration": "18 h 40 min", "opened": 1940, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "Kerala’s workhorse since 1940 — overnight from Bengaluru’s plateau down the palm-and-backwater coast to the subcontinent’s southernmost station at Kanniyakumari.", "fame_rank": 416, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/island-express/" }, { "id": "golden-temple-mail", "name": "Golden Temple Mail", "from": "Mumbai", "to": "Amritsar", "category": "classic", "train": "WAP-7 · LHB rake", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 1890, "top_speed_kmh": 110, "duration": "≈ 32 h", "opened": 1928, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "Born 1928 as the Frontier Mail to Peshawar — the Raj’s most glamorous train still runs daily, Mumbai to the Golden Temple’s city, 1,890 km up the map.", "fame_rank": 242, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/golden-temple-mail/" }, { "id": "green-line-express", "name": "Green Line Express", "from": "Karachi", "to": "Islamabad", "category": "night", "train": "AC sleeper rake", "operator": "Pakistan Railways", "distance_km": 1515, "top_speed_kmh": 105, "duration": "≈ 22 h", "opened": 2015, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PK", "name": "Pakistan" } ], "highlight": "Pakistan’s premium flagship since 2015 — 22 hours up the Indus valley from Karachi’s sea air to Islamabad’s Margalla foothills, meals and bedding included.", "fame_rank": 390, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/green-line-express/" }, { "id": "khyber-mail", "name": "Khyber Mail", "from": "Karachi", "to": "Peshawar", "category": "night", "train": "Mail sleeper rake", "operator": "Pakistan Railways", "distance_km": 1732, "top_speed_kmh": 105, "duration": "≈ 32 h", "opened": 1920, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PK", "name": "Pakistan" } ], "highlight": "Rolling since 1920 and named for the pass beyond Peshawar — Pakistan’s grand old mail train, two nights along the Indus, a lounge diner added in 2024.", "fame_rank": 80, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/khyber-mail/" }, { "id": "sonar-bangla-express", "name": "Sonar Bangla Express", "from": "Dhaka", "to": "Chattogram", "category": "classic", "train": "INKA air-con rake", "operator": "Bangladesh Railway", "distance_km": 321, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "4 h 55 min", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BD", "name": 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364, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ruhunu-kumari/" }, { "id": "yangon-circular", "name": "Yangon Circular Railway", "from": "Yangon", "to": "Yangon", "category": "classic", "train": "RBE railcars (ex-JR)", "operator": "Myanma Railways", "distance_km": 46, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 3 h", "opened": 1954, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MM", "name": "Myanmar" } ], "highlight": "A 46 km loop through Yangon life — monks, hawkers and vegetable baskets aboard ex-Japanese railcars, three unhurried hours for pocket change.", "fame_rank": 94, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/yangon-circular/" }, { "id": "bangkok-vientiane-express", "name": "Bangkok–Vientiane Express", "from": "Bangkok", "to": "Vientiane", "category": "night", "train": "SRT through sleeper", "operator": "State Railway of Thailand", "distance_km": 647, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "11 h 40 min", "opened": 2024, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TH", "name": "Thailand" }, { "code": "LA", "name": "Laos" } ], "highlight": "Since July 2024 the sleeper rolls straight across the Mekong Friendship Bridge — asleep past Ayutthaya, awake in Laos: the first direct rails into Vientiane.", "fame_rank": 425, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/bangkok-vientiane-express/" }, { "id": "hat-yai-special-express", "name": "Hat Yai Special Express", "from": "Bangkok", "to": "Hat Yai", "category": "night", "train": "CNR sleeper", "operator": "State Railway of Thailand", "distance_km": 945, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "≈ 16 h", "opened": 1918, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TH", "name": "Thailand" } ], "highlight": "Thailand’s southern flagship — 945 km down the Kra Isthmus past Hua Hin’s royal station and Surat Thani’s ferry piers, the sleeper gateway to Malaysia.", "fame_rank": 327, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/hat-yai-special-express/" }, { "id": "phnom-penh-sihanoukville", "name": "Royal Railway Southern Line", "from": "Phnom Penh", "to": "Sihanoukville", "category": "classic", "train": "Refurbished railcar sets", "operator": "Royal Railway", "distance_km": 264, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "5 h 40 min", "opened": 1969, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KH", "name": "Cambodia" } ], "highlight": "Weekend trains on Cambodia’s 1960s line to the sea, revived in 2016 — through Takeo and Kampot’s pepper country to Sihanoukville’s beaches.", "fame_rank": 353, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/phnom-penh-sihanoukville/" }, { "id": "ekspres-rakyat-timuran", "name": "Ekspres Rakyat Timuran", "from": "Johor Bahru", "to": "Tumpat", "category": "night", "train": "KTM Class 26 sleeper", "operator": "KTM Berhad", "distance_km": 725, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "≈ 17 h", "opened": 1931, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MY", "name": "Malaysia" } ], "highlight": "Malaysia’s last sleeper — the overnight “Jungle Railway” threading rainforest, limestone gorges and sleepy kampungs from Johor Bahru to the Thai border.", "fame_rank": 334, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ekspres-rakyat-timuran/" }, { "id": "argo-bromo-anggrek", "name": "Argo Bromo Anggrek", "from": "Jakarta", "to": "Surabaya", "category": "classic", "train": "INKA New Generation set", "operator": "Kereta Api Indonesia", "distance_km": 725, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "7 h 45 min", "opened": 1997, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ID", "name": "Indonesia" } ], "highlight": "Pride of Java’s north coast since 1997 — Jakarta to Surabaya in under eight hours with two stops, now carrying KAI’s first Suite Class compartments.", "fame_rank": 640, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/argo-bromo-anggrek/" }, { "id": "argo-wilis", "name": "Argo Wilis", "from": "Bandung", "to": "Surabaya", "category": "scenic", "train": "Stainless-steel eksekutif rake", "operator": "Kereta Api Indonesia", "distance_km": 696, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "≈ 10 h 30 min", "opened": 1998, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ID", "name": "Indonesia" } ], "highlight": "The great trans-Java day train — sweeping around the Lebakjero horseshoe beneath Priangan’s volcanoes, then along the southern rice plains to Surabaya.", "fame_rank": 345, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/argo-wilis/" }, { "id": "bima-express", "name": "Bima", "from": "Jakarta", "to": "Surabaya", "category": "night", "train": "Eksekutif night rake", "operator": "Kereta Api Indonesia", "distance_km": 825, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "≈ 12 h", "opened": 1967, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ID", "name": "Indonesia" } ], "highlight": "Indonesia’s original air-conditioned night train (1967) — the “Biru Malam” still slips out of Jakarta at dusk and glides past Yogyakarta before dawn.", "fame_rank": 418, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/bima-express/" }, { "id": "tehran-mashhad", "name": "Tehran–Mashhad Express", "from": "Tehran", "to": "Mashhad", "category": "night", "train": "Fadak five-star sleeper", "operator": "Islamic Republic of Iran Railways", "distance_km": 926, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "≈ 11 h", "opened": 1957, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IR", "name": "Iran" } ], "highlight": "Iran’s busiest corridor — five-star Fadak sleepers glide 926 km east past desert caravanserai country to Imam Reza’s shrine city of Mashhad.", "fame_rank": 417, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tehran-mashhad/" }, { "id": "trans-iranian-railway", "name": "Trans-Iranian Railway", "from": "Tehran", "to": "Khorramshahr", "category": "scenic", "train": "RAJA sleeper", "operator": "Islamic Republic of Iran Railways", "distance_km": 937, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "≈ 15 h", "opened": 1938, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IR", "name": "Iran" } ], "highlight": "The UNESCO-listed 1938 masterpiece paid for by taxes on tea and sugar — night trains spiral down the Zagros through a maze of tunnels to the Gulf plain.", "fame_rank": 47, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/trans-iranian-railway/" }, { "id": "baghdad-basra", "name": "Baghdad–Basra Night Train", "from": "Baghdad", "to": "Basra", "category": "night", "train": "CSR sleeper DMU", "operator": "Iraqi Republic Railways", "distance_km": 550, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "8 h 30 min", "opened": 2014, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IQ", "name": "Iraq" } ], "highlight": "Iraq back on rails — since 2014 a Chinese-built sleeper DMU hums south past Babylon and the Euphrates towns, Baghdad to Basra by breakfast.", "fame_rank": 430, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/baghdad-basra/" }, { "id": "etihad-rail", "name": "Etihad Rail", "from": "Abu Dhabi", "to": "Fujairah", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CAF intercity sets", "operator": "Etihad Rail", "distance_km": 250, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "1 h 45 min", "opened": 2026, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AE", "name": "United Arab Emirates" } ], "highlight": "The UAE’s first passenger railway, launched June 2026 — 200 km/h out of Abu Dhabi and through Hajar mountain tunnels to Fujairah in 105 minutes.", "fame_rank": 618, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/etihad-rail/" }, { "id": "northeast-regional", "name": "Northeast Regional", "from": "Boston", "to": "Washington", "category": "classic", "train": "Amfleet I · Siemens ACS-64", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 735, "top_speed_kmh": 201, "duration": "7 h 52 min", "opened": 1995, "pax_per_year": 12018536, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Amtrak’s busiest train — over 12 million riders a year — racing the electrified Northeast Corridor at up to 125 mph without the Acela fare.", "fame_rank": 214, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/northeast-regional/" }, { "id": "vermonter", "name": "Vermonter", "from": "Washington", "to": "St. Albans", "category": "classic", "train": "Amfleet · GE P42DC", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 983, "top_speed_kmh": 201, "duration": "12 h 40 min", "opened": 1995, "pax_per_year": 115940, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "One of Amtrak’s longest daytime runs; trains reverse at Springfield to swing up the Connecticut River valley into Vermont’s Green Mountains.", "fame_rank": 235, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vermonter/" }, { "id": "downeaster", "name": "Downeaster", "from": "Boston", "to": "Brunswick", "category": "classic", "train": "Amfleet · GE P42DC", "operator": "Amtrak · NNEPRA", "distance_km": 233, "top_speed_kmh": 127, "duration": "3 h 30 min", "opened": 2001, "pax_per_year": 598426, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Maine’s state-run link passed 10 million riders in December 2024, serving coastal Old Orchard Beach and the outlet town of Freeport.", "fame_rank": 219, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/downeaster/" }, { "id": "ethan-allen-express", "name": "Ethan Allen Express", "from": "New York", "to": "Burlington", "category": "classic", "train": "Amfleet · GE P32AC-DM", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 500, "top_speed_kmh": 177, "duration": "7 h 35 min", "opened": 1996, "pax_per_year": 85314, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "In July 2022 it became the first passenger train to reach Burlington in 69 years, extending north from Rutland along Lake Champlain.", "fame_rank": 238, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ethan-allen-express/" }, { "id": "maple-leaf-nyc-toronto", "name": "Maple Leaf", "from": "New York", "to": "Toronto", "category": "classic", "train": "Amfleet · GE P32AC-DM", "operator": "Amtrak · VIA Rail", "distance_km": 875, "top_speed_kmh": 177, "duration": "12 h 30 min", "opened": 1981, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" }, { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "The only Amtrak–VIA joint train: passengers clear customs at Niagara Falls, where the line crosses the gorge beside the thundering cataract.", "fame_rank": 639, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/maple-leaf-nyc-toronto/" }, { "id": "pennsylvanian", "name": "Pennsylvanian", "from": "New York", "to": "Pittsburgh", "category": "classic", "train": "Amfleet · Siemens ACS-64", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 715, "top_speed_kmh": 201, "duration": "9 h 15 min", "opened": 1980, "pax_per_year": 236003, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Sweeps around Horseshoe Curve near Altoona — the 1854 engineering landmark that finally tamed the Allegheny grade.", "fame_rank": 225, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/pennsylvanian/" }, { "id": "piedmont-raleigh-charlotte", "name": "Piedmont", "from": "Raleigh", "to": "Charlotte", "category": "classic", "train": "NCDOT F59PH · rebuilt streamliner cars", "operator": "Amtrak · NCDOT", "distance_km": 278, "top_speed_kmh": 127, "duration": "3 h 10 min", "opened": 1995, "pax_per_year": 300000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "North Carolina’s home-grown corridor — the state owns the trains, a fleet of rebuilt 1960s streamliner cars, running four round trips a day.", "fame_rank": 223, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/piedmont-raleigh-charlotte/" }, { "id": "heartland-flyer", "name": "Heartland Flyer", "from": "Oklahoma City", "to": "Fort Worth", "category": "classic", "train": "Superliner · GE P42DC", "operator": "Amtrak · ODOT/TxDOT", "distance_km": 332, "top_speed_kmh": 127, "duration": "4 h", "opened": 1999, "pax_per_year": 80371, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Oklahoma’s only Amtrak train and the sole daily rail link into Texas, timed at Fort Worth to meet the Chicago–LA Texas Eagle.", "fame_rank": 239, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/heartland-flyer/" }, { "id": "carolinian", "name": "Carolinian", "from": "New York", "to": "Charlotte", "category": "classic", "train": "Amfleet · Siemens ACS-64", "operator": "Amtrak · NCDOT", "distance_km": 1133, "top_speed_kmh": 201, "duration": "13 h 31 min", "opened": 1990, "pax_per_year": 347360, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "At 704 miles the longest state-supported route in the Amtrak system, swapping its electric locomotive for a diesel at Washington.", "fame_rank": 222, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/carolinian/" }, { "id": "wolverine", "name": "Wolverine", "from": "Chicago", "to": "Pontiac", "category": "classic", "train": "Siemens Venture · Charger", "operator": "Amtrak · MDOT", "distance_km": 489, "top_speed_kmh": 177, "duration": "6 h", "opened": 1971, "pax_per_year": 438427, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Hits 110 mph on state-owned track between Kalamazoo and Dearborn — one of the few 100-mph corridors outside the Northeast.", "fame_rank": 220, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/wolverine/" }, { "id": "hiawatha-chicago-milwaukee", "name": "Hiawatha", "from": "Chicago", "to": "Milwaukee", "category": "classic", "train": "Horizon · Siemens Charger", "operator": "Amtrak · IDOT/WisDOT", "distance_km": 138, "top_speed_kmh": 127, "duration": "1 h 29 min", "opened": 1971, "pax_per_year": 631990, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "The Midwest’s busiest corridor — seven round trips a day linking downtown Chicago and Milwaukee in about 90 minutes.", "fame_rank": 218, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/hiawatha-chicago-milwaukee/" }, { "id": "san-joaquins", "name": "San Joaquins", "from": "Oakland", "to": "Bakersfield", "category": "classic", "train": "Siemens Venture · Charger", "operator": "Amtrak · SJJPA", "distance_km": 507, "top_speed_kmh": 127, "duration": "6 h", "opened": 1974, "pax_per_year": 899903, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "A Central Valley workhorse whose Thruway buses fan out to Yosemite, LA and the coast; over half of riders connect to a bus.", "fame_rank": 216, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/san-joaquins/" }, { "id": "capitol-corridor", "name": "Capitol Corridor", "from": "San Jose", "to": "Auburn", "category": "classic", "train": "California Car · Siemens Charger", "operator": "Amtrak · CCJPA", "distance_km": 270, "top_speed_kmh": 127, "duration": "3 h 15 min", "opened": 1991, "pax_per_year": 1138753, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Amtrak’s fourth-busiest route, hugging San Pablo Bay from Silicon Valley to the Sierra foothills; one daily train runs the full climb to Auburn.", "fame_rank": 215, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/capitol-corridor/" }, { "id": "cass-scenic-railroad", "name": "Cass Scenic Railroad", "from": "Cass", "to": "Bald Knob", "category": "scenic", "train": "Shay geared steam", "operator": "Mountain Rail WV · WV State Parks", "distance_km": 35, "top_speed_kmh": 24, "duration": "4 h 30 min", "opened": 1901, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Home to the world’s largest fleet of geared Shay steam locomotives, grinding up 11% grades to Bald Knob, 4,842 ft — West Virginia’s third-highest point.", "fame_rank": 175, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cass-scenic-railroad/" }, { "id": "verde-canyon-railroad", "name": "Verde Canyon Railroad", "from": "Clarkdale", "to": "Perkinsville", "category": "scenic", "train": "EMD FP7 · vintage coaches", "operator": "Verde Canyon Railroad", "distance_km": 64, "top_speed_kmh": 19, "duration": "4 h", "opened": 1912, "pax_per_year": 100000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Two 1953 FP7 diesels, once Alaska Railroad engines, thread a 680-ft curved tunnel and a red-rock canyon that shelters nesting bald eagles.", "fame_rank": 148, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/verde-canyon-railroad/" }, { "id": "napa-valley-wine-train", "name": "Napa Valley Wine Train", "from": "Napa", "to": "St. Helena", "category": "scenic", "train": "Alco FPA4 · 1915 Pullman cars", "operator": "Napa Valley Wine Train", "distance_km": 58, "top_speed_kmh": 29, "duration": "3 h", "opened": 1864, "pax_per_year": 100000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Guests wine and dine in restored early-1900s Pullman lounge cars behind vintage 1950s Alco diesels, rolling past Napa vineyards at a tasting pace.", "fame_rank": 149, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/napa-valley-wine-train/" }, { "id": "great-smoky-mountains-railroad", "name": "Great Smoky Mountains Railroad", "from": "Bryson City", "to": "Nantahala Gorge", "category": "scenic", "train": "EMD diesel · Baldwin 1702 steam", "operator": "Great Smoky Mountains Railroad", "distance_km": 71, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "4 h 30 min", "opened": 1988, "pax_per_year": 200000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "The spectacular train-wreck scene in The Fugitive (1993) was staged on this line; the wrecked locomotive still sits trackside near Dillsboro.", "fame_rank": 153, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/great-smoky-mountains-railroad/" }, { "id": "georgetown-loop-railroad", "name": "Georgetown Loop Railroad", "from": "Georgetown", "to": "Silver Plume", "category": "scenic", "train": "3-ft narrow-gauge steam", "operator": "Georgetown Loop Railroad", "distance_km": 7, "top_speed_kmh": 16, "duration": "1 h 15 min", "opened": 1884, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "To gain 640 ft between two towns just 2 miles apart, the narrow gauge spirals over itself on the Devil’s Gate High Bridge — an 1884 marvel rebuilt in 1984.", "fame_rank": 205, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/georgetown-loop-railroad/" }, { "id": "skunk-train", "name": "Skunk Train", "from": "Fort Bragg", "to": "Glen Blair", "category": "scenic", "train": "GP9 diesel · vintage motorcar", "operator": "California Western Railroad", "distance_km": 11, "top_speed_kmh": 24, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 1885, "pax_per_year": 60000, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Nicknamed the “Skunk” in 1925 for its reeking gas railcars — you smelled it before you saw it — still winding out of Fort Bragg through the coast redwoods.", "fame_rank": 150, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/skunk-train/" }, { "id": "mount-hood-railroad", "name": "Mount Hood Railroad", "from": "Hood River", "to": "Parkdale", "category": "scenic", "train": "EMD GP9 · excursion coaches", "operator": "Mount Hood Railroad", "distance_km": 34, "top_speed_kmh": 32, "duration": "2 h 30 min", "opened": 1906, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Climbs the orchard-filled Hood River valley toward 11,240-ft Mount Hood, reversing up one of just five railroad switchbacks still in regular US use.", "fame_rank": 301, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/mount-hood-railroad/" }, { "id": "via-toronto-ottawa", "name": "VIA Rail Corridor", "from": "Toronto", "to": "Ottawa", "category": "classic", "train": "Siemens Venture", "operator": "VIA Rail Canada", "distance_km": 450, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "4 h 8 min", "opened": 1978, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "VIA’s new Siemens Venture trainsets made their Toronto debut on this Ottawa run in October 2024, cruising at up to 160 km/h.", "fame_rank": 665, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/via-toronto-ottawa/" }, { "id": "via-toronto-montreal", "name": "VIA Rail Corridor", "from": "Toronto", "to": "Montreal", "category": "classic", "train": "Siemens Venture", "operator": "VIA Rail Canada", "distance_km": 541, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "4 h 56 min", "opened": 1978, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "Rides the Grand Trunk main line of 1856, which once cut the Toronto–Montreal journey from five days to fourteen hours.", "fame_rank": 655, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/via-toronto-montreal/" }, { "id": "via-montreal-quebec", "name": "VIA Rail Corridor", "from": "Montreal", "to": "Quebec City", "category": "classic", "train": "Siemens Venture", "operator": "VIA Rail Canada", "distance_km": 270, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 43 min", "opened": 1978, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "The quickest run reaches Québec City’s château-style Gare du Palais in about 2 h 43 min, tracing the south shore of the St. Lawrence.", "fame_rank": 703, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/via-montreal-quebec/" }, { "id": "agawa-canyon-tour-train", "name": "Agawa Canyon Tour Train", "from": "Sault Ste. Marie", "to": "Agawa Canyon", "category": "scenic", "train": "GP38 diesel · coaches", "operator": "Agawa Canyon Railroad (Watco)", "distance_km": 183, "top_speed_kmh": 64, "duration": "10 h", "opened": 1964, "pax_per_year": 30000, "countries": [ { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "A 10-hour day trip 114 miles north into a wilderness canyon whose blazing autumn colours inspired Canada’s Group of Seven painters.", "fame_rank": 166, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/agawa-canyon-tour-train/" }, { "id": "jose-cuervo-express", "name": "José Cuervo Express", "from": "Guadalajara", "to": "Tequila", "category": "scenic", "train": "Ferromex diesel · lounge coaches", "operator": "José Cuervo · Ferromex", "distance_km": 64, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 2012, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MX", "name": "Mexico" } ], "highlight": "Pours tequila and stages mariachi as it rolls through UNESCO-listed blue-agave fields to the spirit’s namesake town, Tequila.", "fame_rank": 371, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/jose-cuervo-express/" }, { "id": "tren-frances-havana-santiago", "name": "Tren Francés", "from": "Havana", "to": "Santiago de Cuba", "category": "classic", "train": "CRRC coaches · diesel", "operator": "Ferrocarriles de Cuba", "distance_km": 854, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "15 h", "opened": 1902, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CU", "name": "Cuba" } ], "highlight": "Named for the ex-French TEE coaches France sold Cuba in 2000; Chinese-built cars now run this 854 km island-spanning line, often only every few days.", "fame_rank": 438, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tren-frances-havana-santiago/" }, { "id": "nariz-del-diablo", "name": "Nariz del Diablo", "from": "Alausí", "to": "Sibambe", "category": "scenic", "train": "diesel · tourist coaches", "operator": "Ferrocarriles del Ecuador", "distance_km": 12, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "2 h 30 min", "opened": 1902, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "EC", "name": "Ecuador" } ], "highlight": "To scale the sheer “Devil’s Nose” cliff the line zig-zags up a Z-shaped switchback, edging forward then reversing; reopened in August 2025 after five years shut.", "fame_rank": 103, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/nariz-del-diablo/" }, { "id": "ferrocarril-ezequiel-zamora", "name": "Ferrocarril Ezequiel Zamora", "from": "Caracas", "to": "Cúa", "category": "classic", "train": "CAF electric multiple unit", "operator": "IFE", "distance_km": 41, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "31 min", "opened": 2006, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "VE", "name": "Venezuela" } ], "highlight": "Venezuela’s flagship modern railway bores through long mountain tunnels at 120 km/h to link Caracas with the Tuy-valley town of Cúa in just 31 minutes.", "fame_rank": 741, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ferrocarril-ezequiel-zamora/" }, { "id": "buenos-aires-mar-del-plata", "name": "Tren a Mar del Plata", "from": "Buenos Aires", "to": "Mar del Plata", "category": "classic", "train": "CRRC coaches · diesel", "operator": "Trenes Argentinos", "distance_km": 400, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "6 h", "opened": 1886, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AR", "name": "Argentina" } ], "highlight": "Rails reached the great Atlantic beach resort in 1886; today Chinese-built coaches cross 400 km of pampas from Constitución, packed with summer crowds.", "fame_rank": 461, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/buenos-aires-mar-del-plata/" }, { "id": "tren-de-las-sierras-cordoba", "name": "Tren de las Sierras", "from": "Córdoba", "to": "Cosquín", "category": "scenic", "train": "ex-CP railcar (Emepa Alerce)", "operator": "Trenes Argentinos", "distance_km": 56, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 1889, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AR", "name": "Argentina" } ], "highlight": "Revived in 2007, this 1889 line threads the Punilla valley past Lake San Roque, carrying refurbished ex-Portuguese railcars up into the Sierras de Córdoba.", "fame_rank": 295, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tren-de-las-sierras-cordoba/" }, { "id": "tren-tacuarembo-rivera", "name": "AFE Tacuarembó–Rivera", "from": "Tacuarembó", "to": "Rivera", "category": "classic", "train": "Y1 railcar (ex-SJ)", "operator": "AFE", "distance_km": 130, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "2 h 10 min", "opened": 1892, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "UY", "name": "Uruguay" } ], "highlight": "Uruguay’s last passenger train — Swedish-built Y1 railcars rattle five days a week through the northern hills to the Brazilian border at Rivera.", "fame_rank": 523, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tren-tacuarembo-rivera/" }, { "id": "eip-warsaw-katowice", "name": "Express InterCity Premium", "from": "Warsaw", "to": "Katowice", "category": "classic", "train": "Pendolino ED250", "operator": "PKP Intercity", "distance_km": 298, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "2 h 20 min", "opened": 2014, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PL", "name": "Poland" } ], "highlight": "Poland’s fastest train, hitting 200 km/h on the dead-straight Central Rail Line (CMK) engineered for high speed back in the 1970s.", "fame_rank": 695, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/eip-warsaw-katowice/" }, { "id": "eic-warsaw-poznan", "name": "Express InterCity", "from": "Warsaw", "to": "Poznań", "category": "classic", "train": "EU44 Husarz + coaches", "operator": "PKP Intercity", "distance_km": 311, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 35 min", "opened": 1921, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PL", "name": "Poland" } ], "highlight": "Historic trunk line on the Paris–Berlin–Warszawa–Moscow corridor; the same rails carry the Berlin-Warszawa-Express onward to Germany.", "fame_rank": 473, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/eic-warsaw-poznan/" }, { "id": "tlk-warsaw-przemysl", "name": "IC Przemyślanin", "from": "Warsaw", "to": "Przemyśl", "category": "classic", "train": "EU44 Husarz + coaches", "operator": "PKP Intercity", "distance_km": 395, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "5 h", "opened": 1861, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PL", "name": "Poland" } ], "highlight": "Crosses Poland to Przemyśl, the southeastern gateway where standard gauge meets Ukraine’s broad gauge — handover point for Kyiv-bound trains.", "fame_rank": 463, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tlk-warsaw-przemysl/" }, { "id": "krakow-zakopane-tatra", "name": "Kraków–Zakopane", "from": "Kraków", "to": "Zakopane", "category": "scenic", "train": "EN76 Elf / IC coaches", "operator": "PKP Intercity · Koleje Małopolskie", "distance_km": 147, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "2 h 45 min", "opened": 1899, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PL", "name": "Poland" } ], "highlight": "Climbs from Kraków into the Tatra Mountains on the rebuilt line to Zakopane, Poland’s highest town and winter-sports capital.", "fame_rank": 275, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/krakow-zakopane-tatra/" }, { "id": "pendolino-prague-ostrava", "name": "SC Pendolino", "from": "Prague", "to": "Ostrava", "category": "classic", "train": "ČD Class 680", "operator": "České dráhy", "distance_km": 356, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "3 h 7 min", "opened": 2005, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CZ", "name": "Czechia" } ], "highlight": "Czechia’s flagship tilting Pendolino links Prague with Moravia’s industrial capital Ostrava via the cathedral city of Olomouc.", "fame_rank": 678, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/pendolino-prague-ostrava/" }, { "id": "regiojet-prague-brno", "name": "RegioJet", "from": "Prague", "to": "Brno", "category": "classic", "train": "Astra / Bmpz coaches", "operator": "RegioJet", "distance_km": 256, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 33 min", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CZ", "name": "Czechia" } ], "highlight": "Yellow open-access trains with steward service and free coffee — RegioJet broke the state railway’s grip on the Prague–Brno run.", "fame_rank": 704, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/regiojet-prague-brno/" }, { "id": "express-prague-cheb", "name": "Praha–Cheb Express", "from": "Prague", "to": "Cheb", "category": "classic", "train": "ČD Class 380 push-pull", "operator": "České dráhy", "distance_km": 219, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "3 h 3 min", "opened": 1862, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CZ", "name": "Czechia" } ], "highlight": "Heads west through Plzeň, birthplace of Pilsner lager, to the spa-country town of Cheb near the German border.", "fame_rank": 495, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/express-prague-cheb/" }, { "id": "tanvald-korenov-cog", "name": "Zubačka Rack Railway", "from": "Tanvald", "to": "Harrachov", "category": "scenic", "train": "ČSD Class 426.0 rack", "operator": "České dráhy", "distance_km": 13, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "35 min", "opened": 1902, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CZ", "name": "Czechia" } ], "highlight": "Czechia’s only cog railway, climbing the Jizera Mountains on an Abt rack at a gradient of 58‰ — a national record.", "fame_rank": 314, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tanvald-korenov-cog/" }, { "id": "tez-poprad-strbske-pleso", "name": "Tatra Electric Railway (TEŽ)", "from": "Poprad", "to": "Štrbské Pleso", "category": "scenic", "train": "ŽSSK Class 425.95", "operator": "ZSSK", "distance_km": 29, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "1 h 5 min", "opened": 1912, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SK", "name": "Slovakia" } ], "highlight": "Metre-gauge electric cars climb to the High Tatra resort of Štrbské Pleso at 1,320 m, Slovakia’s highest railway station.", "fame_rank": 303, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tez-poprad-strbske-pleso/" }, { "id": "mav-budapest-balaton", "name": "Balaton InterCity", "from": "Budapest", "to": "Siófok", "category": "classic", "train": "Stadler KISS", "operator": "MÁV-START", "distance_km": 115, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 1861, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "HU", "name": "Hungary" } ], "highlight": "Summer expresses to Siófok on the south shore of Lake Balaton, central Europe’s largest lake and Hungary’s beach playground.", "fame_rank": 527, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/mav-budapest-balaton/" }, { "id": "mav-budapest-debrecen", "name": "InterCity Debrecen", "from": "Budapest", "to": "Debrecen", "category": "classic", "train": "Traxx + IC+ coaches", "operator": "MÁV-START", "distance_km": 221, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 20 min", "opened": 1857, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "HU", "name": "Hungary" } ], "highlight": "Hourly InterCity across the Great Hungarian Plain to Debrecen, the nation’s second city, on the 160 km/h eastern main line.", "fame_rank": 493, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/mav-budapest-debrecen/" }, { "id": "mav-budapest-pecs", "name": "InterCity Pécs", "from": "Budapest", "to": "Pécs", "category": "classic", "train": "Traxx + IC+ coaches", "operator": "MÁV-START", "distance_km": 229, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "2 h 40 min", "opened": 1882, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "HU", "name": "Hungary" } ], "highlight": "InterCity to Pécs, a sun-warmed city of Roman tombs and an Ottoman mosque near the Croatian border in southern Hungary.", "fame_rank": 489, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/mav-budapest-pecs/" }, { "id": "budapest-childrens-railway", "name": "Children’s Railway (Gyermekvasút)", "from": "Széchenyi-hegy", "to": "Hűvösvölgy", "category": "scenic", "train": "Mk45 + narrow-gauge coaches", "operator": "MÁV-START", "distance_km": 11, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "45 min", "opened": 1950, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "HU", "name": "Hungary" } ], "highlight": "A 760 mm line through the Buda Hills staffed almost entirely by children aged 10–14 — a Young Pioneer legacy still running today.", "fame_rank": 381, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/budapest-childrens-railway/" }, { "id": "cfr-bucharest-cluj", "name": "InterRegio Cluj", "from": "Bucharest", "to": "Cluj-Napoca", "category": "classic", "train": "CFR IR coaches", "operator": "CFR Călători", "distance_km": 497, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "8 h", "opened": 1879, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RO", "name": "Romania" } ], "highlight": "The long haul from Bucharest over the Carpathians via Brașov and medieval Sighișoara to Cluj-Napoca, heart of Transylvania.", "fame_rank": 448, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cfr-bucharest-cluj/" }, { "id": "cfr-bucharest-timisoara", "name": "InterRegio Timișoara", "from": "Bucharest", "to": "Timișoara", "category": "classic", "train": "CFR IR coaches", "operator": "CFR Călători", "distance_km": 533, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "8 h 30 min", "opened": 1879, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RO", "name": "Romania" } ], "highlight": "Follows the Danube past the Iron Gates gorge, then climbs to Timișoara, the Banat city where Romania’s 1989 revolution ignited.", "fame_rank": 445, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cfr-bucharest-timisoara/" }, { "id": "mocanita-vaser-valley", "name": "Mocănița Vaser Valley", "from": "Vișeu de Sus", "to": "Paltin", "category": "scenic", "train": "O&K / Reșița steam", "operator": "CFF Vișeu de Sus", "distance_km": 21, "top_speed_kmh": 15, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 1933, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RO", "name": "Romania" } ], "highlight": "The world’s last steam-hauled forestry railway still logging, chuffing up the wild Vaser gorge in Maramureș toward the Ukrainian border.", "fame_rank": 189, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/mocanita-vaser-valley/" }, { "id": "sibiu-brasov-cfr", "name": "InterRegio Sibiu–Brașov", "from": "Sibiu", "to": "Brașov", "category": "classic", "train": "Electric loco + coaches", "operator": "CFR Călători", "distance_km": 149, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "2 h 40 min", "opened": 1892, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RO", "name": "Romania" } ], "highlight": "Runs beneath the Făgăraș Mountains, Romania’s highest, along the Olt valley between the Saxon citadels of Sibiu and Brașov.", "fame_rank": 520, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sibiu-brasov-cfr/" }, { "id": "sofia-plovdiv-bdz", "name": "BDŽ Fast Train Plovdiv", "from": "Sofia", "to": "Plovdiv", "category": "classic", "train": "Siemens Desiro EMU", "operator": "BDŽ", "distance_km": 156, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 1888, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BG", "name": "Bulgaria" } ], "highlight": "Bulgaria’s busiest intercity corridor, being rebuilt for 200 km/h, tying the capital to Plovdiv, one of Europe’s oldest cities.", "fame_rank": 518, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sofia-plovdiv-bdz/" }, { "id": "sofia-varna-bdz", "name": "BDŽ Fast Train Varna", "from": "Sofia", "to": "Varna", "category": "classic", "train": "Siemens Desiro EMU", "operator": "BDŽ", "distance_km": 543, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "7 h 30 min", "opened": 1899, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BG", "name": "Bulgaria" } ], "highlight": "Crosses the Balkan range and the Danubian plain to Varna, Bulgaria’s summer capital on the Black Sea coast.", "fame_rank": 444, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sofia-varna-bdz/" }, { "id": "sofia-burgas-bdz", "name": "BDŽ Fast Train Burgas", "from": "Sofia", "to": "Burgas", "category": "classic", "train": "Siemens Desiro EMU", "operator": "BDŽ", "distance_km": 458, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "6 h", "opened": 1890, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BG", "name": "Bulgaria" } ], "highlight": "Runs via Plovdiv and Stara Zagora to Burgas, the port at the heart of Bulgaria’s southern Black Sea beaches.", "fame_rank": 453, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sofia-burgas-bdz/" }, { "id": "septemvri-dobrinishte", "name": "Rhodope Narrow-Gauge", "from": "Septemvri", "to": "Dobrinishte", "category": "scenic", "train": "760 mm diesel railcar", "operator": "BDŽ", "distance_km": 125, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "5 h", "opened": 1926, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BG", "name": "Bulgaria" } ], "highlight": "Bulgaria’s last 760 mm line threads 35 tunnels up to Avramovo, the highest railway station in the Balkans at 1,267 m.", "fame_rank": 278, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/septemvri-dobrinishte/" }, { "id": "intercity-kyiv-kharkiv", "name": "Intercity+", "from": "Kyiv", "to": "Kharkiv", "category": "classic", "train": "Škoda EJ675 / Hyundai HRCS2", "operator": "Ukrainian Railways", "distance_km": 480, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "4 h 50 min", "opened": 2012, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "UA", "name": "Ukraine" } ], "highlight": "Ukraine’s flagship Intercity+ express, launched for Euro 2012, races across the steppe from Kyiv to Kharkiv via Poltava.", "fame_rank": 660, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/intercity-kyiv-kharkiv/" }, { "id": "intercity-kyiv-odesa", "name": "Intercity+", "from": "Kyiv", "to": "Odesa", "category": "classic", "train": "Škoda EJ675", "operator": "Ukrainian Railways", "distance_km": 585, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "7 h 20 min", "opened": 2012, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "UA", "name": "Ukraine" } ], "highlight": "Runs south from Kyiv through the black-earth farmland via the Znamianka junction to Odesa, the grand imperial port on the Black Sea.", "fame_rank": 651, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/intercity-kyiv-odesa/" }, { "id": "intercity-kyiv-dnipro", "name": "Intercity+", "from": "Kyiv", "to": "Dnipro", "category": "classic", "train": "Hyundai HRCS2 / Škoda EJ675", "operator": "Ukrainian Railways", "distance_km": 480, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "5 h 40 min", "opened": 2012, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "UA", "name": "Ukraine" } ], "highlight": "Fast Intercity+ from Kyiv to Dnipro, the rocket-building metropolis on the mighty Dnieper in Ukraine’s industrial east.", "fame_rank": 661, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/intercity-kyiv-dnipro/" }, { "id": "minsk-brest-bch", "name": "Minsk–Brest Business Class", "from": "Minsk", "to": "Brest", "category": "classic", "train": "Stadler BKG1 EMU", "operator": "Belarusian Railway", "distance_km": 346, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "3 h 20 min", "opened": 1871, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BY", "name": "Belarus" } ], "highlight": "Follows the old Moscow–Warsaw corridor to Brest, the fortress city on the Bug where Belarus’s broad gauge meets the EU frontier.", "fame_rank": 468, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/minsk-brest-bch/" }, { "id": "minsk-gomel-bch", "name": "Minsk–Gomel Regional Express", "from": "Minsk", "to": "Gomel", "category": "classic", "train": "ЭПр Stadler EMU", "operator": "Belarusian Railway", "distance_km": 302, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "4 h", "opened": 1873, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BY", "name": "Belarus" } ], "highlight": "Links the capital with Gomel, Belarus’s second city near the Ukrainian border and the fringe of the Chernobyl zone.", "fame_rank": 475, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/minsk-gomel-bch/" }, { "id": "prietenia-chisinau-bucharest", "name": "Prietenia", "from": "Chișinău", "to": "Bucharest", "category": "night", "train": "CFM/CFR sleeper coaches", "operator": "CFM · CFR Călători", "distance_km": 450, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "13 h", "opened": 2002, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MD", "name": "Moldova" }, { "code": "RO", "name": "Romania" } ], "highlight": "Overnight Friendship sleeper whose coaches are jacked up for a bogie swap at Ungheni — Soviet 1,520 mm broad gauge to European standard.", "fame_rank": 432, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/prietenia-chisinau-bucharest/" }, { "id": "chisinau-iasi", "name": "Chișinău–Iași Cross-Border", "from": "Chișinău", "to": "Iași", "category": "classic", "train": "CFM D1M railcar", "operator": "Calea Ferată din Moldova", "distance_km": 130, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "3 h 30 min", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MD", "name": "Moldova" }, { "code": "RO", "name": "Romania" } ], "highlight": "A symbolic cross-Prut service reopened in 2021, switching from Moldova’s broad gauge to Romania’s standard gauge at the Ungheni frontier.", "fame_rank": 723, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/chisinau-iasi/" }, { "id": "zhengzhou-xian-hsr", "name": "Zhengzhou–Xi’an HSR", "from": "Zhengzhou", "to": "Xi’an", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CR400AF Fuxing", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 523, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 2010, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "One of China’s first mountain bullet lines, boring through the loess hills of the Yellow River valley to link Zhengzhou with the ancient capital Xi’an in about two hours.", "fame_rank": 579, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zhengzhou-xian-hsr/" }, { "id": "datong-xian-hsr", "name": "Datong–Xi’an HSR", "from": "Datong", "to": "Xi’an", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CRH380A", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 859, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "6 h", "opened": 2019, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Runs the length of Shanxi from the Datong grottoes past walled Pingyao, crossing the Yellow River into Shaanxi to reach Xi’an.", "fame_rank": 550, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/datong-xian-hsr/" }, { "id": "nanning-guangzhou-hsr", "name": "Nanning–Guangzhou HSR", "from": "Nanning", "to": "Guangzhou", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CRH2A", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 576, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "3 h 30 min", "opened": 2014, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Follows the Xijiang (West River) valley out of Guangxi down to the Pearl River Delta, linking Nanning with Guangzhou.", "fame_rank": 571, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/nanning-guangzhou-hsr/" }, { "id": "zhengzhou-chongqing-hsr", "name": "Zhengzhou–Chongqing HSR", "from": "Zhengzhou", "to": "Chongqing", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CR400AF Fuxing", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 1068, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "4 h 23 min", "opened": 2022, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "A 1,068 km route threading the Funiu and Daba ranges, cutting Zhengzhou–Chongqing from about eight hours to under four and a half.", "fame_rank": 547, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zhengzhou-chongqing-hsr/" }, { "id": "fuzhou-xiamen-hsr", "name": "Fuzhou–Xiamen HSR", "from": "Fuzhou", "to": "Xiamen", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CR400AF Fuxing", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 277, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "55 min", "opened": 2023, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "China’s first 350 km/h cross-sea railway, vaulting three bays on the Taiwan Strait coast to link Fuzhou and Xiamen in 55 minutes.", "fame_rank": 614, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/fuzhou-xiamen-hsr/" }, { "id": "jinan-qingdao-hsr", "name": "Jinan–Qingdao HSR", "from": "Jinan", "to": "Qingdao", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CR400AF Fuxing", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 308, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "1 h 40 min", "opened": 2018, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "A 350 km/h dash across Shandong from the provincial capital Jinan to the seaside beer city of Qingdao.", "fame_rank": 608, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/jinan-qingdao-hsr/" }, { "id": "hefei-fuzhou-hsr", "name": "Hefei–Fuzhou HSR", "from": "Hefei", "to": "Fuzhou", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CRH380A", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 813, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "4 h", "opened": 2015, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Nicknamed China’s most beautiful high-speed line, curving past Mount Huangshan and the Wuyi Mountains through Jiangnan tea country.", "fame_rank": 553, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/hefei-fuzhou-hsr/" }, { "id": "shijiazhuang-taiyuan-hsr", "name": "Shitai HSR", "from": "Shijiazhuang", "to": "Taiyuan", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CRH380A", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 190, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "1 h 10 min", "opened": 2009, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Burrows under the Taihang range through the 27.8 km Taihang Tunnel, once China’s longest railway tunnel, to join Hebei and Shanxi.", "fame_rank": 623, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/shijiazhuang-taiyuan-hsr/" }, { "id": "guiyang-nanning-hsr", "name": "Guiyang–Nanning HSR", "from": "Guiyang", "to": "Nanning", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CR400AF Fuxing", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 482, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "2 h 53 min", "opened": 2023, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "350 km/h through Guizhou–Guangxi karst on a line that is mostly bridge and tunnel, passing the Libo World Heritage limestone scenery.", "fame_rank": 583, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/guiyang-nanning-hsr/" }, { "id": "nanning-kunming-hsr", "name": "Nanning–Kunming HSR", "from": "Nanning", "to": "Kunming", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CRH380A", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 716, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "4 h 30 min", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Crosses the folded uplands and Nanpan River gorges between Guangxi and Yunnan’s capital, Kunming.", "fame_rank": 557, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/nanning-kunming-hsr/" }, { "id": "chengdu-guiyang-hsr", "name": "Chengdu–Guiyang HSR", "from": "Chengdu", "to": "Guiyang", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CRH380D", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 648, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "3 h", "opened": 2019, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Billed as the first high-speed railway through such deeply folded karst, spanning Jinsha River gorges on some of the world’s highest rail bridges.", "fame_rank": 565, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/chengdu-guiyang-hsr/" }, { "id": "yinchuan-xian-hsr", "name": "Yinchuan–Xi’an HSR", "from": "Yinchuan", "to": "Xi’an", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CR300BF Fuxing", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 618, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "3 h", "opened": 2020, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "The first bullet line to reach Ningxia, climbing the Loess Plateau and Ziwuling forests from Yellow River Yinchuan to Xi’an.", "fame_rank": 568, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/yinchuan-xian-hsr/" }, { "id": "zhengzhou-jinan-hsr", "name": "Zhengzhou–Jinan HSR", "from": "Zhengzhou", "to": "Jinan", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CR400AF Fuxing", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 407, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "1 h 40 min", "opened": 2023, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "A fast diagonal across the North China Plain that crosses the Yellow River to knot together two provincial capitals.", "fame_rank": 596, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zhengzhou-jinan-hsr/" }, { "id": "baoji-lanzhou-hsr", "name": "Baoji–Lanzhou HSR", "from": "Baoji", "to": "Lanzhou", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CRH2G · CR300BF", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 401, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 2017, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "The final link of the east–west corridor to Lanzhou, over 90% bridge and loess tunnel, tracing the old Silk Road past Tianshui.", "fame_rank": 598, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/baoji-lanzhou-hsr/" }, { "id": "chengdu-yaan-railway", "name": "Chengdu–Ya’an Railway", "from": "Chengdu", "to": "Ya’an", "category": "classic", "train": "CRH6A", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 140, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "1 h 12 min", "opened": 2018, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "The first completed stretch of the epic Sichuan–Tibet railway, heading west from Chengdu along the old Tea-Horse Road toward the plateau.", "fame_rank": 718, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/chengdu-yaan-railway/" }, { "id": "lhasa-shigatse-railway", "name": "Lhasa–Shigatse Railway", "from": "Lhasa", "to": "Shigatse", "category": "scenic", "train": "25T plateau coaches", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 253, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 40 min", "opened": 2014, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "A high-altitude spur off the Qinghai–Tibet line, tunnelling through the mountains to trace the Yarlung Tsangpo canyon to Tibet’s second city.", "fame_rank": 355, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/lhasa-shigatse-railway/" }, { "id": "dali-lijiang-railway", "name": "Dali–Lijiang Railway", "from": "Dali", "to": "Lijiang", "category": "scenic", "train": "SS7C · 25-series coaches", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 165, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 2009, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Climbs from Dali’s Erhai Lake toward the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the old town of Lijiang, nearly all on bridges and through tunnels.", "fame_rank": 361, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dali-lijiang-railway/" }, { "id": "ulaanbaatar-erdenet", "name": "Erdenet Railway", "from": "Ulaanbaatar", "to": "Erdenet", "category": "night", "train": "2TE116 · sleeper", "operator": "Ulaanbaatar Railway", "distance_km": 390, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "11 h 25 min", "opened": 1977, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MN", "name": "Mongolia" } ], "highlight": "Overnight sleeper north from the capital to the Soviet-built copper city of Erdenet, branching off the Trans-Mongolian near Darkhan.", "fame_rank": 433, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ulaanbaatar-erdenet/" }, { "id": "ulaanbaatar-zamyn-uud", "name": "Zamyn-Üüd Express", "from": "Ulaanbaatar", "to": "Zamyn-Üüd", "category": "night", "train": "2M62 · sleeper", "operator": "Ulaanbaatar Railway", "distance_km": 606, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "14 h", "opened": 1955, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MN", "name": "Mongolia" } ], "highlight": "The domestic overnight across the Gobi Desert from Ulaanbaatar to the Chinese-border town of Zamyn-Üüd, halting at Choir and Sainshand.", "fame_rank": 427, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ulaanbaatar-zamyn-uud/" }, { "id": "almaty-shymkent", "name": "Tulpar-Talgo", "from": "Almaty", "to": "Shymkent", "category": "classic", "train": "Tulpar-Talgo", "operator": "Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ)", "distance_km": 700, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "11 h", "opened": 2015, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KZ", "name": "Kazakhstan" } ], "highlight": "A Spanish-built Talgo hauled across the Kazakh steppe between Almaty and the southern city of Shymkent via Taraz.", "fame_rank": 642, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/almaty-shymkent/" }, { "id": "afrosiyob-tashkent-bukhara", "name": "Afrosiyob", "from": "Tashkent", "to": "Bukhara", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Talgo 250", "operator": "Uzbekistan Railways", "distance_km": 600, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "3 h 40 min", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "UZ", "name": "Uzbekistan" } ], "highlight": "Central Asia’s fastest train, a Talgo 250 racing the Kyzylkum steppe to link Tashkent and Samarkand with Silk Road Bukhara.", "fame_rank": 569, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/afrosiyob-tashkent-bukhara/" }, { "id": "tashkent-andijan", "name": "Uzbekistan Express", "from": "Tashkent", "to": "Andijan", "category": "classic", "train": "electric express", "operator": "Uzbekistan Railways", "distance_km": 420, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "5 h 30 min", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "UZ", "name": "Uzbekistan" } ], "highlight": "Electrified line into the crowded Fergana Valley through the 19.2 km Kamchik Tunnel, Central Asia’s longest, ending reliance on transit via Tajikistan.", "fame_rank": 670, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tashkent-andijan/" }, { "id": "ashgabat-turkmenbashy", "name": "Trans-Caspian Express", "from": "Ashgabat", "to": "Turkmenbashi", "category": "classic", "train": "CKD9A · sleeper", "operator": "Türkmendemirýollary", "distance_km": 580, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "12 h", "opened": 1885, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TM", "name": "Turkmenistan" } ], "highlight": "The historic Trans-Caspian line along the Karakum Desert’s edge, from Ashgabat to Turkmenistan’s lone Caspian port at Türkmenbaşy.", "fame_rank": 443, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ashgabat-turkmenbashy/" }, { "id": "dushanbe-kulob", "name": "Dushanbe–Kulob Express", "from": "Dushanbe", "to": "Kulob", "category": "classic", "train": "TE33A · coaches", "operator": "Tajik Railways", "distance_km": 270, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "7 h", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TJ", "name": "Tajikistan" } ], "highlight": "A weekly train made possible only in 2016, when a Chinese-built link finally joined Dushanbe to Tajikistan’s once-isolated southern railway.", "fame_rank": 702, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dushanbe-kulob/" }, { "id": "zhangjiakou-hohhot-hsr", "name": "Zhanghu HSR", "from": "Zhangjiakou", "to": "Hohhot", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CR400BF Fuxing", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 286, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 2019, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Sweeps across the Inner Mongolian plateau via Ulanqab; linked to the Beijing–Zhangjiakou line it put Hohhot about two hours from Beijing.", "fame_rank": 613, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zhangjiakou-hohhot-hsr/" }, { "id": "ice-berlin-cologne", "name": "ICE", "from": "Berlin", "to": "Cologne", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ICE 4 · Class 412", "operator": "DB Fernverkehr", "distance_km": 573, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "4 h 8 min", "opened": 1998, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Races the length of the North German Plain; the dead-straight Hanover–Berlin racetrack, partly laid on old border land, lets ICE 4 sets hold 250 km/h.", "fame_rank": 572, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ice-berlin-cologne/" }, { "id": "ice-frankfurt-munich", "name": "ICE", "from": "Frankfurt", "to": "Munich", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ICE 3 · Class 403", "operator": "DB Fernverkehr", "distance_km": 410, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "3 h 15 min", "opened": 2006, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Sprints down the 300 km/h Nuremberg–Ingolstadt high-speed line, one of Germany’s fastest, on gradients so steep that freight trains are banned.", "fame_rank": 594, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ice-frankfurt-munich/" }, { "id": "ice-hamburg-frankfurt", "name": "ICE", "from": "Hamburg", "to": "Frankfurt", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ICE 1 · Class 401", "operator": "DB Fernverkehr", "distance_km": 490, "top_speed_kmh": 280, "duration": "3 h 34 min", "opened": 1991, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Runs the Hanover–Würzburg route, Germany’s first Neubaustrecke of 1991, boring through a chain of long tunnels beneath the hills of Hesse.", "fame_rank": 582, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ice-hamburg-frankfurt/" }, { "id": "ice-berlin-frankfurt", "name": "ICE", "from": "Berlin", "to": "Frankfurt", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ICE 3 Velaro D", "operator": "DB Fernverkehr", "distance_km": 545, "top_speed_kmh": 280, "duration": "3 h 56 min", "opened": 1991, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Joins the political and banking capitals via Kassel and the Fulda gap, the Velaro D holding 250 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"Germany" }, { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "Crosses Germany from end to end, Berlin to the Swiss border, finishing down the Upper Rhine past Freiburg to Basel in about seven hours.", "fame_rank": 552, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ice-berlin-basel/" }, { "id": "ice-berlin-amsterdam", "name": "ICE International", "from": "Berlin", "to": "Amsterdam", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ICE 3neo · Class 408", "operator": "DB / NS", "distance_km": 660, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "5 h 42 min", "opened": 2000, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" }, { "code": "NL", "name": "Netherlands" } ], "highlight": "Upgraded to new ICE 3neo trains in late 2025, replacing loco-hauled Intercitys on the roughly six-hour cross-border run to the Dutch capital.", "fame_rank": 562, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ice-berlin-amsterdam/" }, { "id": "ice-amsterdam-frankfurt", "name": "ICE International", "from": "Amsterdam", "to": "Frankfurt", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ICE 3M · Class 406", "operator": "DB / NS", "distance_km": 440, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "3 h 56 min", "opened": 2000, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NL", "name": "Netherlands" }, { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "ICE 3M multi-system sets leave Amsterdam and, past Cologne, dive onto the 300 km/h Cologne–Rhine/Main line with its motorway-style gradients.", "fame_rank": 590, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ice-amsterdam-frankfurt/" }, { "id": "moselle-koblenz-trier", "name": "Moselstrecke", "from": "Koblenz", "to": "Trier", "category": "scenic", "train": "RE 1 · IC", "operator": "DB Regio Südwest", "distance_km": 113, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 1879, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Follows the wine-terraced Moselle past Cochem, crossing the river on the historic two-tier Alf–Bullay bridge below Germany’s steepest vineyards.", "fame_rank": 281, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/moselle-koblenz-trier/" }, { "id": "rubelandbahn", "name": "Rübelandbahn", "from": "Blankenburg", "to": "Rübeland", "category": "scenic", "train": "Steam · 95 027", "operator": "ArGe Rübelandbahn", "distance_km": 14, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "50 min", "opened": 1886, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Heritage steam storms a fierce Harz grade once worked by rack rail; the 1926 tank engine 95 027, the Bergkönigin, still climbs to the caves at Rübeland.", "fame_rank": 199, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/rubelandbahn/" }, { "id": "molli-bad-doberan", "name": "Molli", "from": "Bad Doberan", "to": "Kühlungsborn", "category": "scenic", "train": "Steam · 900 mm", "operator": "Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn Molli", "distance_km": 15, "top_speed_kmh": 45, "duration": "40 min", "opened": 1886, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "A rare 900 mm-gauge steam line running since 1886, Molli puffs right down the middle of Bad Doberan’s tree-lined avenue on its way to the Baltic shore.", "fame_rank": 197, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/molli-bad-doberan/" }, { "id": "rasender-roland", "name": "Rasender Roland", "from": "Putbus", "to": "Göhren", "category": "scenic", "train": "Steam · 750 mm", "operator": "Rügensche BäderBahn", "distance_km": 24, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "1 h 6 min", "opened": 1895, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Nicknamed the Racing Roland, this 750 mm-gauge steam railway has linked Rügen’s white-sand Baltic resorts of Binz, Sellin and Göhren since 1895.", "fame_rank": 185, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/rasender-roland/" }, { "id": "zittau-narrow-gauge", "name": "Zittauer Schmalspurbahn", "from": "Zittau", "to": "Oybin", "category": "scenic", "train": "Steam · 750 mm", "operator": "SOEG", "distance_km": 12, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "45 min", "opened": 1890, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "750 mm-gauge steam climbs from Zittau to the sandstone crags of the Zittau Mountains, serving the pilgrimage village of Oybin since 1890.", "fame_rank": 202, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zittau-narrow-gauge/" }, { "id": "intercity-amsterdam-groningen", "name": "Intercity", "from": "Amsterdam", "to": "Groningen", "category": "classic", "train": "ICM \"Koploper\"", "operator": "NS", "distance_km": 205, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 11 min", "opened": 1870, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NL", "name": "Netherlands" } ], "highlight": "The northbound Intercity crosses the reclaimed polders and the low Hondsrug ridge to reach Groningen from Amsterdam in a little over two hours.", "fame_rank": 501, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/intercity-amsterdam-groningen/" }, { "id": "intercity-amsterdam-maastricht", "name": "Intercity", "from": "Amsterdam", "to": "Maastricht", "category": "classic", "train": "DD-IRM \"VIRM\"", "operator": "NS", "distance_km": 213, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 23 min", "opened": 1865, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NL", "name": "Netherlands" } ], "highlight": "Double-deck VIRM Intercitys run almost the whole length of the country to Maastricht, the old Dutch city on the Meuse near the Belgian border.", "fame_rank": 497, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/intercity-amsterdam-maastricht/" }, { "id": "intercity-direct-amsterdam-breda", "name": "Intercity Direct", "from": "Amsterdam", "to": "Breda", "category": "classic", "train": "ICNG · Class 3100", "operator": "NS", "distance_km": 123, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "1 h 8 min", "opened": 2009, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NL", "name": "Netherlands" } ], "highlight": "New ICNG trains take the HSL-Zuid high-speed line, hitting 200 km/h as they link Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Breda without a change.", "fame_rank": 724, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/intercity-direct-amsterdam-breda/" }, { "id": "miljoenenlijn", "name": "Miljoenenlijn", "from": "Schin op Geul", "to": "Kerkrade", "category": "scenic", "train": "Steam · ZLSM", "operator": "ZLSM", "distance_km": 17, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "1 h", "opened": 1934, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NL", "name": "Netherlands" } ], "highlight": "Nicknamed the Million Line for its ruinously costly cuttings and viaducts, this steam railway climbs the only real hills in the Netherlands, in South Limburg.", "fame_rank": 195, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/miljoenenlijn/" }, { "id": "ic-brussels-ostend", "name": "Intercity", "from": "Brussels", "to": "Ostend", "category": "classic", "train": "M6 · HLE 27", "operator": "SNCB", "distance_km": 123, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "1 h 12 min", "opened": 1838, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BE", "name": "Belgium" } ], "highlight": "One of Belgium’s original 1838 trunk lines, running dead-flat across Flanders through Ghent and Bruges to the North Sea ferry port of Ostend.", "fame_rank": 525, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ic-brussels-ostend/" }, { "id": "ic-brussels-liege", "name": "Intercity", "from": "Brussels", "to": "Liège", "category": "classic", "train": "M6 double-deck", "operator": "SNCB", "distance_km": 95, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "1 h", "opened": 1842, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BE", "name": "Belgium" } ], "highlight": "Terminates beneath Santiago Calatrava’s soaring white vault of steel and glass at Liège-Guillemins, one of Europe’s boldest modern stations.", "fame_rank": 530, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ic-brussels-liege/" }, { "id": "ic-brussels-luxembourg", "name": "Intercity", "from": "Brussels", "to": "Luxembourg", "category": "classic", "train": "I11 · HLE 18", "operator": "SNCB / CFL", "distance_km": 219, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "3 h 5 min", "opened": 1858, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BE", "name": "Belgium" }, { "code": "LU", "name": "Luxembourg" } ], "highlight": "Climbs from Brussels through the forested Ardennes via Namur and Arlon; planned upgrades aim to cut the three-hour run to Luxembourg below two hours by 2030.", "fame_rank": 494, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ic-brussels-luxembourg/" }, { "id": "ic-antwerp-brussels", "name": "Intercity", "from": "Antwerp", "to": "Brussels", "category": "classic", "train": "M6 double-deck", "operator": "SNCB", "distance_km": 45, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "35 min", "opened": 1836, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BE", "name": "Belgium" } ], "highlight": "Traces the route of continental Europe’s first passenger railway of 1835 and ends under the vast domed railway cathedral of Antwerpen-Centraal.", "fame_rank": 534, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ic-antwerp-brussels/" }, { "id": "kusttram", "name": "Kusttram", "from": "De Panne", "to": "Knokke", "category": "scenic", "train": "Coast tram", "operator": "De Lijn", "distance_km": 67, "top_speed_kmh": 70, "duration": "2 h 20 min", "opened": 1885, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BE", "name": "Belgium" } ], "highlight": "The world’s longest tram line: 67 km of metre-gauge track hugging the entire Belgian coast from De Panne to Knokke, calling at 68 stops.", "fame_rank": 293, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/kusttram/" }, { "id": "cfl-luxembourg-liege", "name": "Intercity", "from": "Luxembourg", "to": "Liège", "category": "scenic", "train": "CFL · SNCB EMU", "operator": "CFL / SNCB", "distance_km": 156, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 39 min", "opened": 1867, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LU", "name": "Luxembourg" }, { "code": "BE", "name": "Belgium" } ], "highlight": "A cross-border Intercity threading the wooded Éislek and the Ourthe and Amblève valleys, one of the prettiest rail rides in the Ardennes.", "fame_rank": 269, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cfl-luxembourg-liege/" }, { "id": "cfl-luxembourg-koblenz", "name": "RE 11 Mosel", "from": "Luxembourg", "to": "Koblenz", "category": "classic", "train": "SÜWEX · CFL", "operator": "CFL / DB Regio", "distance_km": 159, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 18 min", "opened": 1879, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LU", "name": "Luxembourg" }, { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "The RE 11 follows the Moselle from Luxembourg into Germany, boring through the 4.2 km Kaiser-Wilhelm-Tunnel at Cochem to bypass the river’s huge loop.", "fame_rank": 516, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cfl-luxembourg-koblenz/" }, { "id": "cfl-luxembourg-longwy", "name": "TER", "from": "Luxembourg", "to": "Longwy", "category": "classic", "train": "CFL Class 2200", "operator": "CFL / SNCF", "distance_km": 28, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "37 min", "opened": 1880, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LU", "name": "Luxembourg" }, { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "A short cross-border hop from Luxembourg’s Ville-Haute down to the old French steel town of Longwy, one of the busiest daily commuter runs into the Grand Duchy.", "fame_rank": 536, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cfl-luxembourg-longwy/" }, { "id": "marschbahn-hamburg-sylt", "name": "Marschbahn", "from": "Hamburg", "to": "Westerland", "category": "classic", "train": "IC · BR 245", "operator": "DB", "distance_km": 235, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "2 h 55 min", "opened": 1927, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Reaches the car-free island of Sylt over the 11 km Hindenburgdamm causeway of 1927, a dead-straight embankment laid across the tidal Wadden Sea.", "fame_rank": 487, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/marschbahn-hamburg-sylt/" }, { "id": "tgv-paris-lyon", "name": "TGV inOui", "from": "Paris", "to": "Lyon", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TGV Duplex", "operator": "SNCF", "distance_km": 427, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "1 h 57 min", "opened": 1981, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "France’s first high-speed line, opened in 1981 — the Paris–Lyon route that launched the whole TGV era, now run in under two hours.", "fame_rank": 73, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tgv-paris-lyon/" }, { "id": "tgv-paris-rennes", "name": "TGV inOui", "from": "Paris", "to": "Rennes", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TGV Atlantique", "operator": "SNCF", "distance_km": 350, "top_speed_kmh": 320, "duration": "1 h 25 min", "opened": 1989, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "The 2017 Bretagne–Pays de la Loire high-speed line cut Paris–Rennes to 1 h 25 min, sending TGVs racing across Brittany at 320 km/h.", "fame_rank": 605, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tgv-paris-rennes/" }, { "id": "tgv-paris-nantes", "name": "TGV inOui", "from": "Paris", "to": "Nantes", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TGV 2N2 Euroduplex", "operator": "SNCF", "distance_km": 385, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "1 h 59 min", "opened": 1989, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "TGV Atlantique sweeps from Paris to the Loire estuary city of Nantes in about two hours, topping 300 km/h across the plains of the west.", "fame_rank": 601, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tgv-paris-nantes/" }, { "id": "tgv-lyria-paris-geneva", "name": "TGV Lyria", "from": "Paris", "to": "Geneva", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Euroduplex (TGV 2N2)", "operator": "Lyria", "distance_km": 410, "top_speed_kmh": 320, "duration": "3 h 8 min", "opened": 1981, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" }, { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "A Lyria Euroduplex glides from Paris into Switzerland at Genève-Cornavin; the 2010 Haut-Bugey line trimmed the run to about three hours.", "fame_rank": 595, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tgv-lyria-paris-geneva/" }, { "id": "ouigo-paris-lyon", "name": "Ouigo", "from": "Paris", "to": "Lyon", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TGV Duplex", "operator": "SNCF", "distance_km": 427, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "1 h 57 min", "opened": 2013, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "SNCF’s low-cost double-decker TGV, launched in 2013 with fares from €10, races Paris to Lyon at up to 300 km/h.", "fame_rank": 592, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ouigo-paris-lyon/" }, { "id": "tgv-paris-nice", "name": "TGV inOui", "from": "Paris", "to": "Nice", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TGV Duplex", "operator": "SNCF", "distance_km": 1088, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "5 h 42 min", "opened": 2001, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "France’s longest domestic TGV run — 300 km/h to Marseille, then the classic Riviera coast line hugging the Mediterranean to Nice.", "fame_rank": 545, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tgv-paris-nice/" }, { "id": "tgv-paris-lille", "name": "TGV inOui", "from": "Paris", "to": "Lille", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TGV Réseau", "operator": "SNCF", "distance_km": 225, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "1 h 2 min", "opened": 1993, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "The dead-straight LGV Nord links Paris to Lille in just 62 minutes at 300 km/h, France’s fastest big-city hop.", "fame_rank": 621, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tgv-paris-lille/" }, { "id": "intercites-paris-clermont", "name": "Intercités", "from": "Paris", "to": "Clermont-Ferrand", "category": "classic", "train": "BB 26000 + Corail", "operator": "SNCF", "distance_km": 420, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "3 h 25 min", "opened": 1855, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "The Bourbonnais line to the Auvergne volcanoes; new Oxygène trainsets arrive from 2026 to retire its veteran Corail carriages.", "fame_rank": 460, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/intercites-paris-clermont/" }, { "id": "intercites-paris-toulouse", "name": "Intercités", "from": "Paris", "to": "Toulouse", "category": "classic", "train": "BB 26000 + Corail", "operator": "SNCF", "distance_km": 713, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "6 h 20 min", "opened": 1856, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "The cross-country POLT line — Paris-Orléans-Limoges-Toulouse — threads 713 km through the Massif Central on France’s classic north–south artery.", "fame_rank": 440, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/intercites-paris-toulouse/" }, { "id": "train-des-pignes", "name": "Train des Pignes", "from": "Nice", "to": "Digne-les-Bains", "category": "scenic", "train": "Autorail AMP 800", "operator": "Chemins de fer de Provence", "distance_km": 151, "top_speed_kmh": 70, "duration": "3 h 20 min", "opened": 1911, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "Metre-gauge “pine-cone train” climbing 151 km from Nice to Digne over some 25 tunnels and 16 viaducts, inaugurated in 1911.", "fame_rank": 274, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/train-des-pignes/" }, { "id": "train-des-merveilles", "name": "Train des Merveilles", "from": "Nice", "to": "Tende", "category": "scenic", "train": "X 76500 AGC", "operator": "SNCF (TER Sud PACA)", "distance_km": 89, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 1928, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "Spirals up the wild Roya valley past the Bronze-Age rock carvings of the Vallée des Merveilles, looping through helicoidal tunnels to Tende at 1,040 m.", "fame_rank": 289, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/train-des-merveilles/" }, { "id": "mont-blanc-express", "name": "Mont-Blanc Express", "from": "Saint-Gervais", "to": "Martigny", "category": "scenic", "train": "Z 800", "operator": "SNCF / TMR", "distance_km": 55, "top_speed_kmh": 70, "duration": "1 h 50 min", "opened": 1908, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" }, { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "A metre-gauge mountain line beneath Mont Blanc, using third-rail power and a rack section to climb the Chamonix valley from Saint-Gervais into Switzerland.", "fame_rank": 131, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/mont-blanc-express/" }, { "id": "corsica-trinighellu", "name": "Chemins de fer de la Corse", "from": "Ajaccio", "to": "Bastia", "category": "scenic", "train": "AMG 800", "operator": "CFC", "distance_km": 158, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "3 h 45 min", "opened": 1894, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "Corsica’s beloved “U Trinichellu” crosses the island’s granite spine, piercing the 3.9 km Vizzavona tunnel at 906 m altitude.", "fame_rank": 266, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/corsica-trinighellu/" }, { "id": "ave-madrid-alicante", "name": "AVE", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Alicante", "category": "high-speed", "train": "S-112 \"Pato\"", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 455, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "2 h 12 min", "opened": 2013, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Branches off the Madrid–Levante high-speed line to reach the Costa Blanca, opened in 2013 and worked by S-112 “Pato” trainsets.", "fame_rank": 586, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ave-madrid-alicante/" }, { "id": "ave-madrid-zaragoza", "name": "AVE", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Zaragoza", "category": "high-speed", "train": "S-103 Velaro", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 307, "top_speed_kmh": 310, "duration": "1 h 15 min", "opened": 2003, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "The first stretch of Spain’s Madrid–Barcelona line (2003), crossing the Guadalajara plateau and Ebro valley to Zaragoza in 75 minutes.", "fame_rank": 609, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ave-madrid-zaragoza/" }, { "id": "ave-madrid-ourense", "name": "AVE", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Ourense", "category": "high-speed", "train": "S-106 Avril · S-730 Alvia", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 496, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "2 h 15 min", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Leaps into Galicia through 30 tunnels — including the 8.6 km O Corno tunnel — on the mountain-defying line opened in December 2021.", "fame_rank": 581, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ave-madrid-ourense/" }, { "id": "ave-madrid-granada", "name": "AVE", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Granada", "category": "high-speed", "train": "S-112 \"Pato\"", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 568, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "3 h 5 min", "opened": 2019, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Opened in 2019, it branches off the Córdoba–Málaga line at Antequera to lift the AVE network into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.", "fame_rank": 575, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ave-madrid-granada/" }, { "id": "avlo-madrid-barcelona", "name": "Avlo", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Barcelona", "category": "high-speed", "train": "S-106 Avril", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 621, "top_speed_kmh": 330, "duration": "2 h 30 min", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Renfe’s low-cost AVE, launched June 2021 with fares from €7, blitzes Madrid–Barcelona at 330 km/h aboard Avril trainsets.", "fame_rank": 567, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/avlo-madrid-barcelona/" }, { "id": "ave-barcelona-malaga", "name": "AVE", "from": "Barcelona", "to": "Málaga", "category": "high-speed", "train": "S-112 \"Pato\"", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 770, "top_speed_kmh": 310, "duration": "5 h 52 min", "opened": 2013, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "A single high-speed run tying the Mediterranean to the Costa del Sol, skirting Madrid to stitch two AVE corridors together.", "fame_rank": 554, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ave-barcelona-malaga/" }, { "id": "transcantabrico", "name": "El Transcantábrico", "from": "San Sebastián", "to": "Santiago de Compostela", "category": "scenic", "train": "Metre-gauge saloon cars", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 1000, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "8 days", "opened": 1983, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Spain’s first hotel-train (1983): an eight-day, metre-gauge cruise along the green Cantabrian coast from the 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"highlight": "Retraces the historic La Robla coal railway, Spain’s longest narrow-gauge line, on a three-day luxury run between Bilbao and León.", "fame_rank": 352, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/expreso-la-robla/" }, { "id": "alfa-pendular-lisbon-faro", "name": "Alfa Pendular", "from": "Lisbon", "to": "Faro", "category": "classic", "train": "CP 4000 Pendolino", "operator": "CP", "distance_km": 278, "top_speed_kmh": 220, "duration": "2 h 52 min", "opened": 2004, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PT", "name": "Portugal" } ], "highlight": "Portugal’s tilting Pendolino leans into the curves at up to 220 km/h, sweeping down the Alentejo to the Algarve at Faro.", "fame_rank": 700, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/alfa-pendular-lisbon-faro/" }, { "id": "intercidades-lisbon-guarda", "name": "Intercidades", "from": "Lisbon", "to": "Guarda", "category": "classic", "train": "CP 5600 + Corail", "operator": "CP", "distance_km": 353, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "4 h 11 min", "opened": 1882, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PT", "name": "Portugal" } ], "highlight": "Climbs the Beira Alta line to Guarda, Portugal’s highest city at 1,056 m, on the historic Sud Express path toward the Spanish border.", "fame_rank": 467, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/intercidades-lisbon-guarda/" }, { "id": "presidential-train-douro", "name": "Presidential Train", "from": "Porto", "to": "Pocinho", "category": "scenic", "train": "Historic 1890 saloons", "operator": "CP", "distance_km": 175, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "1 day", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PT", "name": "Portugal" } ], "highlight": "Royal-blue saloon carriages built from 1890, which once carried heads of state, now a fine-dining train up the terraced Douro wine valley.", "fame_rank": 227, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/presidential-train-douro/" }, { "id": "linha-do-minho", "name": "Linha do Minho", "from": "Porto", "to": "Valença", "category": "classic", "train": "CP Regional", "operator": "CP", "distance_km": 135, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "2 h 30 min", "opened": 1882, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PT", "name": "Portugal" } ], "highlight": "Hugs the Atlantic then the Minho river to the star-fort town of Valença, staring across the water at Spain’s Tui.", "fame_rank": 522, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/linha-do-minho/" }, { "id": "linha-do-oeste", "name": "Linha do Oeste", "from": "Lisbon", "to": "Figueira da Foz", "category": "classic", "train": "CP Regional", "operator": "CP", "distance_km": 203, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "4 h", "opened": 1890, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PT", "name": "Portugal" } ], "highlight": "A slow, winding single-track line through the vineyards and spa towns of Estremadura — Torres Vedras, Caldas da Rainha — to the Atlantic at Figueira da Foz.", "fame_rank": 502, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/linha-do-oeste/" }, { 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in 2009.", "fame_rank": 555, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/frecciarossa-milan-naples/" }, { "id": "frecciarossa-rome-bari", "name": "Frecciarossa", "from": "Rome", "to": "Bari", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ETR 1000", "operator": "Trenitalia", "distance_km": 450, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "4 h", "opened": 2012, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "South of Caserta the Freccia climbs through the Apennines to Foggia, then races across the Tavoliere plain to the Adriatic port of Bari.", "fame_rank": 587, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/frecciarossa-rome-bari/" }, { "id": "frecciargento-rome-reggio-calabria", "name": "Frecciargento", "from": "Rome", "to": "Reggio Calabria", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ETR 485", "operator": "Trenitalia", "distance_km": 671, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "5 h", "opened": 2020, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "One of Italy’s longest Freccia runs — some 671 km down the Tyrrhenian coast, the tilting ETR 485 leaning through curves toward the Strait of Messina.", "fame_rank": 559, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/frecciargento-rome-reggio-calabria/" }, { "id": "italo-milan-rome", "name": "Italo", "from": "Milan", "to": "Rome", "category": "high-speed", "train": "AGV 575", "operator": "Italo · NTV", "distance_km": 570, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "2 h 59 min", "opened": 2012, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "Italo was Europe’s first private open-access high-speed operator; its Alstom AGV 575 links Milan and Rome in under three hours.", "fame_rank": 574, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/italo-milan-rome/" }, { "id": "frecciarossa-milan-trieste", "name": "Frecciarossa", "from": "Milan", "to": "Trieste", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ETR 600", "operator": "Trenitalia", "distance_km": 358, "top_speed_kmh": 250, 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"url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/rittner-bahn-renon/" }, { "id": "circumvesuviana-naples-sorrento", "name": "Circumvesuviana", "from": "Naples", "to": "Sorrento", "category": "scenic", "train": "ETR 211 Metrostar", "operator": "EAV", "distance_km": 42, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "1 h 10 min", "opened": 1948, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "The narrow-gauge line to Sorrento, opened in 1948, carries travellers past the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum under the shadow of Vesuvius.", "fame_rank": 101, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/circumvesuviana-naples-sorrento/" }, { "id": "pelion-railway-milies", "name": "Pelion Railway", "from": "Ano Lechonia", "to": "Milies", "category": "scenic", "train": "Heritage diesel train", "operator": "Hellenic Train", "distance_km": 15, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 1903, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GR", "name": "Greece" } ], "highlight": "Evaristo de Chirico’s 600 mm mountain railway on Mt Pelion curls over his iron-and-stone bridge near Milies through olive and apple groves.", "fame_rank": 311, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/pelion-railway-milies/" }, { "id": "proastiakos-athens-kiato", "name": "Proastiakos", "from": "Piraeus", "to": "Kiato", "category": "classic", "train": "Siemens Desiro (460)", "operator": "Hellenic Train", "distance_km": 121, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 2010, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GR", "name": "Greece" } ], "highlight": "Athens’s fast electric suburban line hugs the Saronic Gulf and crosses the Corinth Canal on its run from the port of Piraeus out to Kiato.", "fame_rank": 725, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/proastiakos-athens-kiato/" }, { "id": "zagreb-rijeka", "name": "Zagreb–Rijeka line", "from": "Zagreb", "to": "Rijeka", "category": "classic", "train": "Končar 6112 EMU", "operator": "HŽ Putnički prijevoz", "distance_km": 229, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "3 h 30 min", "opened": 1873, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "HR", "name": "Croatia" } ], "highlight": "Climbs through the forested Gorski Kotar highlands, threading tunnels and curves before the steep final plunge to the Adriatic at Rijeka.", "fame_rank": 491, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zagreb-rijeka/" }, { "id": "zagreb-osijek", "name": "Zagreb–Osijek line", "from": "Zagreb", "to": "Osijek", "category": "classic", "train": "Končar 7023 DMU", "operator": "HŽ Putnički prijevoz", "distance_km": 250, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "4 h 55 min", "opened": 1895, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "HR", "name": "Croatia" } ], "highlight": "Runs east across the flat Pannonian farmland of Slavonia to Osijek, Croatia’s fourth-largest city, on the Drava near the Hungarian border.", "fame_rank": 485, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zagreb-osijek/" }, { "id": "ljubljana-koper", "name": 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"name": "North Macedonia" } ], "highlight": "Climbs from the Vardar at Veles over the Babuna mountains on the looping Bogomila grade before dropping onto the Pelagonia plain to Bitola.", "fame_rank": 490, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/skopje-bitola/" }, { "id": "skopje-gevgelija", "name": "Skopje–Gevgelija line", "from": "Skopje", "to": "Gevgelija", "category": "classic", "train": "CRRC EMU", "operator": "MŽ Transport", "distance_km": 173, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "3 h 15 min", "opened": 1873, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MK", "name": "North Macedonia" } ], "highlight": "Follows the Vardar south and threads the dramatic Demir Kapija — the “Iron Gate” gorge — on Corridor X’s run toward Greece.", "fame_rank": 510, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/skopje-gevgelija/" }, { "id": "pristina-peja", "name": "Pristina–Peja line", "from": "Pristina", "to": "Peja", "category": "classic", "train": "NOHAB Di 3 + coaches", "operator": "Trainkos", "distance_km": 80, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 1936, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "XK", "name": "Kosovo" } ], "highlight": "Kosovo’s sole surviving passenger service — two little diesel trains a day amble west via Klina to Peja beneath the Accursed Mountains.", "fame_rank": 532, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/pristina-peja/" }, { "id": "frecciarossa-rome-venice", "name": "Frecciarossa", "from": "Rome", "to": "Venice", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ETR 1000", "operator": "Trenitalia", "distance_km": 528, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "3 h 45 min", "opened": 2009, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "Frecciarossa 1000 sets sweep from Rome across the Apennines and the Po plain via Florence and Bologna to reach Venice in under four hours.", "fame_rank": 578, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/frecciarossa-rome-venice/" }, { "id": "transiberiana-ditalia", "name": "Transiberiana 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helical tunnels and viaducts into France; wrecked in WWII, it reopened only in 1979.", "fame_rank": 285, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cuneo-ventimiglia-railway/" }, { "id": "vinschgau-railway", "name": "Vinschgau Railway", "from": "Merano", "to": "Malles", "category": "scenic", "train": "Coradia Stream EMU", "operator": "STA · suedtirolmobil", "distance_km": 60, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "1 h 10 min", "opened": 1906, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "Closed to passengers in 1990, this South Tyrol branch reopened in 2005 as a rural-rail success story and went fully electric in 2026.", "fame_rank": 294, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vinschgau-railway/" }, { "id": "frecciargento-rome-lecce", "name": "Frecciargento", "from": "Rome", "to": "Lecce", "category": "high-speed", "train": "ETR 485", "operator": "Trenitalia", "distance_km": 630, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "5 h 30 min", "opened": 2009, 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"classic", "train": "E259 series", "operator": "JR East", "distance_km": 79, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "53 min", "opened": 1991, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Twin sets from Yokohama and Shinjuku couple at Tokyo Station, then run as one red-and-black E259 through the Sobu tunnels out to Narita Airport.", "fame_rank": 731, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/narita-express/" }, { "id": "thunderbird-osaka-tsuruga", "name": "Thunderbird", "from": "Osaka", "to": "Tsuruga", "category": "classic", "train": "683 series", "operator": "JR West", "distance_km": 138, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "1 h 20 min", "opened": 1995, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Since the 2024 bullet-train extension it sprints from Osaka up the wild western shore of Lake Biwa to Tsuruga, Hokuriku’s new shinkansen gateway.", "fame_rank": 719, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/thunderbird-osaka-tsuruga/" }, { "id": "haruka-kyoto-kansai-airport", "name": "Haruka", "from": "Kyoto", "to": "Kansai Airport", "category": "classic", "train": "281 · 271 series", "operator": "JR West", "distance_km": 99, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "1 h 20 min", "opened": 1994, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Kansai Airport’s purple-and-white express, threading 99 km from Kyoto’s temples out across the bay to the man-made island runway.", "fame_rank": 727, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/haruka-kyoto-kansai-airport/" }, { "id": "kaiji-shinjuku-kofu", "name": "Kaiji", "from": "Shinjuku", "to": "Kofu", "category": "classic", "train": "E353 series", "operator": "JR East", "distance_km": 134, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 1988, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Chuo Line express using the E353’s active tilt to swing through the mountain-walled Katsura valleys up to the vineyard capital of Kofu.", "fame_rank": 722, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/kaiji-shinjuku-kofu/" }, { "id": "hokuto-sapporo-hakodate", "name": "Hokuto", "from": "Sapporo", "to": "Hakodate", "category": "classic", "train": "KiHa 261-1000", "operator": "JR Hokkaido", "distance_km": 319, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "3 h 40 min", "opened": 1994, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Diesel tilting express curving 319 km around Uchiura Bay beneath the volcanoes Usu and Komagatake, linking Sapporo with old Hakodate.", "fame_rank": 690, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/hokuto-sapporo-hakodate/" }, { "id": "ozora-sapporo-kushiro", "name": "Ozora", "from": "Sapporo", "to": "Kushiro", "category": "classic", "train": "KiHa 283 · 261", "operator": "JR Hokkaido", "distance_km": 349, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "4 h 5 min", "opened": 1997, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Crosses Hokkaido’s wild interior — the Hidaka range and the Sekisho tunnels — to the crane marshes of Kushiro on the far Pacific coast.", "fame_rank": 679, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ozora-sapporo-kushiro/" }, { "id": "enoden-kamakura-fujisawa", "name": "Enoden", "from": "Kamakura", "to": "Fujisawa", "category": "scenic", "train": "300 / 500 series", "operator": "Enoshima Electric Railway", "distance_km": 10, "top_speed_kmh": 45, "duration": "34 min", "opened": 1902, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Century-old seaside interurban that skims Shonan’s surf beaches and threads between house walls; its Kamakurakokomae crossing is an anime shrine.", "fame_rank": 316, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/enoden-kamakura-fujisawa/" }, { "id": "oigawa-sl-kawane", "name": "Oigawa SL Kawane-ji", "from": "Shin-Kanaya", "to": "Kawane-Onsen", "category": "scenic", "train": "C11 · C10 steam", "operator": "Oigawa Railway", "distance_km": 31, "top_speed_kmh": 45, "duration": "1 h", "opened": 1976, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Vintage C11 steam locomotives haul old coaches up the Oi River valley — the same railway that runs Japan’s Thomas the Tank Engine trains.", "fame_rank": 232, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/oigawa-sl-kawane/" }, { "id": "isumi-railway", "name": "Isumi Railway", "from": "Ohara", "to": "Kazusa-Nakano", "category": "scenic", "train": "KiHa 52 · 28", "operator": "Isumi Railway", "distance_km": 27, "top_speed_kmh": 65, "duration": "50 min", "opened": 1988, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Restored 1960s diesel railcars trundle past rice paddies and spring nanohana blossoms through the rural heart of the Boso Peninsula.", "fame_rank": 380, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/isumi-railway/" }, { "id": "kintetsu-shimakaze-osaka-ise", "name": "Shimakaze", "from": "Osaka", "to": "Kashikojima", "category": "scenic", "train": "Kintetsu 50000 series", "operator": "Kintetsu Railway", "distance_km": 137, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "2 h 20 min", "opened": 2013, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Kintetsu’s luxury Shimakaze — double-decker observation cars, leather saloons and a café — glides to the pearl bays and shrines of Ise-Shima.", "fame_rank": 365, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/kintetsu-shimakaze-osaka-ise/" }, { "id": "seibu-laview-chichibu", "name": "Laview", "from": "Tokyo", "to": "Chichibu", "category": "classic", "train": "Seibu 001 series", "operator": "Seibu Railway", "distance_km": 77, "top_speed_kmh": 105, "duration": "1 h 20 min", "opened": 2019, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Seibu’s radical Laview, with a huge curved windscreen and yellow living-room windows, climbs from Ikebukuro into the Chichibu mountains.", "fame_rank": 732, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/seibu-laview-chichibu/" }, { "id": "fujisan-view-express", "name": "Fujisan View Express", "from": "Otsuki", "to": "Kawaguchiko", "category": "scenic", "train": "8500 series", "operator": "Fuji Kyuko", "distance_km": 27, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "50 min", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Steep little Fujikyu line to Lake Kawaguchi, its wide panorama windows framing Mt Fuji rising straight ahead.", "fame_rank": 379, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/fujisan-view-express/" }, { "id": "saphir-odoriko-izu", "name": "Saphir Odoriko", "from": "Tokyo", "to": "Shimoda", "category": "scenic", "train": "E261 series", "operator": "JR East", "distance_km": 168, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "2 h 40 min", "opened": 2020, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "All-Green-Car sapphire E261 with a glass-roofed lounge, curving along the Izu Peninsula’s cliffs and coves from Tokyo to Shimoda.", "fame_rank": 360, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/saphir-odoriko-izu/" }, { "id": "yakumo-okayama-izumo", "name": "Yakumo", "from": "Okayama", "to": "Izumo", "category": "classic", "train": "273 series", "operator": "JR West", "distance_km": 221, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "3 h", "opened": 1972, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "JR West’s new 2024 tilting 273 series threads the Hakubi line’s passes to Izumo, home of Japan’s oldest grand shrine.", "fame_rank": 708, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/yakumo-okayama-izumo/" }, { "id": "ibusuki-no-tamatebako", "name": "Ibusuki no Tamatebako", "from": "Kagoshima", "to": "Ibusuki", "category": "scenic", "train": "KiHa 47", "operator": "JR Kyushu", "distance_km": 46, "top_speed_kmh": 85, "duration": "55 min", "opened": 2011, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Split black-and-white treasure box train that puffs a cloud of mist from its doors, hugging Kinko Bay to the hot-sand baths of Ibusuki.", "fame_rank": 375, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ibusuki-no-tamatebako/" }, { "id": "aso-boy-kumamoto-miyaji", "name": "Aso Boy!", "from": "Kumamoto", "to": "Miyaji", "category": "scenic", "train": "KiHa 183-1000", "operator": "JR Kyushu", "distance_km": 53, "top_speed_kmh": 95, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 2011, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Family sightseeing express with a panorama cab and play areas, zig-zagging the Tateno switchback into the vast Mt Aso caldera.", "fame_rank": 374, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/aso-boy-kumamoto-miyaji/" }, { "id": "watarase-keikoku-railway", "name": "Watarase Keikoku Railway", "from": "Kiryu", "to": "Manba", "category": "scenic", "train": "WKT-500 · torokko", "operator": "Watarase Keikoku Railway", "distance_km": 44, "top_speed_kmh": 65, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 1989, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Open-sided torokko trolleys wind up the Watarase gorge on the old Ashio copper-mine line, ablaze with wisteria and autumn maple.", "fame_rank": 376, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/watarase-keikoku-railway/" }, { "id": "itx-saemaeul-seoul-busan", "name": "ITX-Saemaeul", "from": "Seoul", "to": "Busan", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 210000", "operator": "Korail", "distance_km": 442, "top_speed_kmh": 150, "duration": "4 h 50 min", "opened": 2014, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KR", "name": "South Korea" } ], "highlight": "Tilting-comfort intercity that succeeded the storied Saemaul-ho, still running the full 442 km Gyeongbu spine from Seoul to Busan.", "fame_rank": 668, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/itx-saemaeul-seoul-busan/" }, { "id": "itx-cheongchun-seoul-chuncheon", "name": "ITX-Cheongchun", "from": "Seoul", "to": "Chuncheon", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 371", "operator": "Korail", "distance_km": 88, "top_speed_kmh": 180, "duration": "1 h 12 min", "opened": 2012, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KR", "name": "South Korea" } ], "highlight": "Double-deck 180 km/h EMU on the Youth Line, racing up the Bukhan River to the lake city of Chuncheon, home of dak-galbi.", "fame_rank": 730, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/itx-cheongchun-seoul-chuncheon/" }, { "id": "mugunghwa-seoul-busan", "name": "Mugunghwa-ho", "from": "Seoul", "to": "Busan", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 8200 + coaches", "operator": "Korail", "distance_km": 442, "top_speed_kmh": 150, "duration": "5 h 20 min", "opened": 1984, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KR", "name": "South Korea" } ], "highlight": "Korea’s beloved everyman Rose of Sharon train — cheap reserved seats and rattling coaches taking the slow road from Seoul to Busan.", "fame_rank": 669, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/mugunghwa-seoul-busan/" }, { "id": "ktx-eum-cheongnyangni-andong", "name": "KTX-Eum", "from": "Seoul", "to": "Andong", "category": "high-speed", "train": "EMU-260", "operator": "Korail", "distance_km": 268, "top_speed_kmh": 260, "duration": "2 h 3 min", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KR", "name": "South Korea" } ], "highlight": "Home-grown EMU-260 bullet train on the rebuilt 250 km/h Jungang line, cutting Seoul to the Confucian old town of Andong to about two hours.", "fame_rank": 615, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ktx-eum-cheongnyangni-andong/" }, { "id": "dmz-peace-train", "name": "DMZ Peace Train", "from": "Seoul", "to": "Dorasan", "category": "scenic", "train": "DMZ-train railcar", "operator": "Korail", "distance_km": 56, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "1 h", "opened": 2014, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KR", "name": "South Korea" } ], "highlight": "Tourist train relaunched in 2026, running to Dorasan — the last station on the line before North Korea, at the fenced edge of the DMZ.", "fame_rank": 373, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dmz-peace-train/" }, { "id": "tze-chiang-taipei-taitung", "name": "Tze-Chiang Limited Express", "from": "Taipei", "to": "Taitung", "category": "classic", "train": "EMU3000", "operator": "Taiwan Railway", "distance_km": 321, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "3 h 30 min", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TW", "name": "Taiwan" } ], "highlight": "Taiwan’s flagship Teng-Yun EMU3000, with a business-class car, curving down the wild Pacific east coast from Taipei to Taitung.", "fame_rank": 689, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tze-chiang-taipei-taitung/" }, { "id": "taroko-express-taipei-hualien", "name": "Taroko Express", "from": "Taipei", "to": "Hualien", "category": "classic", "train": "TEMU1000", "operator": "Taiwan Railway", "distance_km": 170, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 2007, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TW", "name": "Taiwan" } ], "highlight": "Japanese-built TEMU1000 tilting train carving through the Yilan cliffs and tunnels from Taipei to the marble gorge country of Hualien.", "fame_rank": 714, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/taroko-express-taipei-hualien/" }, { "id": "neiwan-line", "name": "Neiwan Line", "from": "Hsinchu", "to": "Neiwan", "category": "scenic", "train": "DR1000 railcar", "operator": "Taiwan Railway", "distance_km": 28, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "1 h", "opened": 1951, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TW", "name": "Taiwan" } ], "highlight": "Hakka-country branch line climbing from Hsinchu into the hills to the old timber and coal town of Neiwan, revived as a heritage day-trip.", "fame_rank": 378, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/neiwan-line/" }, { "id": "jiji-line", "name": "Jiji Line", "from": "Ershui", "to": "Jiji", "category": "scenic", "train": "DR1000 railcar", "operator": "Taiwan Railway", "distance_km": 15, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "30 min", "opened": 1922, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TW", "name": "Taiwan" } ], "highlight": "Taiwan’s cherished 1922 branch line through betel-palm country and a camphor-tree green tunnel, reopened in 2026 after a landslide closure.", "fame_rank": 310, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/jiji-line/" }, { "id": "shenao-line", "name": "Shen’ao Line", "from": "Ruifang", "to": "Badouzi", "category": "scenic", "train": "DR1000 railcar", "operator": "Taiwan Railway", "distance_km": 5, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "15 min", "opened": 2014, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TW", "name": "Taiwan" } ], "highlight": "Short coastal branch to Badouzi, the Taiwan station nearest the sea, where rainbow-painted railcars run beside the wave-cut Shen’ao arch.", "fame_rank": 383, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/shenao-line/" }, { "id": "raja-tehran-tabriz", "name": "Raja Tehran–Tabriz", "from": "Tehran", "to": "Tabriz", "category": "night", "train": "Raja sleeper coaches", "operator": "Raja · Iranian Railways (RAI)", "distance_km": 736, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "12 h", "opened": 1958, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IR", "name": "Iran" } ], "highlight": "Iranian leg of the Tehran–Istanbul Trans-Asia Express, whose onward run once floated the whole train across Turkey’s Lake Van on a rail ferry.", "fame_rank": 423, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/raja-tehran-tabriz/" }, { "id": "raja-tehran-isfahan", "name": "Raja Tehran–Isfahan", "from": "Tehran", "to": "Isfahan", "category": "classic", "train": "Raja intercity coaches", "operator": "Raja · Iranian Railways (RAI)", "distance_km": 450, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "6 h 30 min", "opened": 1966, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IR", "name": "Iran" } ], "highlight": "Links the capital to the old Safavid capital and its UNESCO-listed Naqsh-e Jahan Square, shadowing Iran’s still-unfinished first high-speed line.", "fame_rank": 664, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/raja-tehran-isfahan/" }, { "id": "raja-tehran-bandar-abbas", "name": "Raja Tehran–Bandar Abbas", "from": "Tehran", "to": "Bandar Abbas", "category": "night", "train": "Raja long-distance sleeper", "operator": "Raja · Iranian Railways (RAI)", "distance_km": 1286, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "20 h", "opened": 1995, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IR", "name": "Iran" } ], "highlight": "One of Iran’s longest single-train rides: ~1,290 km across the central desert past Yazd to the Strait of Hormuz, completed when the Bafq link opened in 1995.", "fame_rank": 400, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/raja-tehran-bandar-abbas/" }, { "id": "yht-ankara-konya", "name": "Yüksek Hızlı Tren (YHT)", "from": "Ankara", "to": "Konya", 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hours.", "fame_rank": 597, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/yht-ankara-sivas/" }, { "id": "izmir-mavi-treni-ankara-izmir", "name": "İzmir Mavi Treni", "from": "Ankara", "to": "Izmir", "category": "night", "train": "E68000 loco · sleeper & Pullman cars", "operator": "TCDD Taşımacılık", "distance_km": 883, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "13 h", "opened": 1983, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TR", "name": "Türkiye" } ], "highlight": "One of Turkey’s last classic ’Blue Train’ sleepers — 883 km overnight across western Anatolia via Eskişehir while the parallel high-speed line stays years off.", "fame_rank": 241, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/izmir-mavi-treni-ankara-izmir/" }, { "id": "dogu-ekspresi-ankara-kars", "name": "Doğu Ekspresi", "from": "Ankara", "to": "Kars", "category": "scenic", "train": "TCDD sleeper & couchette cars", "operator": "TCDD Taşımacılık", "distance_km": 1365, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "25 h", "opened": 1936, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TR", "name": "Türkiye" } ], "highlight": "Turkey’s cult 1,365 km trans-Anatolian sleeper to the snowy Caucasus frontier at Kars; social-media fame makes seats sell out weeks ahead.", "fame_rank": 243, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dogu-ekspresi-ankara-kars/" }, { "id": "israelrail-tel-aviv-beersheba", "name": "Israel Railways · Beersheba line", "from": "Tel Aviv", "to": "Beersheba", "category": "classic", "train": "Bombardier bi-level push-pull", "operator": "Israel Railways", "distance_km": 93, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "1 h 5 min", "opened": 1997, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IL", "name": "Israel" } ], "highlight": "A fast double-tracked run to the Negev’s capital, tracing the Ottoman military railway thrown down in 1915 to supply the WWI Sinai front.", "fame_rank": 728, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/israelrail-tel-aviv-beersheba/" }, { "id": "israelrail-nahariya-tel-aviv", "name": "Israel Railways · Coastal line", "from": "Nahariya", "to": "Tel Aviv", "category": "classic", "train": "Bombardier bi-level push-pull", "operator": "Israel Railways", "distance_km": 107, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "1 h 41 min", "opened": 1953, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IL", "name": "Israel" } ], "highlight": "Israel’s busiest rail corridor hugs the Mediterranean shore from the Galilee coast through Haifa Bay to Tel Aviv, with trains every 15–30 minutes.", "fame_rank": 726, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/israelrail-nahariya-tel-aviv/" }, { "id": "sar-riyadh-dammam", "name": "SAR East Train", "from": "Riyadh", "to": "Dammam", "category": "classic", "train": "CAF diesel push-pull", "operator": "Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR)", "distance_km": 449, "top_speed_kmh": 180, "duration": "3 h 40 min", "opened": 1951, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SA", "name": "Saudi Arabia" } ], "highlight": "Saudi Arabia’s first railway — the 1951 Dammam–Riyadh line built under King Abdulaziz — still crosses the Eastern desert and the vast Al-Ahsa oasis.", "fame_rank": 666, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sar-riyadh-dammam/" }, { "id": "sar-riyadh-qurayyat", "name": "SAR North Train", "from": "Riyadh", "to": "Qurayyat", "category": "classic", "train": "CAF push-pull (day & sleeper)", "operator": "Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR)", "distance_km": 1242, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "11 h", "opened": 2017, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SA", "name": "Saudi Arabia" } ], "highlight": "At 1,242 km Saudi Arabia’s longest passenger line strikes north from Riyadh across the Great Nafud desert to Qurayyat near the Jordanian border.", "fame_rank": 633, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sar-riyadh-qurayyat/" }, { "id": "enr-cairo-alexandria-talgo", "name": "Talgo Intercity", "from": "Cairo", "to": "Alexandria", "category": "classic", "train": "Talgo 230", "operator": "Egyptian National Railways (ENR)", "distance_km": 208, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 30 min", "opened": 1856, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "EG", "name": "Egypt" } ], "highlight": "Cairo–Alexandria is the oldest railway in Africa and the Middle East (1854–56); since December 2022 it has been worked by Spain’s Talgo 230 trainsets.", "fame_rank": 500, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/enr-cairo-alexandria-talgo/" }, { "id": "hejaz-amman-mafraq", "name": "Hejaz Railway (heritage)", "from": "Amman", "to": "Mafraq", "category": "scenic", "train": "Vintage narrow-gauge coaches; occasional steam", "operator": "Jordan Hejaz Railway", "distance_km": 70, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "2 h 30 min", "opened": 1903, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JO", "name": "Jordan" } ], "highlight": "Lawrence of Arabia’s Ottoman pilgrimage railway; heritage trains still run north from Amman via Zarqa, and a Hejaz steam loco fired up again in 2025 after 40 years.", "fame_rank": 170, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/hejaz-amman-mafraq/" }, { "id": "al-atlas-casablanca-fez", "name": "Al Atlas", "from": "Casablanca", "to": "Fez", "category": "classic", "train": "ONCF intercity", "operator": "ONCF", "distance_km": 320, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "3 h 20 min", "opened": 1923, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MA", "name": "Morocco" } ], "highlight": "The everyday intercity linking Morocco’s imperial cities — Rabat, Meknès and Fès — up to eight times a day, parallel to but separate from the Al Boraq high-speed line.", "fame_rank": 471, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/al-atlas-casablanca-fez/" }, { "id": "al-atlas-tangier-fez", "name": "Al Atlas", "from": "Tangier", "to": "Fez", "category": "classic", "train": "ONCF intercity", "operator": "ONCF", "distance_km": 300, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "4 h 13 min", "opened": 1927, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MA", "name": "Morocco" } ], "highlight": "A surviving direct classic train after Al Boraq took the coastal corridor in 2018 — still running Tanger Ville to Fès with no change, via the Rif foothills.", "fame_rank": 476, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/al-atlas-tangier-fez/" }, { "id": "al-atlas-fez-oujda", "name": "Al Atlas Oriental", "from": "Fez", "to": "Oujda", "category": "classic", "train": "ONCF intercity", "operator": "ONCF", "distance_km": 320, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "5 h 30 min", "opened": 1934, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MA", "name": "Morocco" } ], "highlight": "The slow ’Oriental’ run threads the Taza Gap between the Rif and Middle Atlas to reach Oujda on the sealed Algerian frontier.", "fame_rank": 251, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/al-atlas-fez-oujda/" }, { "id": "sncft-tunis-sfax", "name": "SNCFT Grandes Lignes", "from": "Tunis", "to": "Sfax", "category": "classic", "train": "Air-conditioned express", "operator": "SNCFT", "distance_km": 270, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "≈ 4 h 30 min", "opened": 1912, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TN", "name": "Tunisia" } ], "highlight": "Tunisia’s metre-gauge trunk line runs frequent air-conditioned expresses down the Sahel coast past the great Roman amphitheatre of El Jem to Sfax.", "fame_rank": 482, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sncft-tunis-sfax/" }, { "id": "grc-accra-tema", "name": "Accra–Tema Shuttle", "from": "Accra", "to": "Tema", "category": "classic", "train": "Diesel railcar / coaches", "operator": "Ghana Railway Company", "distance_km": 32, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "1 h", "opened": 2022, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GH", "name": "Ghana" } ], "highlight": "Revived in July 2022, the shuttle turns a peak-hour road crawl of up to two hours into a roughly one-hour rail run between Ghana’s capital and its main port at Tema.", "fame_rank": 742, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/grc-accra-tema/" }, { "id": "sitarail-ouagadougou-bobo-dioulasso", "name": "Sitarail Voyageurs", "from": "Ouagadougou", "to": "Bobo-Dioulasso", "category": "classic", "train": "Sitarail coaches · GL30 diesel", "operator": "Sitarail (AGL)", "distance_km": 340, "top_speed_kmh": 70, "duration": "8 h", "opened": 1954, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BF", "name": "Burkina Faso" } ], "highlight": "The lone survivor of the once-famous Abidjan–Ouagadougou train — a weekly Burkina-only service revived in November 2023 between the two biggest cities.", "fame_rank": 682, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sitarail-ouagadougou-bobo-dioulasso/" }, { "id": "setrag-owendo-franceville", "name": "Transgabonais", "from": "Libreville", "to": "Franceville", "category": "classic", "train": "SETRAG express with couchettes", "operator": "SETRAG", "distance_km": 648, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "14 h", "opened": 1986, "pax_per_year": 248000, "countries": [ { "code": "GA", "name": "Gabon" } ], "highlight": "Gabon’s only passenger railway climbs from the Atlantic at Owendo through equatorial rainforest past Lopé National Park to Franceville, running largely overnight.", "fame_rank": 224, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/setrag-owendo-franceville/" }, { "id": "sctp-matadi-kinshasa", "name": "Matadi–Kinshasa", "from": "Matadi", "to": "Kinshasa", "category": "classic", "train": "KiHa 183 railcars (ex-JR Hokkaido)", "operator": "SCTP", "distance_km": 366, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "8 h", "opened": 1898, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CD", "name": "DR Congo" } ], "highlight": "Reopened in September 2025 after a five-year landslide closure, now worked at weekends by KiHa 183 railcars shipped from Japan, relinking Kinshasa to its Atlantic port.", "fame_rank": 466, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sctp-matadi-kinshasa/" }, { "id": "shosholoza-meyl-johannesburg-east-london", "name": "Shosholoza Meyl", "from": "Johannesburg", "to": "East London", "category": "night", "train": "PRASA sleeper & sitter coaches", "operator": "PRASA", "distance_km": 1000, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "20 h", "opened": 1997, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ZA", "name": "South Africa" } ], "highlight": "The last affordable long-distance sleeper in South Africa — an overnight economy train across the Free State Highveld and Stormberg to the Indian Ocean at East London.", "fame_rank": 410, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/shosholoza-meyl-johannesburg-east-london/" }, { "id": "cfm-nampula-cuamba", "name": "Nampula–Cuamba", "from": "Nampula", "to": "Cuamba", "category": "classic", "train": "CDN economy & business coaches", "operator": "Nacala Logistics · CFM", "distance_km": 348, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "12 h", "opened": 1950, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MZ", "name": "Mozambique" } ], "highlight": "One of Africa’s great budget rail adventures — a full day across the baobab-studded bush of Niassa, carriages packed with traders and sacks of produce.", "fame_rank": 680, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cfm-nampula-cuamba/" }, { "id": "cfm-beira-moatize-sena", "name": "Sena Line", "from": "Beira", "to": "Moatize", "category": "classic", "train": "CFM diesel-hauled coaches", "operator": "CFM", "distance_km": 575, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "20 h", "opened": 1949, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MZ", "name": "Mozambique" } ], "highlight": "A subsidised lifeline up the Zambezi valley, crossing the 3.7 km Dona Ana bridge — once the longest railway bridge in Africa — from the port of Beira to the Tete coalfields.", "fame_rank": 653, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cfm-beira-moatize-sena/" }, { "id": "urc-kampala-mukono-commuter", "name": "Kampala–Mukono commuter", "from": "Kampala", "to": "Mukono", "category": "classic", "train": "URC diesel-hauled coaches", "operator": "Uganda Railways", "distance_km": 27, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "1 h 10 min", "opened": 2024, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "UG", "name": "Uganda" } ], "highlight": "Revived in December 2024 on the century-old metre-gauge ’Lunatic Line,’ it beats Kampala’s notorious gridlock into the city for a few thousand shillings.", "fame_rank": 743, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/urc-kampala-mukono-commuter/" }, { "id": "fce-fianarantsoa-manakara", "name": "Fianarantsoa–Côte Est (FCE)", "from": "Fianarantsoa", "to": "Manakara", "category": "scenic", "train": "Mixed passenger/freight coaches", "operator": "FCE", "distance_km": 163, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "10 h", "opened": 1936, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MG", "name": "Madagascar" } ], "highlight": "Madagascar’s rainforest lifeline — 67 bridges and 48 tunnels down a 1,100 m escarpment past waterfalls; villages survive by loading bananas and coffee onto the train.", "fame_rank": 264, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/fce-fianarantsoa-manakara/" }, { "id": "madarail-antananarivo-antsirabe", "name": "Trans Lémurie Express", "from": "Antananarivo", "to": "Antsirabe", "category": "scenic", "train": "Madarail \"Rosewood Class\" coaches", "operator": "Madarail", "distance_km": 153, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "5 h", "opened": 1923, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MG", "name": "Madagascar" } ], "highlight": "Reopened in December 2023 after ~30 years shut by cyclone damage, its rosewood-trimmed cars climb through the highlands to the spa town of Antsirabe.", "fame_rank": 272, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/madarail-antananarivo-antsirabe/" }, { "id": "eritrean-railway-asmara-massawa", "name": "Eritrean Railway", "from": "Asmara", "to": "Massawa", "category": "scenic", "train": "1930s Ansaldo Mallet steam", "operator": "Eritrean Railway", "distance_km": 118, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "8 h", "opened": 1911, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ER", "name": "Eritrea" } ], "highlight": "Pre-war Italian Mallet steam locos still claw up 3.5% grades and switchbacks 2,300 m between the Red Sea and Asmara — one of the great colonial mountain railways.", "fame_rank": 169, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/eritrean-railway-asmara-massawa/" }, { "id": "sudan-railways-port-sudan-atbara", "name": "Port Sudan–Atbara", "from": "Port Sudan", "to": "Atbara", "category": "classic", "train": "SRC diesel & coaches", "operator": "Sudan Railways", "distance_km": 474, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "12 h", "opened": 1906, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SD", "name": "Sudan" } ], "highlight": "The first railway to reopen after Sudan’s civil war (December 2024) — a fortnightly desert lifeline from the Red Sea across Nubian scrub to the Nile junction at Atbara.", "fame_rank": 451, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sudan-railways-port-sudan-atbara/" }, { "id": "sj-snabbtag-stockholm-malmo", "name": "SJ Snabbtåg", "from": "Stockholm", "to": "Malmö", "category": "classic", "train": "X 2000", "operator": "SJ", "distance_km": 614, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "4 h 22 min", "opened": 1990, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SE", "name": "Sweden" } ], "highlight": "SJ’s tilting X2000 links Stockholm with Malmö and the Øresund gateway at up to 200 km/h — Sweden’s flagship fast run down the Southern Main Line.", "fame_rank": 649, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sj-snabbtag-stockholm-malmo/" }, { "id": "sj-stockholm-sundsvall", "name": "SJ Snabbtåg", "from": "Stockholm", "to": "Sundsvall", "category": "classic", "train": "X55 · SJ 3000", "operator": "SJ", "distance_km": 343, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "3 h 15 min", "opened": 1927, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SE", "name": "Sweden" } ], "highlight": "Fast SJ trains climb the East Coast Line along the Gulf of Bothnia’s shore to the old timber city of Sundsvall.", "fame_rank": 469, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sj-stockholm-sundsvall/" }, { "id": "sj-nattag-stockholm-are", "name": "SJ Nattåg", "from": "Stockholm", "to": "Åre", "category": "night", "train": "WL sleeping cars", "operator": "SJ", "distance_km": 630, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "9 h", "opened": 1882, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SE", "name": "Sweden" } ], "highlight": "SJ’s sleeper rolls out of Stockholm at night and wakes among the snow-clad fells of Jämtland at the Åre ski resort.", "fame_rank": 336, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sj-nattag-stockholm-are/" }, { "id": "norrtag-umea-lulea", "name": "Norrtåg", "from": "Umeå", "to": "Luleå", "category": "classic", "train": "Bombardier Regina (X52)", "operator": "Norrtåg", "distance_km": 215, "top_speed_kmh": 180, "duration": "3 h 55 min", "opened": 2012, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SE", "name": "Sweden" } ], "highlight": "A rare passenger run through Norrland’s forests joining two northern university cities near the head of the Gulf of Bothnia.", "fame_rank": 709, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/norrtag-umea-lulea/" }, { "id": "roslagsbanan-stockholm-karsta", "name": "Roslagsbanan", "from": "Stockholm", "to": "Kårsta", "category": "scenic", "train": "SL X10p (891 mm)", "operator": "SL", "distance_km": 43, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "1 h", "opened": 1885, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SE", "name": "Sweden" } ], "highlight": "Sweden’s last commercial narrow-gauge railway (891 mm), still threading Stockholm’s leafy northern suburbs out to rural Kårsta.", "fame_rank": 298, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/roslagsbanan-stockholm-karsta/" }, { "id": "oresundstag-gothenburg-copenhagen", "name": "Öresundståg", "from": "Gothenburg", "to": "Copenhagen", "category": "classic", "train": "X31 Contessa", "operator": "Öresundståg", "distance_km": 336, "top_speed_kmh": 180, "duration": "3 h 50 min", "opened": 2000, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SE", "name": "Sweden" }, { "code": "DK", "name": "Denmark" } ], "highlight": "Rolls off Sweden’s West Coast Line and over the 8 km Øresund Bridge, plunging into the Drogden tunnel to reach Copenhagen.", "fame_rank": 684, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/oresundstag-gothenburg-copenhagen/" }, { "id": "dsb-ic-copenhagen-aalborg", "name": "DSB InterCity", "from": "Copenhagen", "to": "Aalborg", "category": "classic", "train": "IC3 (MF)", "operator": "DSB", "distance_km": 425, "top_speed_kmh": 180, "duration": "4 h 27 min", "opened": 1869, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DK", "name": "Denmark" } ], "highlight": "DSB’s long haul up Jutland — crossing the Great Belt Fixed Link — to Aalborg, gateway to Denmark’s north.", "fame_rank": 457, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dsb-ic-copenhagen-aalborg/" }, { "id": "dsb-ic-copenhagen-esbjerg", "name": "DSB InterCity", "from": "Copenhagen", "to": "Esbjerg", "category": "classic", "train": "IC3 (MF)", "operator": "DSB", "distance_km": 315, "top_speed_kmh": 180, "duration": "2 h 55 min", "opened": 1874, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DK", "name": "Denmark" } ], "highlight": "Runs west to Esbjerg, Denmark’s North Sea port and the historic embarkation point for steamers and emigrants to Britain.", "fame_rank": 472, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dsb-ic-copenhagen-esbjerg/" }, { "id": "vy-oslo-halden", "name": "Østfoldbanen", "from": "Oslo", "to": "Halden", "category": "classic", "train": "Stadler Flirt Type 75", "operator": "Vy", "distance_km": 136, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "1 h 45 min", "opened": 1879, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NO", "name": "Norway" } ], "highlight": "Vy’s RE20 traces the Østfold Line down the east shore of the Oslofjord toward the Swedish border at Halden.", "fame_rank": 521, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vy-oslo-halden/" }, { "id": "gjovikbanen-oslo-gjovik", "name": "Gjøvikbanen", "from": "Oslo", "to": "Gjøvik", "category": "classic", "train": "NSB Class 69", "operator": "Vy", "distance_km": 124, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 1902, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NO", "name": "Norway" } ], "highlight": "Climbs out of Oslo through the deep Nordmarka forest and over Hadeland to Lake Mjøsa at Gjøvik.", "fame_rank": 524, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/gjovikbanen-oslo-gjovik/" }, { "id": "vy-oslo-skien", "name": "Vestfoldbanen", "from": "Oslo", "to": "Skien", "category": "classic", "train": "Stadler Flirt Type 74", "operator": "Vy", "distance_km": 170, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "2 h 10 min", "opened": 1881, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NO", "name": "Norway" } ], "highlight": "The Vestfold Line runs down the fjord’s west side through Tønsberg, Norway’s oldest town, to industrial Grenland.", "fame_rank": 512, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vy-oslo-skien/" }, { "id": "pendolino-helsinki-oulu", "name": "VR Pendolino", "from": "Helsinki", "to": "Oulu", "category": "classic", "train": "Sm3 Pendolino", "operator": "VR", "distance_km": 690, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "5 h 25 min", "opened": 1995, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FI", "name": "Finland" } ], "highlight": "VR’s tilting Pendolino sprints up the 200 km/h Finnish Main Line toward the head of the Gulf of Bothnia at Oulu.", "fame_rank": 643, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/pendolino-helsinki-oulu/" }, { "id": "vr-helsinki-joensuu", "name": "VR InterCity", "from": "Helsinki", "to": "Joensuu", "category": "classic", "train": "Sr2 · double-deck IC", "operator": "VR", "distance_km": 448, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "4 h 9 min", "opened": 1894, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FI", "name": "Finland" } ], "highlight": "A double-deck InterCity east along the Karelian line to Joensuu, gateway to Finland’s forested North Karelia.", "fame_rank": 455, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vr-helsinki-joensuu/" }, { "id": "vr-helsinki-kuopio", "name": "VR InterCity", "from": "Helsinki", "to": "Kuopio", "category": "classic", "train": "InterCity2 double-deck", "operator": "VR", "distance_km": 455, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "4 h 8 min", "opened": 1889, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FI", "name": "Finland" } ], "highlight": "The Savonia line threads north between the islands of Finland’s lake district to Kuopio.", "fame_rank": 454, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vr-helsinki-kuopio/" }, { "id": "vr-night-train-helsinki-kolari", "name": "VR Night Train", "from": "Helsinki", "to": "Kolari", "category": "night", "train": "double-deck sleeper", "operator": "VR", "distance_km": 989, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "14 h 30 min", "opened": 1966, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FI", "name": "Finland" } ], "highlight": "Finland’s northernmost railhead: an overnight car-carrier sleeper above the Arctic Circle to the fells of Ylläs and Levi.", "fame_rank": 411, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vr-night-train-helsinki-kolari/" }, { "id": "elron-tallinn-tartu", "name": "Elron", "from": "Tallinn", "to": "Tartu", "category": "classic", "train": "Stadler FLIRT", "operator": "Elron", "distance_km": 185, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "1 h 55 min", "opened": 1876, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "EE", "name": "Estonia" } ], "highlight": "Estonia’s busiest intercity run — orange Stadler FLIRTs linking Tallinn with Tartu, the country’s ancient university city.", "fame_rank": 507, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/elron-tallinn-tartu/" }, { "id": "elron-tallinn-narva", "name": "Elron", "from": "Tallinn", "to": "Narva", "category": "classic", "train": "Stadler FLIRT", "operator": "Elron", "distance_km": 210, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "2 h 27 min", "opened": 1870, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "EE", "name": "Estonia" } ], "highlight": "Runs east to Narva on the Russian frontier, where two medieval castles face off across the border river.", "fame_rank": 498, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/elron-tallinn-narva/" }, { "id": "elron-tallinn-viljandi", "name": "Elron", "from": "Tallinn", "to": "Viljandi", "category": "classic", "train": "Stadler FLIRT", "operator": "Elron", "distance_km": 161, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "2 h 5 min", "opened": 1901, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "EE", "name": "Estonia" } ], "highlight": "A rural FLIRT ride south through Estonia’s forests and bogs to the lakeside hill town of Viljandi.", "fame_rank": 515, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/elron-tallinn-viljandi/" }, { "id": "vivi-riga-daugavpils", "name": "Vivi", "from": "Riga", "to": "Daugavpils", "category": "classic", "train": "DR1A DMU", "operator": "Pasažieru vilciens", "distance_km": 218, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "3 h", "opened": 1861, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LV", "name": "Latvia" } ], "highlight": "The historic Riga–Dünaburg line to Daugavpils, Latvia’s second city, hard by the Lithuanian and Belarusian borders.", "fame_rank": 496, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vivi-riga-daugavpils/" }, { "id": "vivi-riga-valga", "name": "Vivi", "from": "Riga", "to": "Valga", "category": "classic", "train": "PESA 730ML", "operator": "Pasažieru vilciens", "distance_km": 170, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "2 h 25 min", "opened": 1889, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LV", "name": "Latvia" }, { "code": "EE", "name": "Estonia" } ], "highlight": "Vivi’s new PESA railcars reach the twin border town of Valga/Valka — split between Estonia and Latvia — now a link in the Baltic capitals chain.", "fame_rank": 513, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vivi-riga-valga/" }, { "id": "vivi-riga-liepaja", "name": "Vivi", "from": "Riga", "to": "Liepāja", "category": "classic", "train": "DR1AM DMU", "operator": "Pasažieru vilciens", "distance_km": 215, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "3 h 16 min", "opened": 2017, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LV", "name": "Latvia" } ], "highlight": "A once-daily run reborn in 2017, crossing Courland to Liepāja, the windswept Baltic port and former Tsarist naval base.", "fame_rank": 710, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vivi-riga-liepaja/" }, { "id": "ltg-link-vilnius-kaunas", "name": "LTG Link", "from": "Vilnius", "to": "Kaunas", "category": "classic", "train": "Škoda EJ575", "operator": "LTG Link", "distance_km": 102, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "1 h 5 min", "opened": 1862, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LT", "name": "Lithuania" } ], "highlight": "Hourly express between Lithuania’s two largest cities along a segment of the old St Petersburg–Warsaw Railway.", "fame_rank": 529, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ltg-link-vilnius-kaunas/" }, { "id": "ltg-link-vilnius-klaipeda", "name": "LTG Link", "from": "Vilnius", "to": "Klaipėda", "category": "classic", "train": "PESA 730ML", "operator": "LTG Link", "distance_km": 376, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "4 h 39 min", "opened": 1875, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LT", "name": "Lithuania" } ], "highlight": "LTG Link’s longest domestic haul, crossing Samogitia to Klaipėda, Lithuania’s only seaport on the Baltic.", "fame_rank": 465, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ltg-link-vilnius-klaipeda/" }, { "id": "ltg-link-vilnius-riga", "name": "LTG Link", "from": "Vilnius", "to": "Riga", "category": "classic", "train": "PESA 730ML", "operator": "LTG Link", "distance_km": 360, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "4 h 13 min", "opened": 2023, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LT", "name": "Lithuania" }, { "code": "LV", "name": "Latvia" } ], "highlight": "The first direct Vilnius–Riga train in decades, restored in 2023, reconnecting two Baltic capitals via Šiauliai and Jelgava.", "fame_rank": 677, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ltg-link-vilnius-riga/" }, { "id": "ltg-link-vilnius-warsaw", "name": "LTG Link", "from": "Vilnius", "to": "Warsaw", "category": "classic", "train": "LTG DMU + PKP IC", "operator": "LTG Link / PKP Intercity", "distance_km": 620, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "7 h 30 min", "opened": 2022, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LT", "name": "Lithuania" }, { "code": "PL", "name": "Poland" } ], "highlight": "For years the Baltics’ only rail gateway to the rest of Europe — Vilnius to Warsaw through the Suwałki Gap, changing trains at Mockava.", "fame_rank": 648, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ltg-link-vilnius-warsaw/" }, { "id": "vande-bharat-mumbai-ahmedabad", "name": "Vande Bharat Express", "from": "Mumbai", "to": "Ahmedabad", "category": "classic", "train": "Vande Bharat · Train 18", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 493, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "5 h 25 min", "opened": 2022, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "India’s third Vande Bharat: a fully-AC self-propelled set gliding the Mumbai–Ahmedabad corridor at up to 130 km/h.", "fame_rank": 659, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vande-bharat-mumbai-ahmedabad/" }, { "id": "vande-bharat-delhi-katra", "name": "Vande Bharat Express", "from": "Delhi", "to": "Katra", "category": "classic", "train": "Vande Bharat · Train 18", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 655, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "8 h", "opened": 2019, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "India’s second Vande Bharat, launched 2019 to carry pilgrims 655 km from Delhi to the Vaishno Devi base town of Katra.", "fame_rank": 644, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vande-bharat-delhi-katra/" }, { "id": "vande-bharat-chennai-mysuru", "name": "Vande Bharat Express", "from": "Chennai", "to": "Mysuru", "category": "classic", "train": "Vande Bharat · Train 18", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 497, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "6 h 30 min", "opened": 2022, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "South India’s first Vande Bharat (India’s 5th), linking Chennai, Bengaluru’s tech hub and the palace city of Mysuru.", "fame_rank": 658, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vande-bharat-chennai-mysuru/" }, { "id": "vande-bharat-katra-srinagar", "name": "Vande Bharat Express", "from": "Katra", "to": "Srinagar", "category": "scenic", "train": "Vande Bharat · Train 18", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 190, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "3 h 20 min", "opened": 2025, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "Crosses the Chenab Rail Bridge — 359 m above the river, the world’s highest railway arch bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower.", "fame_rank": 357, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vande-bharat-katra-srinagar/" }, { "id": "gatimaan-express-delhi-jhansi", "name": "Gatimaan Express", "from": "Delhi", "to": "Jhansi", "category": "classic", "train": "WAP-5 · LHB rake", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 403, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "4 h 25 min", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "India’s first 160 km/h train — the “Speedy” express dashes Delhi to Jhansi via Agra’s Taj and the fort city of Gwalior.", "fame_rank": 671, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/gatimaan-express-delhi-jhansi/" }, { "id": "vivek-express-dibrugarh-kanyakumari", "name": "Vivek Express", "from": "Dibrugarh", "to": "Kanyakumari", "category": "classic", "train": "LHB superfast rake", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 4154, "top_speed_kmh": 110, "duration": "3 days", "opened": 2011, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "India’s longest train journey: 4,154 km and roughly 75 hours from Assam’s tea country to the subcontinent’s southern tip.", "fame_rank": 630, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vivek-express-dibrugarh-kanyakumari/" }, { "id": "palace-on-wheels", "name": "Palace on Wheels", "from": "Delhi", "to": "Delhi", "category": "scenic", "train": "saloon rake", "operator": "RTDC · Indian Railways", "distance_km": 2300, "top_speed_kmh": 110, "duration": "8 days", "opened": 1982, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "India’s original luxury train (1982): a week-long Rajasthan circuit in carriages styled on the private saloons of the maharajas.", "fame_rank": 26, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/palace-on-wheels/" }, { "id": "deccan-odyssey", "name": "Deccan Odyssey", "from": "Mumbai", "to": "Mumbai", "category": "scenic", "train": "luxury saloon rake", "operator": "MTDC · Indian Railways", "distance_km": 2200, "top_speed_kmh": 110, "duration": "8 days", "opened": 2004, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "Maharashtra’s answer to the Palace on Wheels — a blue-liveried luxury rake looping the Konkan coast to the Ajanta and Ellora caves.", "fame_rank": 226, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/deccan-odyssey/" }, { "id": "kangra-valley-railway", "name": "Kangra Valley Railway", "from": "Pathankot", "to": "Joginder Nagar", "category": "scenic", "train": "ZDM narrow-gauge diesel", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 164, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "10 h", "opened": 1929, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "The world’s longest 2 ft 6 in narrow-gauge line, curling 164 km beneath the snow-capped Dhauladhar range on nearly 1,000 bridges.", "fame_rank": 263, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/kangra-valley-railway/" }, { "id": "tejas-express-delhi-lucknow", "name": "Tejas Express", "from": "Delhi", "to": "Lucknow", "category": "classic", "train": "Tejas LHB rake", "operator": "IRCTC", "distance_km": 512, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "6 h 15 min", "opened": 2019, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "India’s first train run by a separate operator, IRCTC, rather than the Railways — with onboard hosts and automatic payouts for delays.", "fame_rank": 656, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tejas-express-delhi-lucknow/" }, { "id": "mumbai-howrah-duronto", "name": "Duronto Express", "from": "Mumbai", "to": "Howrah", "category": "night", "train": "LHB AC rake", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 1968, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "27 h 25 min", "opened": 2009, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "An all-AC, near-non-stop “Duronto” linking India’s two biggest cities across the central heartland in about 27 hours.", "fame_rank": 389, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/mumbai-howrah-duronto/" }, { "id": "shatabdi-delhi-amritsar", "name": "Swarna Shatabdi", "from": "Delhi", "to": "Amritsar", "category": "classic", "train": "WAP-7 · LHB rake", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 448, "top_speed_kmh": 110, "duration": "6 h 15 min", "opened": 1994, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "The Swarna Shatabdi day train (1994) speeds from the capital to the Golden Temple city of Amritsar in a shade over six hours.", "fame_rank": 667, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/shatabdi-delhi-amritsar/" }, { "id": "subak-raftar-lahore-rawalpindi", "name": "Subak Raftar", "from": "Lahore", "to": "Rawalpindi", "category": "classic", "train": "Pakistan Railways rake", "operator": "Pakistan Railways", "distance_km": 290, "top_speed_kmh": 105, "duration": "4 h 35 min", "opened": 1881, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PK", "name": "Pakistan" } ], "highlight": "A fast daytime intercity up Pakistan’s historic Main Line 1, sprinting Lahore to Rawalpindi across the Chenab and Jhelum rivers.", "fame_rank": 478, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/subak-raftar-lahore-rawalpindi/" }, { "id": "parabat-express-dhaka-sylhet", "name": "Parabat Express", "from": "Dhaka", "to": "Sylhet", "category": "classic", "train": "PT Inka rake", "operator": "Bangladesh Railway", "distance_km": 319, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "6 h 30 min", "opened": 1986, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BD", "name": "Bangladesh" } ], "highlight": "Runs Dhaka to Sylhet through the emerald tea gardens and forested hills of Srimangal, Bangladesh’s brew capital.", "fame_rank": 691, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/parabat-express-dhaka-sylhet/" }, { "id": "sundarban-express-dhaka-khulna", "name": "Sundarban Express", "from": "Dhaka", "to": "Khulna", "category": "classic", "train": "PT Inka rake", "operator": "Bangladesh Railway", "distance_km": 383, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "7 h 30 min", "opened": 2003, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BD", "name": "Bangladesh" } ], "highlight": "Now races Dhaka to Khulna over the 6.1 km Padma Bridge, whose rail deck opened in 2024 to slash the journey to the southwest.", "fame_rank": 673, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sundarban-express-dhaka-khulna/" }, { "id": "banalata-express-dhaka-rajshahi", "name": "Banalata Express", "from": "Dhaka", "to": "Rajshahi", "category": "classic", "train": "PT Inka rake", "operator": "Bangladesh Railway", "distance_km": 276, "top_speed_kmh": 110, "duration": "4 h 40 min", "opened": 2019, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BD", "name": "Bangladesh" } ], "highlight": "Bangladesh’s flagship no-stop intercity, sweeping across the 4.8 km Jamuna “Bangabandhu” Bridge on its Dhaka–Rajshahi dash.", "fame_rank": 701, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/banalata-express-dhaka-rajshahi/" }, { "id": "yal-devi-colombo-jaffna", "name": "Yal Devi", "from": "Colombo", "to": "Jaffna", "category": "classic", "train": "Class M10 diesel", "operator": "Sri Lanka Railways", "distance_km": 304, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "6 h 40 min", "opened": 1956, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LK", "name": "Sri Lanka" } ], "highlight": "Sri Lanka’s Northern Line express — its tracks to Jaffna, torn up during 25 years of civil war, were relaid and reopened in 2015.", "fame_rank": 694, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/yal-devi-colombo-jaffna/" }, { "id": "hanoi-lao-cai-railway", "name": "Lào Cai Sleeper", "from": "Hanoi", "to": "Lao Cai", "category": "night", "train": "SP1/SP3 sleeper", "operator": "Vietnam Railways", "distance_km": 296, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "8 h", "opened": 1906, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "VN", "name": "Vietnam" } ], "highlight": "Overnight metre-gauge sleeper up the Red River valley to Lào Cai, the mountain gateway to the terraced rice slopes of Sapa.", "fame_rank": 344, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/hanoi-lao-cai-railway/" }, { "id": "hanoi-haiphong-railway", "name": "Hai Phong Line", "from": "Hanoi", "to": "Hai Phong", "category": "classic", "train": "Vietnam Railways railcar", "operator": "Vietnam Railways", "distance_km": 102, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "2 h 25 min", "opened": 1902, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "VN", "name": "Vietnam" } ], "highlight": "French-built in 1902, this metre-gauge line still links Hanoi to Vietnam’s great northern port through the Red River delta.", "fame_rank": 528, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/hanoi-haiphong-railway/" }, { "id": "dalat-trai-mat-railway", "name": "Da Lat Railway", "from": "Da Lat", "to": "Trai Mat", "category": "scenic", "train": "heritage railcar", "operator": "Vietnam Railways", "distance_km": 7, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "25 min", "opened": 1932, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "VN", "name": "Vietnam" } ], "highlight": "The last working stub of the French cog railway to Da Lat — 7 km of heritage track from a 1938 Art Deco station to Trại Mát.", "fame_rank": 318, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dalat-trai-mat-railway/" }, { "id": "maeklong-railway", "name": "Maeklong Railway", "from": "Bangkok", "to": "Samut Songkhram", "category": "scenic", "train": "SRT THN railcar", "operator": "State Railway of Thailand", "distance_km": 67, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "3 h", "opened": 1905, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TH", "name": "Thailand" } ], "highlight": "At Mae Klong the train noses through Talat Rom Hup, the market whose stallholders whisk their awnings off the rails as it passes.", "fame_rank": 22, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/maeklong-railway/" }, { "id": "bangkok-aranyaprathet", "name": "Eastern Line", "from": "Bangkok", "to": "Aranyaprathet", "category": "classic", "train": "SRT THN railcar", "operator": "State Railway of Thailand", "distance_km": 255, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "5 h 15 min", "opened": 1926, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TH", "name": "Thailand" } ], "highlight": "Bargain 3rd-class ordinary trains rattle to the frontier at Ban Khlong Luek — Thailand’s rail gateway to Cambodia and Angkor.", "fame_rank": 484, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/bangkok-aranyaprathet/" }, { "id": "ktm-ets-kl-padang-besar", "name": "KTM ETS", "from": "Kuala Lumpur", "to": "Padang Besar", "category": "classic", "train": "KTM Class 93 ETS", "operator": "KTM", "distance_km": 500, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "5 h 30 min", "opened": 2015, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MY", "name": "Malaysia" } ], "highlight": "The world’s fastest metre-gauge service at 140 km/h, running the peninsula’s west coast to the Thai border at Padang Besar.", "fame_rank": 657, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ktm-ets-kl-padang-besar/" }, { "id": "jungle-railway-gemas-tumpat", "name": "Jungle Railway", "from": "Gemas", "to": "Tumpat", "category": "scenic", "train": "KTM diesel railcar", "operator": "KTM", "distance_km": 528, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "11 h", "opened": 1931, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MY", "name": "Malaysia" } ], "highlight": "The nicknamed Jungle Railway threads Malaysia’s rainforested interior past Taman Negara, from Gemas up to Tumpat near the Thai border.", "fame_rank": 246, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/jungle-railway-gemas-tumpat/" }, { "id": "argo-parahyangan-jakarta-bandung", "name": "Argo Parahyangan", "from": "Jakarta", "to": "Bandung", "category": "classic", "train": "CC206-hauled rake", "operator": "Kereta Api Indonesia", "distance_km": 166, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "2 h 50 min", "opened": 2010, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ID", "name": "Indonesia" } ], "highlight": "The scenic conventional climb over the Priangan highlands and tall Cikubang viaduct — the leisurely rival to the Whoosh bullet line.", "fame_rank": 715, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/argo-parahyangan-jakarta-bandung/" }, { "id": "krl-yogyakarta-solo", "name": "KRL Commuterline", "from": "Yogyakarta", "to": "Solo", "category": "classic", "train": "KfW i9000 EMU", "operator": "KAI Commuter", "distance_km": 65, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "1 h 10 min", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ID", "name": "Indonesia" } ], "highlight": "Java’s first electrified inter-city commuter outside Jakarta, gliding past the 9th-century Prambanan temples between two royal cities.", "fame_rank": 735, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/krl-yogyakarta-solo/" }, { "id": "yangon-mandalay-railway", "name": "Yangon–Mandalay Express", "from": "Yangon", "to": "Mandalay", "category": "classic", "train": "DEMU railcar", "operator": "Myanma Railways", "distance_km": 620, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "10 h", "opened": 1889, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MM", "name": "Myanmar" } ], "highlight": "Myanmar’s 1889 British-built rail spine, now covered in about 10 hours by new air-conditioned DEMU expresses.", "fame_rank": 442, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/yangon-mandalay-railway/" }, { "id": "pnr-calamba-lucena", "name": "PNR Commuter", "from": "Calamba", "to": "Lucena", "category": "classic", "train": "Kiha 59 DMU", "operator": "Philippine National Railways", "distance_km": 90, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "2 h 33 min", "opened": 1916, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PH", "name": "Philippines" } ], "highlight": "A surviving stretch of the century-old Manila–Legazpi main line, its ex-Japanese railcars trundling through Quezon’s coconut country.", "fame_rank": 531, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/pnr-calamba-lucena/" }, { "id": "gwr-london-penzance", "name": "Cornish Riviera Express", "from": "London", "to": "Penzance", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 802 IET", "operator": "Great Western Railway", "distance_km": 491, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "5 h", "opened": 1904, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "The daytime flyer to Britain’s far south-west since 1904, racing 300 miles past Dartmoor and along the wave-battered Dawlish sea wall to Penzance.", "fame_rank": 449, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/gwr-london-penzance/" }, { "id": "gwr-london-swansea", "name": "South Wales Main Line", "from": "London", "to": "Swansea", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 800 IET", "operator": "Great Western Railway", "distance_km": 306, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "2 h 45 min", "opened": 1850, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "GWR’s flagship South Wales express; Hitachi bi-modes drop off the 25 kV wires west of Cardiff and switch to diesel for the last dash to Swansea.", "fame_rank": 474, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/gwr-london-swansea/" }, { "id": "gwr-london-bristol", "name": "Great Western Main Line", "from": "London", "to": "Bristol", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 800 IET", "operator": "Great Western Railway", "distance_km": 190, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "1 h 19 min", "opened": 1841, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Brunel’s original 1841 main line — famously flat and straight, boring dead-level through the 3 km Box Tunnel, said to face the sunrise on his birthday.", "fame_rank": 506, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/gwr-london-bristol/" }, { "id": "avanti-london-manchester", "name": "Avanti West Coast", "from": "London", "to": "Manchester", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 390 Pendolino", "operator": "Avanti West Coast", "distance_km": 296, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "2 h 7 min", "opened": 1966, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Italian-built tilting Pendolinos lean into the curves of the West Coast Main Line, holding 125 mph where an upright train would have to brake.", "fame_rank": 696, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/avanti-london-manchester/" }, { "id": "avanti-london-liverpool", "name": "Avanti West Coast", "from": "London", "to": "Liverpool", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 390 Pendolino", "operator": "Avanti West Coast", "distance_km": 286, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "2 h 8 min", "opened": 1966, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Fast tilting Pendolinos finish at Liverpool Lime Street, opened 1836 and one of the world’s oldest grand terminus stations still in daily use.", "fame_rank": 698, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/avanti-london-liverpool/" }, { "id": "avanti-london-birmingham", "name": "Avanti West Coast", "from": "London", "to": "Birmingham", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 390 Pendolino", "operator": "Avanti West Coast", "distance_km": 182, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "1 h 23 min", "opened": 1838, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Traces the pioneering 1838 London and Birmingham Railway — the 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"opened": 1850, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Azuma expresses hold 125 mph down the East Coast Main Line, sweeping over the Tyne into Newcastle on Robert Stephenson’s High Level Bridge.", "fame_rank": 464, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/lner-london-newcastle/" }, { "id": "crosscountry-aberdeen-plymouth", "name": "CrossCountry", "from": "Aberdeen", "to": "Plymouth", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 220 Voyager", "operator": "CrossCountry", "distance_km": 1118, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "11 h 30 min", "opened": 2025, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Britain’s longest direct train — one Voyager grinding 695 miles and nearly 40 stops from Aberdeen on the North Sea to Plymouth on the Channel.", "fame_rank": 634, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/crosscountry-aberdeen-plymouth/" }, { "id": "kyle-of-lochalsh-line", "name": "Kyle of 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Highland sea firths.", "fame_rank": 254, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/far-north-line/" }, { "id": "heart-of-wales-line", "name": "Heart of Wales Line", "from": "Swansea", "to": "Shrewsbury", "category": "scenic", "train": "Class 150", "operator": "Transport for Wales", "distance_km": 195, "top_speed_kmh": 95, "duration": "4 h", "opened": 1868, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "A 121-mile request-stop ramble through empty Mid Wales, crossing the castle-like 13-arch Knucklas Viaduct where trains halt only if you flag them down.", "fame_rank": 256, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/heart-of-wales-line/" }, { "id": "cambrian-coast-line", "name": "Cambrian Coast Line", "from": "Machynlleth", "to": "Pwllheli", "category": "scenic", "train": "Class 158", "operator": "Transport for Wales", "distance_km": 93, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "2 h 24 min", "opened": 1867, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Clings to the Mid-Wales shore on mostly single track, rumbling across the half-mile timber Barmouth Viaduct over the Mawddach estuary.", "fame_rank": 286, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cambrian-coast-line/" }, { "id": "north-wales-coast-line", "name": "North Wales Coast Line", "from": "Crewe", "to": "Holyhead", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 197", "operator": "Transport for Wales", "distance_km": 171, "top_speed_kmh": 145, "duration": "2 h 10 min", "opened": 1850, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "The old Irish Mail route to the Dublin ferries, crossing Robert Stephenson’s Britannia Bridge to Anglesey and skirting the walls of Conwy Castle.", "fame_rank": 511, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/north-wales-coast-line/" }, { "id": "north-yorkshire-moors-railway", "name": "North Yorkshire Moors Railway", "from": "Pickering", "to": "Whitby", "category": "scenic", "train": "Heritage steam", "operator": "North Yorkshire Moors Railway", "distance_km": 39, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 1973, "pax_per_year": 350000, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "One of the world’s busiest steam heritage lines, climbing Stephenson’s 1836 route over the moors to Goathland — Hogsmeade in the Harry Potter films.", "fame_rank": 151, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/north-yorkshire-moors-railway/" }, { "id": "severn-valley-railway", "name": "Severn Valley Railway", "from": "Kidderminster", "to": "Bridgnorth", "category": "scenic", "train": "Heritage steam", "operator": "Severn Valley Railway", "distance_km": 26, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "1 h 15 min", "opened": 1970, "pax_per_year": 250000, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Sixteen miles of preserved Great Western branch line tracing the River Severn, crossing the water on the graceful iron span of Victoria Bridge.", "fame_rank": 152, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/severn-valley-railway/" }, { "id": "bluebell-railway", "name": "Bluebell Railway", "from": "Sheffield Park", "to": "East Grinstead", "category": "scenic", "train": "Heritage steam", "operator": "Bluebell Railway", "distance_km": 18, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "45 min", "opened": 1960, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "The world’s first preserved standard-gauge passenger railway, running vintage steam through the Sussex Weald without a break since 1960.", "fame_rank": 234, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/bluebell-railway/" }, { "id": "west-somerset-railway", "name": "West Somerset Railway", "from": "Bishops Lydeard", "to": "Minehead", "category": "scenic", "train": "Heritage steam", "operator": "West Somerset Railway", "distance_km": 37, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "1 h 20 min", "opened": 1976, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Britain’s longest heritage railway — nearly 23 miles of steam from the Quantock Hills down to the Bristol Channel shore at Minehead.", "fame_rank": 230, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/west-somerset-railway/" }, { "id": "vale-of-rheidol-railway", "name": "Vale of Rheidol Railway", "from": "Aberystwyth", "to": "Devil’s Bridge", "category": "scenic", "train": "Narrow-gauge steam", "operator": "Vale of Rheidol Railway", "distance_km": 19, "top_speed_kmh": 24, "duration": "1 h", "opened": 1902, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Narrow-gauge steam grinding 200 m uphill from the sea at Aberystwyth to the wooded gorge of Devil’s Bridge — the last steam line British Rail ever ran.", "fame_rank": 192, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vale-of-rheidol-railway/" }, { "id": "dublin-galway", "name": "InterCity", "from": "Dublin", "to": "Galway", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 22000 ICR", "operator": "Iarnród Éireann", "distance_km": 208, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 20 min", "opened": 1851, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IE", "name": "Ireland" } ], "highlight": "Iarnród Éireann’s diesel railcars strike west across the boggy Irish Midlands, crossing the Shannon at Athlone to the Atlantic city of Galway.", "fame_rank": 499, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dublin-galway/" }, { "id": "dublin-limerick", "name": "InterCity", "from": "Dublin", "to": "Limerick", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 22000 ICR", "operator": "Iarnród Éireann", "distance_km": 200, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 15 min", "opened": 1848, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IE", "name": "Ireland" } ], "highlight": "Leaves the Dublin–Cork main line at Limerick Junction, a curious station where trains long had to reverse, before the final run to the Shannon at Limerick.", "fame_rank": 503, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dublin-limerick/" }, { "id": "dublin-sligo", "name": "InterCity", "from": "Dublin", "to": "Sligo", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 22000 ICR", "operator": "Iarnród Éireann", "distance_km": 178, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "3 h 3 min", "opened": 1862, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IE", "name": "Ireland" } ], "highlight": "The old Midland Great Western route from Dublin Connolly over the drumlin lakelands to Sligo, W. B. Yeats’s country beneath flat-topped Ben Bulben.", "fame_rank": 509, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dublin-sligo/" }, { "id": "dublin-waterford", "name": "InterCity", "from": "Dublin", "to": "Waterford", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 22000 ICR", "operator": "Iarnród Éireann", "distance_km": 158, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "1 h 55 min", "opened": 1854, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IE", "name": "Ireland" } ], "highlight": "Curves south-west from Dublin through medieval Kilkenny to Waterford, Ireland’s oldest city, founded by Vikings on the tidal River Suir.", "fame_rank": 517, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dublin-waterford/" }, { "id": "dublin-dart", "name": "DART", "from": "Howth", "to": "Greystones", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 8500 EMU", "operator": "Iarnród Éireann", "distance_km": 45, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "1 h 28 min", "opened": 1984, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IE", "name": "Ireland" } ], "highlight": "Ireland’s only electrified railway, hugging Dublin Bay from the Howth peninsula past Killiney’s Irish Riviera to Greystones since 1984.", "fame_rank": 740, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dublin-dart/" }, { "id": "belfast-derry-line", "name": "Belfast–Derry Line", "from": "Belfast", "to": "Derry", "category": "scenic", "train": "Class 4000 DMU", "operator": "NI Railways", "distance_km": 154, "top_speed_kmh": 145, "duration": "2 h 10 min", "opened": 1852, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Michael Palin called the Coleraine–Derry run one of the world’s most beautiful; the train skims the Atlantic strand below cliff-top Mussenden Temple.", "fame_rank": 271, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/belfast-derry-line/" }, { "id": "dartmoor-line", "name": "Dartmoor Line", "from": "Exeter", "to": "Okehampton", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 150", "operator": "Great Western Railway", "distance_km": 25, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "40 min", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "The first line reopened under Britain’s Restoring Your Railway plan, bringing regular trains back to Okehampton on the edge of Dartmoor half a century after closure.", "fame_rank": 744, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/dartmoor-line/" }, { "id": "sargan-eight", "name": "Šargan Eight", "from": "Mokra Gora", "to": "Šargan Vitasi", "category": "scenic", "train": "Narrow-gauge heritage railbus “Nostalgia” (Ćira) · Class 83 diesel", "operator": "Srbijavoz", "distance_km": 15.5, "top_speed_kmh": 15, "duration": "≈ 2 h (round trip)", "opened": 1925, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RS", "name": "Serbia" } ], "highlight": "A 760 mm loop climbing 300 m through 22 tunnels and 5 bridges in a literal figure-eight to gain height.", "fame_rank": 309, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sargan-eight/" }, { "id": "belgrade-nis", "name": "Belgrade–Niš Line", "from": "Belgrade", "to": "Niš", "category": "classic", "train": "Electric-locomotive-hauled regional coaches", "operator": "Srbijavoz", "distance_km": 230, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "≈ 6 h 20 min", "opened": 1884, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RS", "name": "Serbia" } ], "highlight": "Serbia’s first main line squeezes through the Grdelica Gorge on stone viaducts — Corridor X’s slowest link, now rebuilding for 200 km/h.", "fame_rank": 488, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/belgrade-nis/" }, { "id": "zagreb-ljubljana", "name": "EuroCity “Sava”", "from": "Zagreb", "to": "Ljubljana", "category": "classic", "train": "SŽ series 342 electric locomotive · EuroCity coaches", "operator": "HŽPP · Slovenske železnice", "distance_km": 117, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "2 h 32 min", "opened": 1862, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "HR", "name": "Croatia" }, { "code": "SI", "name": "Slovenia" } ], "highlight": "The EC “Sava” restored a direct Zagreb–Ljubljana run, and since June 2025 extends once a week onward to Pula for the first time in 30 years.", "fame_rank": 526, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zagreb-ljubljana/" }, { "id": "bucharest-constanta", "name": "Bucharest–Constanța InterCity", "from": "Bucharest", "to": "Constanța", "category": "classic", "train": "Alstom Coradia Stream EMU", "operator": "CFR Călători", "distance_km": 225, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 07 min", "opened": 1895, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "RO", "name": "Romania" } ], "highlight": "Romania’s fastest domestic run crosses the Danube on Anghel Saligny’s 1895 bridge before new EMUs race on to the Black Sea.", "fame_rank": 492, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/bucharest-constanta/" }, { "id": "messina-taormina-siracusa", "name": "Ionian Coast Line", "from": "Messina", "to": "Siracusa", "category": "scenic", "train": "Regionale Veloce coastal EMU", "operator": "Trenitalia", "distance_km": 158, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "3 h 34 min", "opened": 1871, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "Regional trains hug the Ionian shore beneath Mount Etna, calling at Taormina-Giardini before the Baroque port of Siracusa.", "fame_rank": 267, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/messina-taormina-siracusa/" }, { "id": "tren-de-la-fresa", "name": "Tren de la Fresa", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Aranjuez", "category": "scenic", "train": "Vintage 1900s-style carriages, diesel-hauled", "operator": "Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles · Renfe", "distance_km": 48, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "≈ 50 min", "opened": 1851, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Hostesses in 1920s dress hand out strawberries aboard replica carriages on Spain’s second-ever railway, opened in 1851.", "fame_rank": 173, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tren-de-la-fresa/" }, { "id": "zaragoza-canfranc", "name": "El Canfranero", "from": "Zaragoza", "to": "Canfranc", "category": "scenic", "train": "Renfe Media Distancia diesel railcar", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 180, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "3 h 45 min", "opened": 1928, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Reopened in June 2025 after two years of works, the line climbs to Europe’s grandest abandoned border station, shut since a 1970 bridge collapse.", "fame_rank": 259, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zaragoza-canfranc/" }, { "id": "barcelona-portbou", "name": "R11 Costa Brava Line", "from": "Barcelona", "to": "Portbou", "category": "scenic", "train": "Renfe Class 447/449 EMU", "operator": "Rodalies de Catalunya", "distance_km": 172, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "2 h 21 min", "opened": 1878, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Regional trains skirt Costa Brava cliffs near the French border before Portbou, terminus of the line completed in 1878.", "fame_rank": 261, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/barcelona-portbou/" }, { "id": "linha-do-vouga", "name": "Linha do Vouga", "from": "Aveiro", "to": "Sernada do Vouga", "category": "scenic", "train": "Metre-gauge diesel railcar · heritage wooden-carriage train (summer Sat.)", "operator": "CP – Comboios de Portugal", "distance_km": 37, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "≈ 1 h", "opened": 1911, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PT", "name": "Portugal" } ], "highlight": "Portugal’s last surviving metre-gauge line still carries commuters — and a vintage wooden-carriage special every summer Saturday.", "fame_rank": 300, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/linha-do-vouga/" }, { "id": "toulouse-latour-de-carol", "name": "Ligne des Pyrénées", "from": "Toulouse", "to": "Latour-de-Carol", "category": "scenic", "train": "SNCF TER Occitanie railcar", "operator": "SNCF TER Occitanie", "distance_km": 155, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "2 h 40 min", "opened": 1929, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "Four daily trains climb past Foix’s castle and Ax-les-Thermes to Latour-de-Carol, where three different rail gauges meet.", "fame_rank": 270, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/toulouse-latour-de-carol/" }, { "id": "rochers-de-naye", "name": "Montreux–Rochers-de-Naye Railway", "from": "Montreux", "to": "Rochers-de-Naye", "category": "scenic", "train": "MVR Abt-rack cogwheel train", "operator": "Transports Montreux–Vevey–Riviera (MVR)", "distance_km": 10.9, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "55 min", "opened": 1892, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "Climbs 1,700 m from Lake Geneva’s shore to a marmot-filled Alpine garden in under an hour, on Abt rack track dating to 1892.", "fame_rank": 315, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/rochers-de-naye/" }, { "id": "wengernalpbahn", "name": "Wengernalpbahn", "from": "Lauterbrunnen", "to": "Grindelwald", "category": "scenic", "train": "WAB cogwheel electric multiple unit", "operator": "Jungfraubahnen", "distance_km": 19.1, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "≈ 1 h", "opened": 1893, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "The world’s longest continuous cogwheel railway threads Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald beneath the Eiger’s north face via Kleine Scheidegg.", "fame_rank": 117, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/wengernalpbahn/" }, { "id": "furka-steam-railway", "name": "Furka Cogwheel Steam Railway", "from": "Realp", "to": "Oberwald", "category": "scenic", "train": "HG 3/4 steam locomotive", "operator": "Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke (DFB)", "distance_km": 18, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "≈ 1 h 45 min", "opened": 1925, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "Volunteer-run steam locomotives claw over the 2,160 m Furka Pass past the Rhône Glacier on track abandoned when the base tunnel opened in 1982.", "fame_rank": 193, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/furka-steam-railway/" }, { "id": "brienz-rothorn-bahn", "name": "Brienz Rothorn Bahn", "from": "Brienz", "to": "Rothorn Kulm", "category": "scenic", "train": "H 2/3 steam rack locomotive", "operator": "Brienz Rothorn Bahn", "distance_km": 7.6, "top_speed_kmh": 15, "duration": "1 h", "opened": 1892, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "A 25% grade steam rack line — Europe’s highest unelectrified railway — climbs from Lake Brienz to a 2,244 m summit in an hour.", "fame_rank": 119, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/brienz-rothorn-bahn/" }, { "id": "chur-arosa", "name": "Chur–Arosa Line", "from": "Chur", "to": "Arosa", "category": "scenic", "train": "RhB Ge 4/4 II electric multiple unit", "operator": "Rhaetian Railway (RhB)", "distance_km": 25.7, "top_speed_kmh": 55, "duration": "≈ 1 h", "opened": 1914, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "Seventy curves and the record-setting 1914 Langwieser Viaduct carry hourly trains from Chur up into the ski resort of Arosa.", "fame_rank": 304, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/chur-arosa/" }, { "id": "achenseebahn", "name": "Achenseebahn", "from": "Jenbach", "to": "Achensee (Seespitz)", "category": "scenic", "train": "Steam rack locomotive (built 1889)", "operator": "Achenseebahn AG", "distance_km": 6.76, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "50 min", "opened": 1889, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" } ], "highlight": "Europe’s oldest still-working steam cog railway — its four 1889 locomotives haul open carriages up to the turquoise Achensee.", "fame_rank": 207, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/achenseebahn/" }, { "id": "schafbergbahn", "name": "Schafbergbahn", "from": "St. Wolfgang", "to": "Schafbergspitze", "category": "scenic", "train": "Steam & diesel rack locomotive", "operator": "Salzburg AG", "distance_km": 5.85, "top_speed_kmh": 15, "duration": "40 min", "opened": 1893, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" } ], "highlight": "Austria’s steepest steam rack railway climbs 1,190 m in 40 minutes to a summit overlooking eleven Salzkammergut lakes.", "fame_rank": 120, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/schafbergbahn/" }, { "id": "pinzgaubahn", "name": "Pinzgauer Lokalbahn", "from": "Zell am See", "to": "Krimml", "category": "scenic", "train": "Narrow-gauge diesel railcar · steam train (Wed/Thu)", "operator": "Pinzgauer Lokalbahn (Salzburg AG)", "distance_km": 53, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "≈ 1 h 45 min", "opened": 1898, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" } ], "highlight": "A 760 mm-gauge valley line follows the Salzach past Hohe Tauern peaks to Krimml, ending beneath Austria’s highest waterfall.", "fame_rank": 172, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/pinzgaubahn/" }, { "id": "zillertalbahn", "name": "Zillertalbahn", "from": "Jenbach", "to": "Mayrhofen", "category": "scenic", "train": "Modern diesel railcar · steam-hauled heritage train", "operator": "Zillertaler Verkehrsbetriebe (ZVB)", "distance_km": 31.7, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "≈ 1 h", "opened": 1902, "pax_per_year": 1540000, "countries": [ { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" } ], "highlight": "A working 760 mm-gauge valley railway that still runs steam trains alongside its half-hourly regular service to Mayrhofen.", "fame_rank": 146, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zillertalbahn/" }, { "id": "cierny-hron-forest-railway", "name": "Čierny Hron Forest Railway", "from": "Hronec", "to": "Dobroč", "category": "scenic", "train": "0-8-0T steam locomotive · Rába diesel railcar", "operator": "Čiernohronská železnica", "distance_km": 17, "top_speed_kmh": 15, "duration": "≈ 1 h 10 min", "opened": 1909, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SK", "name": "Slovakia" } ], "highlight": "One of Europe’s last steam-worked forestry railways — its branch to Dobroč runs straight through the middle of a village football pitch.", "fame_rank": 194, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cierny-hron-forest-railway/" }, { "id": "strba-strbske-pleso-rack-railway", "name": "Štrba–Štrbské Pleso Rack Railway", "from": "Štrba", "to": "Štrbské Pleso", "category": "scenic", "train": "Stadler GTW 2/6 Class 495.95 rack-and-adhesion EMU", "operator": "Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko", "distance_km": 5, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "≈ 15 min", "opened": 1896, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SK", "name": "Slovakia" } ], "highlight": "Slovakia’s only cog railway climbs 430 vertical metres up a 15% rack gradient into the High Tatras on hybrid EMUs delivered in 2021.", "fame_rank": 322, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/strba-strbske-pleso-rack-railway/" }, { "id": "trez-trencianska-tepla-trencianske-teplice", "name": "Trenčín Electric Railway (TREŽ)", "from": "Trenčianska Teplá", "to": "Trenčianske Teplice", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 411.9 electric railcar (built 1951–52)", "operator": "TREŽ, n.o.", "distance_km": 5.5, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 15 min", "opened": 1909, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SK", "name": "Slovakia" } ], "highlight": "One of Europe’s oldest surviving interurban tramways — 1950s narrow-gauge electric railcars still shuttle up to a Habsburg-era spa town.", "fame_rank": 537, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/trez-trencianska-tepla-trencianske-teplice/" }, { "id": "skagensbanen-frederikshavn-skagen", "name": "Skagen Line (Skagensbanen)", "from": "Frederikshavn", "to": "Skagen", "category": "classic", "train": "Siemens Desiro DMU", "operator": "Nordjyske Jernbaner", "distance_km": 40, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "≈ 40 min", "opened": 1890, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DK", "name": "Denmark" } ], "highlight": "Runs to Denmark’s northernmost station through dune plantations to the sand-blown artists’ town where two seas meet at Grenen.", "fame_rank": 535, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/skagensbanen-frederikshavn-skagen/" }, { "id": "jokioinen-museum-railway", "name": "Jokioinen Museum Railway", "from": "Jokioinen", "to": "Humppila", "category": "scenic", "train": "Tubize 2-6-2T · Lovisa–Vesijärvi 2-8-0 steam locomotives", "operator": "Jokioinen Museum Railway", "distance_km": 14, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "≈ 40 min", "opened": 1898, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FI", "name": "Finland" } ], "highlight": "The last surviving stretch of Finland’s once-extensive 750 mm network, kept running by volunteers with steam engines built in Belgium.", "fame_rank": 198, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/jokioinen-museum-railway/" }, { "id": "gulbene-aluksne-banitis", "name": "Gulbene–Alūksne Narrow Gauge Railway (Bānītis)", "from": "Gulbene", "to": "Alūksne", "category": "scenic", "train": "TU10 diesel locomotive · vintage carriages", "operator": "Gulbenes-Alūksnes bānītis", "distance_km": 33, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 1 h 30 min", "opened": 1903, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LV", "name": "Latvia" } ], "highlight": "The only regularly operating narrow-gauge passenger railway left in the Baltic states, rattling twice daily through Vidzeme’s forests.", "fame_rank": 178, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/gulbene-aluksne-banitis/" }, { "id": "siaurukas-anyksciai-rubikiai", "name": "Aukštaitija Narrow Gauge Railway (Siaurukas)", "from": "Anykščiai", "to": "Rubikiai", "category": "scenic", "train": "TU2 diesel locomotive · vintage carriages", "operator": "Aukštaitijos siaurasis geležinkelis", "distance_km": 12, "top_speed_kmh": 25, "duration": "≈ 35 min", "opened": 1899, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LT", "name": "Lithuania" } ], "highlight": "Weekend survivor of a 750 mm network that once ran 68 km to Panevėžys, now trundling summer tourists out to Rubikiai lake.", "fame_rank": 200, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/siaurukas-anyksciai-rubikiai/" }, { "id": "carpathian-tram-vyhoda", "name": "Carpathian Tram (Vyhoda Forest Railway)", "from": "Vyhoda", "to": "Dubovyi Kut", "category": "scenic", "train": "TU8P / TU6D diesel locomotive · open carriages", "operator": "Vyhoda State Forestry (Karpatskyi Tramvai)", "distance_km": 7, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "≈ 45 min", "opened": 1890, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "UA", "name": "Ukraine" } ], "highlight": "Ukraine’s last working forest railway, built in 1890 to haul Carpathian timber, now carries tourists up the Mizunka valley past waterfalls.", "fame_rank": 317, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/carpathian-tram-vyhoda/" }, { "id": "minsk-childrens-railway", "name": "Zaslonov Children’s Railway", "from": "Zaslonovo", "to": "Sosnovy Bor", "category": "scenic", "train": "TU2 / TU7 diesel locomotive · narrow-gauge coaches", "operator": "Belarusian Railway (Minsk Children’s Railway)", "distance_km": 4.5, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "≈ 20 min", "opened": 1955, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BY", "name": "Belarus" } ], "highlight": "A working 750 mm railway through Chelyuskintsy Park operated entirely by schoolchildren training as drivers, conductors and dispatchers.", "fame_rank": 384, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/minsk-childrens-railway/" }, { "id": "lillafured-forest-railway", "name": "Lillafüred Forest Railway", "from": "Miskolc", "to": "Garadna", "category": "scenic", "train": "Mk48 diesel locomotive · open-sided carriages", "operator": "Lillafüredi Állami Erdei Vasút", "distance_km": 14, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "≈ 45 min", "opened": 1920, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "HU", "name": "Hungary" } ], "highlight": "Narrow-gauge line through the Bükk mountains via two tunnels and two viaducts, opened for timber and now Hungary’s best-loved forest train.", "fame_rank": 312, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/lillafured-forest-railway/" }, { "id": "szilvasvarad-forest-railway", "name": "Szilvásvárad Forest Railway (Szalajka Valley)", "from": "Szilvásvárad", "to": "Szalajka-Fátyolvízesés", "category": "scenic", "train": "Mk48 diesel locomotive · open-sided carriages", "operator": "Egererdő Zrt.", "distance_km": 5, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "≈ 20 min", "opened": 1908, "pax_per_year": 300000, "countries": [ { "code": "HU", "name": "Hungary" } ], "highlight": "Hungary’s busiest narrow-gauge railway — a steep timber line up the Szalajka valley to a waterfall, now carrying 300,000-plus riders a year.", "fame_rank": 156, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/szilvasvarad-forest-railway/" }, { "id": "jhmd-jindrichuv-hradec-nova-bystrice", "name": "Jindřichův Hradec–Nová Bystřice Narrow Gauge", "from": "Jindřichův Hradec", "to": "Nová Bystřice", "category": "scenic", "train": "Steam locomotives · M11 \"Tatra\" railbuses", "operator": "Gepard Express (JHMD heritage line)", "distance_km": 32.9, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "≈ 1 h 10 min", "opened": 1897, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CZ", "name": "Czechia" } ], "highlight": "South Bohemia’s narrow-gauge survivor, rescued by a new operator in 2026 after the original company’s 2022 bankruptcy nearly ended the line.", "fame_rank": 180, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/jhmd-jindrichuv-hradec-nova-bystrice/" }, { "id": "train-1900-fond-de-gras", "name": "Train 1900 (Fond-de-Gras Heritage Railway)", "from": "Pétange", "to": "Fond-de-Gras", "category": "scenic", "train": "Steam & diesel locomotives (former Prince Henri Railway stock)", "operator": "AMTF (Association des Musées et Tourisme Ferroviaires)", "distance_km": 8, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "≈ 25 min", "opened": 1874, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "LU", "name": "Luxembourg" } ], "highlight": "Vintage steam trains rattle through Luxembourg’s old iron-mining Minett region on track first laid in 1874 to move ore and miners.", "fame_rank": 204, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/train-1900-fond-de-gras/" }, { "id": "bieszczady-forest-railway", "name": "Bieszczady Forest Railway", "from": "Majdan", "to": "Balnica", "category": "scenic", "train": "Px48 steam locomotive · Lyd2 diesel locomotive", "operator": "Bieszczadzka Kolejka Leśna Foundation", "distance_km": 9, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "≈ 45 min", "opened": 1898, "pax_per_year": 168100, "countries": [ { "code": "PL", "name": "Poland" } ], "highlight": "Poland’s highest narrow-gauge line, a former logging railway that now carries over 150,000 riders a year into the Bieszczady wilderness.", "fame_rank": 147, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/bieszczady-forest-railway/" }, { "id": "waterford-suir-valley-railway", "name": "Waterford & Suir Valley Railway", "from": "Kilmeaden", "to": "Bilberry", "category": "scenic", "train": "Hunslet diesel locomotive · open-sided carriages", "operator": "Waterford & Suir Valley Railway", "distance_km": 10, "top_speed_kmh": 25, "duration": "≈ 45 min", "opened": 2003, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IE", "name": "Ireland" } ], "highlight": "Narrow-gauge trains follow the tidal River Suir on the trackbed of an 1878 mainline, running alongside the Waterford Greenway cycle path.", "fame_rank": 382, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/waterford-suir-valley-railway/" }, { "id": "sauschwanzlebahn", "name": "Sauschwänzlebahn (Wutach Valley Railway)", "from": "Weizen", "to": "Blumberg", "category": "scenic", "train": "Class 52 / 93 steam locomotive · heritage diesel railcars", "operator": "Sauschwänzlebahn e.V.", "distance_km": 26.5, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "≈ 1 h 15 min", "opened": 1890, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Germany’s only spiral railway tunnel — a 1,700 m loop at Stockhalde lets the line climb the Black Forest by circling back over itself.", "fame_rank": 183, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sauschwanzlebahn/" }, { "id": "chemin-de-fer-baie-de-somme", "name": "Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme", "from": "Cayeux-sur-Mer", "to": "Le Crotoy", "category": "scenic", "train": "130T steam locomotive (Cail · Haine-Saint-Pierre) · Belle Époque carriages", "operator": "Association du Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme", "distance_km": 28, "top_speed_kmh": 25, "duration": "≈ 1 h 30 min", "opened": 1887, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "Belle-Époque steam trains skirt the Somme estuary’s tidal salt marshes, with locomotives running round their own train at each terminus.", "fame_rank": 181, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/chemin-de-fer-baie-de-somme/" }, { "id": "chemin-de-fer-du-bocq", "name": "Chemin de Fer du Bocq", "from": "Ciney", "to": "Yvoir", "category": "scenic", "train": "Vintage SNCB railcar · heritage diesel locomotives", "operator": "Patrimoine Ferroviaire et Tourisme", "distance_km": 21, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 1 h 15 min", "opened": 1907, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BE", "name": "Belgium" } ], "highlight": "Three tunnels and five stone viaducts pack into the Bocq valley on one of Belgium’s most dramatically engineered branch lines.", "fame_rank": 188, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/chemin-de-fer-du-bocq/" }, { "id": "hoorn-medemblik-stoomtram", "name": "Museumstoomtram Hoorn–Medemblik", "from": "Hoorn", "to": "Medemblik", "category": "scenic", "train": "Preserved steam locomotives (SHM fleet) · vintage carriages", "operator": "Museumstoomtram Hoorn–Medemblik", "distance_km": 20, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 1 h 15 min", "opened": 1887, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NL", "name": "Netherlands" } ], "highlight": "A steam tram dating from 1887 still crosses North Holland’s polders and tulip fields between Hoorn and the old Zuiderzee port of Medemblik.", "fame_rank": 191, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/hoorn-medemblik-stoomtram/" }, { "id": "talyllyn-railway", "name": "Talyllyn Railway", "from": "Tywyn", "to": "Nant Gwernol", "category": "scenic", "train": "Preserved 0-4-0T / 0-4-2T steam locomotives (Talyllyn, Dolgoch, Edward Thomas)", "operator": "Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society", "distance_km": 11.7, "top_speed_kmh": 25, "duration": "≈ 1 h", "opened": 1866, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "The world’s first railway saved by volunteers, in 1951 — its Victorian steam engines still cross Dolgoch Viaduct into the Fathew valley.", "fame_rank": 203, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/talyllyn-railway/" }, { "id": "romney-hythe-dymchurch-railway", "name": "Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway", "from": "Hythe", "to": "Dungeness", "category": "scenic", "train": "4-6-2 one-third-scale steam locomotives", "operator": "Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway", "distance_km": 22, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "≈ 1 h", "opened": 1927, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Marketed as the world’s smallest public railway, its steam expresses still get local schoolchildren to class along Romney Marsh.", "fame_rank": 187, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/romney-hythe-dymchurch-railway/" }, { "id": "selketalbahn", "name": "Selketalbahn (Harz Narrow Gauge)", "from": "Gernrode", "to": "Hasselfelde", "category": "scenic", "train": "Class 99.7 Mallet steam locomotive · heritage coaches", "operator": "Harzer Schmalspurbahnen", "distance_km": 35, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "≈ 1 h 45 min", "opened": 1887, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Metre-gauge Mallet steam locomotives still double-head trains out of Alexisbad on this Harz valley line, opened for timber and ore in 1887.", "fame_rank": 176, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/selketalbahn/" }, { "id": "arlberg-railway", "name": "Arlberg Railway", "from": "Innsbruck", "to": "Bludenz", "category": "scenic", "train": "ÖBB Railjet", "operator": "ÖBB", "distance_km": 137, "top_speed_kmh": 140, "duration": "1 h 45 min", "opened": 1884, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" } ], "highlight": "Austria’s only east–west mountain mainline, vaulting the Trisanna gorge beside Wiesberg Castle before a 1,310 m summit in the 10.2 km Arlberg tunnel.", "fame_rank": 276, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/arlberg-railway/" }, { "id": "al-andalus", "name": "Al Ándalus", "from": "Seville", "to": "Madrid", "category": "night", "train": "Belle Époque sleeping cars (1928–1930)", "operator": "Renfe Trenes Turísticos de Lujo", "distance_km": 1300, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "7 days", "opened": 1985, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "A rolling Belle Époque palace whose 1929 sleeping cars once carried the British court from Calais to the Riviera — now easing from Seville to Madrid in seven days.", "fame_rank": 397, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/al-andalus/" }, { "id": "royal-scotsman", "name": "Belmond Royal Scotsman", "from": "Edinburgh", "to": "Edinburgh", "category": "night", "train": "Edwardian-style Pullman rake", "operator": "Belmond", "distance_km": 1000, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "5 days", "opened": 1985, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Just 40 guests aboard mahogany-panelled Pullmans that cross the Forth Bridge outbound and stable each night in Highland sidings.", "fame_rank": 31, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/royal-scotsman/" }, { "id": "tgv-paris-barcelona", "name": "TGV inOui", "from": "Paris", "to": "Barcelona", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TGV Euroduplex", "operator": "SNCF Voyageurs", "distance_km": 1073, "top_speed_kmh": 320, "duration": "6 h 39 min", "opened": 2013, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" }, { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Paris to Barcelona in 6 h 39 min, diving under the Pyrenees through the 8.3 km Perthus tunnel at the Spanish border.", "fame_rank": 546, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tgv-paris-barcelona/" }, { "id": "berlin-warszawa-express", "name": "Berlin-Warszawa-Express", "from": "Berlin", "to": "Warsaw", "category": "classic", "train": "EuroCity (EU44 Husarz)", "operator": "PKP Intercity & DB", "distance_km": 570, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "5 h 25 min", "opened": 2002, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" }, { "code": "PL", "name": "Poland" } ], "highlight": "Six EuroCitys a day across the North European Plain, with the cult WARS dining car serving pierogi between the Oder and the Vistula.", "fame_rank": 654, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/berlin-warszawa-express/" }, { "id": "brenner-railway", "name": "Brenner Railway", "from": "Innsbruck", "to": "Verona", "category": "classic", "train": "DB-ÖBB EuroCity Railjet", "operator": "ÖBB & DB", "distance_km": 275, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "3 h 30 min", "opened": 1867, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" }, { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "The first railway over the main Alpine crest (1867) still tops the open pass at 1,371 m — no summit tunnel, just a station straddling the border.", "fame_rank": 480, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/brenner-railway/" }, { "id": "cremallera-de-nuria", "name": "Cremallera de Núria", "from": "Ribes de Freser", "to": "Núria", "category": "scenic", "train": "Stadler GTW rack railcar", "operator": "FGC", "distance_km": 12.5, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "40 min", "opened": 1931, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "The only way to roadless Núria: Abt rack rails climbing 1,000 vertical metres through the Freser gorges to a sanctuary at 1,964 m.", "fame_rank": 102, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cremallera-de-nuria/" }, { "id": "lotschberger", "name": "Lötschberger", "from": "Bern", "to": "Brig", "category": "scenic", "train": "BLS RABe 535 Lötschberger", "operator": "BLS", "distance_km": 110, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "1 h 55 min", "opened": 1913, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "The 1913 mountain line the base tunnel made optional — Felsenburg spirals, a 14.6 km summit tunnel, then the Bietschtal bridge on a ledge above the Rhône.", "fame_rank": 283, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/lotschberger/" }, { "id": "icn-rome-palermo", "name": "Intercity Notte Rome–Palermo", "from": "Rome", "to": "Palermo", "category": "night", "train": "Intercity Notte sleeper", "operator": "Trenitalia", "distance_km": 920, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "12 h 30 min", "opened": 1899, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "Europe’s last train on a ship: the sleeper is split at Villa San Giovanni and floated across the Strait of Messina before breakfast.", "fame_rank": 328, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/icn-rome-palermo/" }, { "id": "frecciarossa-paris-milan", "name": "Frecciarossa Paris–Milan", "from": "Paris", "to": "Milan", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Frecciarossa 1000 (ETR 400)", "operator": "Trenitalia France", "distance_km": 900, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "6 h 50 min", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" }, { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "Italy’s 300 km/h flagship on French rails, threading the 13.7 km Fréjus tunnel of 1871 — back since April 2025 after a 19-month landslide closure.", "fame_rank": 549, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/frecciarossa-paris-milan/" }, { "id": "tauern-railway", "name": "Tauern Railway", "from": "Salzburg", "to": "Villach", "category": "scenic", "train": "ÖBB Railjet / EuroCity", "operator": "ÖBB", "distance_km": 183, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "2 h 40 min", "opened": 1909, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" } ], "highlight": "Franz Joseph’s 1909 crossing of the Hohe Tauern — stone viaducts up the Gastein spa valley to an 8.4 km tunnel at 1,226 m.", "fame_rank": 258, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tauern-railway/" }, { "id": "isle-of-man-steam-railway", "name": "Isle of Man Steam Railway", "from": "Douglas", "to": "Port Erin", "category": "scenic", "train": "Beyer Peacock 2-4-0T steam", "operator": "Isle of Man Transport", "distance_km": 25, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "1 h 0 min", "opened": 1874, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IM", "name": "Isle of Man" } ], "highlight": "Victorian Beyer Peacock tanks of 1874 still haul their original carriages down 25 km of 3 ft gauge to the island’s southern tip.", "fame_rank": 184, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/isle-of-man-steam-railway/" }, { "id": "alaska-coastal-classic", "name": "Coastal Classic", "from": "Anchorage", "to": "Seward", "category": "scenic", "train": "GoldStar dome & Adventure Class cars", "operator": "Alaska Railroad", "distance_km": 183, "top_speed_kmh": 95, "duration": "4 h 35 min", "opened": 1923, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Hugs the bore-tide flats of Turnagain Arm, then climbs past Spencer Glacier into country no road reaches.", "fame_rank": 257, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/alaska-coastal-classic/" }, { "id": "hiram-bingham", "name": "Belmond Hiram Bingham", "from": "Cusco (Poroy)", "to": "Machu Picchu", "category": "scenic", "train": "Belmond Pullman coaches", "operator": "Belmond / PeruRail", "distance_km": 96, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "3 h 20 min", "opened": 2003, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PE", "name": "Peru" } ], "highlight": "Belmond’s navy-and-gold Pullman to Machu Picchu, with brunch, a pisco bar and citadel entry folded into the fare since 2003.", "fame_rank": 53, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/hiram-bingham/" }, { "id": "train-de-charlevoix", "name": "Train de Charlevoix", "from": "Québec City", "to": "La Malbaie", "category": "scenic", "train": "DB 628 diesel railcars", "operator": "Réseau Charlevoix", "distance_km": 140, "top_speed_kmh": 70, "duration": "4 h 30 min", "opened": 1919, "pax_per_year": 40000, "countries": [ { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "Runs 140 km wedged between Laurentian cliffs and the St. Lawrence, at times just metres from the tide.", "fame_rank": 160, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/train-de-charlevoix/" }, { "id": "via-sudbury-white-river", "name": "Sudbury–White River", "from": "Sudbury", "to": "White River", "category": "classic", "train": "Budd RDC railcars", "operator": "VIA Rail", "distance_km": 484, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "9 h", "opened": 1885, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CA", "name": "Canada" } ], "highlight": "Canada’s last Budd RDC mainline train will flag-stop anywhere along 484 km of roadless Canadian Shield.", "fame_rank": 450, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/via-sudbury-white-river/" }, { "id": "winter-park-express", "name": "Winter Park Express", "from": "Denver", "to": "Winter Park", "category": "scenic", "train": "Superliner bi-level cars", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 90, "top_speed_kmh": 95, "duration": "2 h 11 min", "opened": 2017, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Amtrak’s revived ski train climbs more than 1,100 m through 28 tunnels and spills skiers out steps from Winter Park’s lifts.", "fame_rank": 370, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/winter-park-express/" }, { "id": "canyon-spirit", "name": "Canyon Spirit", "from": "Denver", "to": "Moab", "category": "scenic", "train": "SilverLeaf glass-dome coaches", "operator": "Canyon Spirit (Armstrong Collective)", "distance_km": 570, "top_speed_kmh": 96, "duration": "2 days", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Crosses the Continental Divide inside the 10 km Moffat Tunnel, then follows the Colorado River two dome-car days to Moab’s red rock.", "fame_rank": 346, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/canyon-spirit/" }, { "id": "strasburg-rail-road", "name": "Strasburg Rail Road", "from": "Strasburg", "to": "Paradise", "category": "scenic", "train": "Baldwin & CN steam, wooden coaches", "operator": "Strasburg Rail Road", "distance_km": 7, "top_speed_kmh": 24, "duration": "25 min", "opened": 1832, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Chartered in 1832, America’s oldest continuously operating railroad still steams through Lancaster County’s Amish farmland.", "fame_rank": 206, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/strasburg-rail-road/" }, { "id": "conway-scenic-mountaineer", "name": "Mountaineer", "from": "North Conway", "to": "Crawford Notch", "category": "scenic", "train": "EMD GP38 diesels, dome & open cars", "operator": "Conway Scenic Railroad", "distance_km": 38, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 1875, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Follows the 1875 Maine Central grade up Crawford Notch, creeping across the curved Frankenstein Trestle high above the Saco.", "fame_rank": 299, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/conway-scenic-mountaineer/" }, { "id": "royal-gorge-route", "name": "Royal Gorge Route", "from": "Cañon City", "to": "Parkdale", "category": "scenic", "train": "F40PH diesels, Vista Domes", "operator": "Royal Gorge Route Railroad", "distance_km": 19, "top_speed_kmh": 25, "duration": "1 h", "opened": 1879, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Threads the canyon won in the 1879 “Royal Gorge War”, the Arkansas River alongside and a suspension bridge 291 m overhead.", "fame_rank": 132, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/royal-gorge-route/" }, { "id": "st-kitts-scenic-railway", "name": "St. Kitts Scenic Railway", "from": "Basseterre", "to": "La Vallee", "category": "scenic", "train": "double-deck open-top railcars", "operator": "St. Kitts Scenic Railway", "distance_km": 29, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "2 h 15 min", "opened": 1926, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KN", "name": "St Kitts and Nevis" } ], "highlight": "The last railway of the West Indies loops the island on a 1912–26 sugar-cane line, ridden in double-deck open-top cars.", "fame_rank": 302, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/st-kitts-scenic-railway/" }, { "id": "maria-fumaca-tiradentes", "name": "Maria Fumaça de Tiradentes", "from": "São João del-Rei", "to": "Tiradentes", "category": "scenic", "train": "19th-century Baldwin steam, 762 mm gauge", "operator": "VLI", "distance_km": 12, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "35 min", "opened": 1881, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BR", "name": "Brazil" } ], "highlight": "Baldwin steam locomotives have worked this 76 cm-gauge line ever since Emperor Pedro II opened it in 1881.", "fame_rank": 201, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/maria-fumaca-tiradentes/" }, { "id": "trem-do-vinho", "name": "Trem do Vinho", "from": "Bento Gonçalves", "to": "Carlos Barbosa", "category": "scenic", "train": "1941 Maria Fumaça steam train", "operator": "Giordani Turismo", "distance_km": 23, "top_speed_kmh": 25, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 1919, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BR", "name": "Brazil" } ], "highlight": "A 1941 steam engine ambles 23 km through the Serra Gaúcha wine country to a soundtrack of tarantellas and popping corks.", "fame_rank": 186, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/trem-do-vinho/" }, { "id": "blue-mountains-line", "name": "Blue Mountains Line", "from": "Sydney", "to": "Lithgow", "category": "scenic", "train": "Mariyung (D set) double-deck EMU", "operator": "NSW TrainLink", "distance_km": 156, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "2 h 45 min", "opened": 1869, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "Climbs from near sea level to 1,017 m at Katoomba through a UNESCO-listed maze of sandstone cliffs and eucalypt canyons.", "fame_rank": 268, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/blue-mountains-line/" }, { "id": "savannahlander", "name": "Savannahlander", "from": "Cairns", "to": "Forsayth", "category": "scenic", "train": "1963 “Silver Bullet” 2000-class railmotors", "operator": "Cairns Kuranda Steam", "distance_km": 424, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "36 h", "opened": 1910, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "Sixty-year-old railmotors take two unhurried days to cover 424 km from coastal rainforest to the 1910 gold-rush railhead at Forsayth.", "fame_rank": 167, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/savannahlander/" }, { "id": "tilt-train-brisbane-rockhampton", "name": "Electric Tilt Train", "from": "Brisbane", "to": "Rockhampton", "category": "classic", "train": "Electric Tilt Train (City of Rockhampton)", "operator": "Queensland Rail Travel", "distance_km": 639, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "8 h 5 min", "opened": 1998, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "The world’s fastest narrow-gauge train — it set Australia’s rail speed record of 210 km/h in 1999 and still tilts through cane country at 160 km/h.", "fame_rank": 647, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tilt-train-brisbane-rockhampton/" }, { "id": "canberra-xplorer", "name": "Canberra Xplorer", "from": "Sydney", "to": "Canberra", "category": "classic", "train": "Xplorer DMU", "operator": "NSW TrainLink", "distance_km": 321, "top_speed_kmh": 145, "duration": "4 h 10 min", "opened": 1914, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "The only passenger train to Australia’s capital — three Xplorer railcars a day take the 1914 branch past the wind farms above Lake George.", "fame_rank": 470, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/canberra-xplorer/" }, { "id": "cockle-train", "name": "Cockle Train", "from": "Goolwa", "to": "Victor Harbor", "category": "scenic", "train": "Rx-class steam & Redhen railcars", "operator": "SteamRanger Heritage Railway", "distance_km": 16, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "30 min", "opened": 1854, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "Rides Australia’s oldest steel-railed public route, opened in 1854 with horse haulage to link Murray riverboats to the sea.", "fame_rank": 196, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cockle-train/" }, { "id": "te-huia", "name": "Te Huia", "from": "Hamilton", "to": "Auckland", "category": "classic", "train": "DF-class diesel + refurbished SR carriages", "operator": "KiwiRail / Waikato Regional Council", "distance_km": 138, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "2 h 35 min", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": 86000, "countries": [ { "code": "NZ", "name": "New Zealand" } ], "highlight": "Restored intercity rail between Waikato and Auckland in 2021 after a 20-year gap — and went seven-days-a-week in 2025.", "fame_rank": 237, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/te-huia/" }, { "id": "cape-town-southern-line", "name": "Southern Line", "from": "Cape Town", "to": "Simon’s Town", "category": "scenic", "train": "X’Trapolis Mega EMU", "operator": "Metrorail Western Cape (PRASA)", "distance_km": 36, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "1 h 20 min", "opened": 1890, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ZA", "name": "South Africa" } ], "highlight": "From Muizenberg the rails run on a False Bay sea wall so close to the surf that winter swells spray the carriage windows at Kalk Bay.", "fame_rank": 138, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cape-town-southern-line/" }, { "id": "nanyuki-safari-train", "name": "Nanyuki Safari Train", "from": "Nairobi", "to": "Nanyuki", "category": "scenic", "train": "Metre-gauge diesel with vintage coaches", "operator": "Kenya Railways", "distance_km": 177, "top_speed_kmh": 65, "duration": "7 h 30 min", "opened": 1930, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KE", "name": "Kenya" } ], "highlight": "Crosses the equator on its final approach to Nanyuki, where Mount Kenya’s 5,199 m massif fills the carriage windows.", "fame_rank": 168, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/nanyuki-safari-train/" }, { "id": "cfl-luanda-malanje", "name": "Luanda–Malanje Express", "from": "Luanda", "to": "Malanje", "category": "classic", "train": "CFL long-distance express", "operator": "Caminho de Ferro de Luanda (CFL)", "distance_km": 424, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "11 h", "opened": 1909, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AO", "name": "Angola" } ], "highlight": "Angola’s oldest railway, silenced for decades by civil war, reopened end-to-end in 2011 after a Chinese-led rebuild of all 424 km.", "fame_rank": 458, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/cfl-luanda-malanje/" }, { "id": "van-golu-ekspresi", "name": "Van Gölü Ekspresi", "from": "Ankara", "to": "Tatvan", "category": "night", "train": "TVS2000 sleeper & pullman cars", "operator": "TCDD Taşımacılık", "distance_km": 1267, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "25 h 50 min", "opened": 1964, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TR", "name": "Türkiye" } ], "highlight": "Ends 1,267 km from Ankara at a ferry slip on Lake Van, where wagons bound for Iran are floated across Turkey’s largest lake.", "fame_rank": 240, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/van-golu-ekspresi/" }, { "id": "jezreel-valley-railway", "name": "HaEmek (Jezreel Valley) Line", "from": "Haifa", "to": "Beit She’an", "category": "classic", "train": "Double-deck push–pull intercity", "operator": "Israel Railways", "distance_km": 60, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "50 min", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IL", "name": "Israel" } ], "highlight": "Rebuilt on the 1905 Ottoman Hejaz alignment, it ends at Beit She’an — about 120 m below sea level, among the world’s lowest stations.", "fame_rank": 736, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/jezreel-valley-railway/" }, { "id": "tehran-shiraz-night", "name": "Tehran–Shiraz Night Train", "from": "Tehran", "to": "Shiraz", "category": "night", "train": "Raja four-berth sleepers", "operator": "Raja Rail Transportation", "distance_km": 935, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "14 h 40 min", "opened": 2009, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IR", "name": "Iran" } ], "highlight": "Completed only in 2009, the overnight run leaves Tehran at dusk and descends at dawn past Marvdasht, the plain of Persepolis, into Shiraz.", "fame_rank": 415, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tehran-shiraz-night/" }, { "id": "north-borneo-railway", "name": "North Borneo Railway", "from": "Kota Kinabalu", "to": "Papar", "category": "scenic", "train": "Wood-fired 1954 Vulcan 2-6-2 steam locomotive, colonial-green carriages", "operator": "Sutera Harbour & Sabah State Railway", "distance_km": 35, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "1 h 45 min", "opened": 2000, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MY", "name": "Malaysia" } ], "highlight": "A 1954 Vulcan Foundry engine burning jungle firewood retraces the 1896 British North Borneo line — the only passenger railway corridor on Borneo.", "fame_rank": 231, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/north-borneo-railway/" }, { "id": "araku-vistadome", "name": "Araku Vistadome", "from": "Visakhapatnam", "to": "Araku Valley", "category": "scenic", "train": "Glass-roofed Vistadome coach on the Visakhapatnam–Kirandul train", "operator": "Indian Railways (East Coast Railway)", "distance_km": 115, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "4 h 10 min", "opened": 2017, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "India’s first Vistadome coach (2017) climbs the Eastern Ghats to Shimiliguda, long the country’s highest broad-gauge station at 996 m.", "fame_rank": 369, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/araku-vistadome/" }, { "id": "sethu-express", "name": "Sethu Express (Boat Mail)", "from": "Chennai", "to": "Rameswaram", "category": "night", "train": "ICF sleeper rake behind WAP-4 electric", "operator": "Indian Railways (Southern Railway)", "distance_km": 603, "top_speed_kmh": 110, "duration": "9 h 40 min", "opened": 1914, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "Heir to the 1914 Boat Mail that fed the Ceylon ferry, it now reaches Rameswaram island over India’s first vertical-lift sea bridge, opened 2025.", "fame_rank": 338, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sethu-express/" }, { "id": "seto-ohashi-marine-liner", "name": "Marine Liner", "from": "Okayama", "to": "Takamatsu", "category": "classic", "train": "JR 5000 series + 223-5000 series EMU with double-deck panorama car", "operator": "JR West & JR Shikoku", "distance_km": 72, "top_speed_kmh": 130, "duration": "55 min", "opened": 1988, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Every half hour it rides the lower deck of the 13.1 km Great Seto Bridge — the Seto Inland Sea’s only rail crossing, strung across five islands since 1988.", "fame_rank": 733, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/seto-ohashi-marine-liner/" }, { "id": "sanriku-rias-line", "name": "Sanriku Railway Rias Line", "from": "Sakari", "to": "Kuji", "category": "scenic", "train": "Sanriku 36-700 series railcars", "operator": "Sanriku Railway", "distance_km": 163, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "4 h 25 min", "opened": 1984, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Japan’s longest third-sector railway threads 163 km of tsunami-rebuilt coast; the final gap closed in 2019, eight years after the 2011 wave.", "fame_rank": 362, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sanriku-rias-line/" }, { "id": "tsugaru-stove-train", "name": "Tsugaru Stove Train", "from": "Tsugaru-Goshogawara", "to": "Tsugaru-Nakasato", "category": "scenic", "train": "1948 Ohafu 33 coaches with coal daruma stoves, DD350 diesel", "operator": "Tsugaru Railway", "distance_km": 21, "top_speed_kmh": 70, "duration": "45 min", "opened": 1930, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "Aboard Japan’s northernmost private railway, attendants grill squid on pot-belly coal stoves while blizzards bury the Tsugaru plain outside.", "fame_rank": 307, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tsugaru-stove-train/" }, { "id": "hue-danang-heritage-train", "name": "Hue–Da Nang Heritage Train", "from": "Hue", "to": "Da Nang", "category": "scenic", "train": "Restyled vintage coaches with saloon car (HD1–HD4)", "operator": "Vietnam Railways (DSVN)", "distance_km": 103, "top_speed_kmh": 80, "duration": "2 h 50 min", "opened": 2024, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "VN", "name": "Vietnam" } ], "highlight": "Launched in 2024 on the 1906 colonial mainline, it eases over the Hai Van Pass with clouds above and fishing fleets directly below the rails.", "fame_rank": 130, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/hue-danang-heritage-train/" }, { "id": "taksaka-jakarta-yogyakarta", "name": "Taksaka", "from": "Jakarta", "to": "Yogyakarta", "category": "classic", "train": "KAI New Generation stainless-steel executive & luxury coaches", "operator": "Kereta Api Indonesia", "distance_km": 512, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "6 h 5 min", "opened": 1999, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ID", "name": "Indonesia" } ], "highlight": "Java’s flagship day train links the capital and the sultan’s city in six hours, skirting volcanoes beyond Cirebon and Purwokerto.", "fame_rank": 347, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/taksaka-jakarta-yogyakarta/" }, { "id": "jiayang-steam-railway", "name": "Jiayang Steam Train", "from": "Shixi", "to": "Bagou", "category": "scenic", "train": "C2-class 762 mm steam locomotive, wooden open-window coaches", "operator": "Jiayang Group", "distance_km": 20, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "1 h 15 min", "opened": 1959, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "One of the world’s last everyday steam railways: C2 engines built for 1950s coal pits still haul villagers past rapeseed terraces for pocket change.", "fame_rank": 233, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/jiayang-steam-railway/" }, { "id": "jaffar-express", "name": "Jaffar Express", "from": "Quetta", "to": "Peshawar", "category": "classic", "train": "AC sleeper, business & economy coaches", "operator": "Pakistan Railways", "distance_km": 1632, "top_speed_kmh": 110, "duration": "35 h 10 min", "opened": 2003, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "PK", "name": "Pakistan" } ], "highlight": "Pakistan’s longest through service tops the Bolan Pass at Kolpur (1,790 m), then follows the Indus corridor 1,632 km to the gate of the Khyber.", "fame_rank": 88, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/jaffar-express/" }, { "id": "phnom-penh-battambang", "name": "Royal Railway Northern Line", "from": "Phnom Penh", "to": "Battambang", "category": "classic", "train": "Veteran ex-Thai Railways diesel railcar", "operator": "Royal Railway", "distance_km": 273, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "6 h 50 min", "opened": 1932, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "KH", "name": "Cambodia" } ], "highlight": "Cambodia’s 1932 French rice line, silenced by war and revived in 2018, ambles past Tonle Sap paddies to Battambang’s art-deco station.", "fame_rank": 129, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/phnom-penh-battambang/" }, { "id": "eurostar-london-brussels", "name": "Eurostar", "from": "London", "to": "Brussels", "category": "high-speed", "train": "e320 · Class 374", "operator": "Eurostar", "distance_km": 373, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "1 h 53 min", "opened": 1994, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" }, { "code": "FR", "name": "France" }, { "code": "BE", "name": "Belgium" } ], "highlight": "The original Channel Tunnel service to the EU capital — St Pancras to Bruxelles-Midi in under two hours, city centre to city centre.", "fame_rank": 128, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/eurostar-london-brussels/" }, { "id": "eurostar-london-amsterdam", "name": "Eurostar", "from": "London", "to": "Amsterdam", "category": "high-speed", "train": "e320 · Class 374", "operator": "Eurostar", "distance_km": 540, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "3 h 55 min", "opened": 2018, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" }, { "code": "FR", "name": "France" }, { "code": "BE", "name": "Belgium" }, { "code": "NL", "name": "Netherlands" } ], "highlight": "A single train from St Pancras to Amsterdam Centraal since 2018 — under the Channel, across Flanders and the Dutch polders in about four hours.", "fame_rank": 125, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/eurostar-london-amsterdam/" }, { "id": "tgv-paris-frankfurt", "name": "TGV / ICE", "from": "Paris", "to": "Frankfurt", "category": "high-speed", "train": "TGV Euroduplex · ICE 3", "operator": "SNCF · Deutsche Bahn", "distance_km": 573, "top_speed_kmh": 320, "duration": "3 h 49 min", "opened": 2007, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" }, { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "A Franco-German alliance since 2007: 320 km/h on the LGV Est to Lorraine, then the Saar and Rhine-Main into Frankfurt, TGV and ICE sharing the run.", "fame_rank": 573, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tgv-paris-frankfurt/" }, { "id": "alvia-madrid-cadiz", "name": "Alvia", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Cádiz", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Renfe S-130 gauge-changing Talgo", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 664, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "4 h 25 min", "opened": 1992, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "Off the 1992 Madrid–Seville high-speed spine, a gauge-changing Talgo carries on through sherry country to the Atlantic at Cádiz.", "fame_rank": 560, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/alvia-madrid-cadiz/" }, { "id": "amtrak-borealis", "name": "Borealis", "from": "Chicago", "to": "Saint Paul", "category": "classic", "train": "Amfleet coaches, Siemens 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"https://trainrouter.com/routes/kintetsu-aoniyoshi/" }, { "id": "nightjet-paris-berlin", "name": "Nightjet", "from": "Paris", "to": "Berlin", "category": "night", "train": "ÖBB Nightjet sleepers, couchettes & seats", "operator": "ÖBB · SNCF · DB", "distance_km": 1104, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "13 h 30 min", "opened": 2023, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" }, { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "Relaunched in December 2023 after nine years dark: leave the Gare de l’Est after dinner, cross the Rhine in the night, wake in Berlin.", "fame_rank": 81, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/nightjet-paris-berlin/" }, { "id": "snalltaget-stockholm-berlin", "name": "Snälltåget", "from": "Stockholm", "to": "Berlin", "category": "night", "train": "Refurbished couchette & sleeping cars", "operator": "Snälltåget", "distance_km": 1290, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "16 h 30 min", "opened": 2012, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "SE", "name": "Sweden" }, { "code": "DK", "name": "Denmark" }, { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "A private summer sleeper down through Sweden, over the Öresund bridge past Copenhagen and across Denmark to Berlin — outlasting the state night trains.", "fame_rank": 399, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/snalltaget-stockholm-berlin/" }, { "id": "transnamib-desert-express", "name": "Desert Express", "from": "Windhoek", "to": "Swakopmund", "category": "scenic", "train": "TransNamib lounge & sleeper cars, GE diesels", "operator": "TransNamib", "distance_km": 356, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "19 h", "opened": 1998, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NA", "name": "Namibia" } ], "highlight": "A slow luxury run from the highland capital down the escarpment to the Atlantic, with dune walks as the Namib shifts from gold to coastal fog.", "fame_rank": 350, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/transnamib-desert-express/" }, { "id": "wuppertal-schwebebahn", "name": "Wuppertal Schwebebahn", "from": "Oberbarmen", "to": "Vohwinkel", "category": "scenic", "train": "Generation 15 suspended electric units", "operator": "WSW mobil", "distance_km": 13, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "30 min", "opened": 1901, "pax_per_year": 25000000, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "The world’s oldest electric suspension railway, hanging from a steel frame above the Wupper river since 1901 — a monorail that never stopped commuting.", "fame_rank": 44, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/wuppertal-schwebebahn/" }, { "id": "diakofto-kalavryta", "name": "Odontotos Rack Railway", "from": "Diakofto", "to": "Kalavryta", "category": "scenic", "train": "Stadler metre-gauge rack railcars", "operator": "Hellenic Train", "distance_km": 22, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "1 h 5 min", "opened": 1896, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GR", "name": "Greece" } ], "highlight": "An 1896 rack line claws 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"operator": "FGC", "distance_km": 5, "top_speed_kmh": 25, "duration": "20 min", "opened": 1892, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "A rack railway climbing the serrated massif to the Benedictine monastery at 720 m — the pilgrims’ way to Catalonia’s black Madonna since 1892.", "fame_rank": 321, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/montserrat-rack-railway/" }, { "id": "sl-yamaguchi", "name": "SL Yamaguchi", "from": "Shin-Yamaguchi", "to": "Tsuwano", "category": "scenic", "train": "D51 steam with retro Series 35 4000 coaches", "operator": "JR West", "distance_km": 63, "top_speed_kmh": 65, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 1979, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "JP", "name": "Japan" } ], "highlight": "A pacific steam locomotive has hauled this special up the Yamaguchi line to the little castle town of Tsuwano, the “Kyoto of San-in”, since 1979.", "fame_rank": 114, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sl-yamaguchi/" }, { "id": "fairy-queen-delhi-alwar", "name": "Fairy Queen Express", "from": "Delhi", "to": "Alwar", "category": "scenic", "train": "1855 Fairy Queen steam locomotive, heritage saloon", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 143, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "5 h", "opened": 1997, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "Hauled by the 1855 Fairy Queen, the world’s oldest working steam locomotive, on a heritage run from Delhi out to the tiger country around Alwar.", "fame_rank": 58, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/fairy-queen-delhi-alwar/" }, { "id": "chemin-de-fer-de-la-mure", "name": "Chemin de fer de La Mure", "from": "La Mure", "to": "Monteynard", "category": "scenic", "train": "Restored electric heritage railcars", "operator": "Edeis", "distance_km": 15, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 1888, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "Reopened in 2021, this 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"distance_km": 120, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "30 min", "opened": 2008, "pax_per_year": 30000000, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "China’s first high-speed line, opened for the 2008 Olympics — 350 km/h across the North China Plain, capital to port city in half an hour.", "fame_rank": 208, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/beijing-tianjin-intercity/" }, { "id": "shanghai-chengdu-hsr", "name": "Shanghai–Chengdu HSR", "from": "Shanghai", "to": "Chengdu", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CR400 & CRH380 Fuxing", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 1920, "top_speed_kmh": 350, "duration": "11 h", "opened": 2014, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "The great east–west artery, threading Nanjing, Wuhan and the Three Gorges country to reach Sichuan’s capital from the coast in a single day.", "fame_rank": 540, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/shanghai-chengdu-hsr/" }, { "id": "hangzhou-huangshan-hsr", "name": "Hangzhou–Huangshan HSR", "from": "Hangzhou", "to": "Huangshan", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CRH380D", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 265, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 2018, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Dubbed China’s most beautiful high-speed line, it slips through tea hills and water towns from West Lake to the granite of Yellow Mountain.", "fame_rank": 617, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/hangzhou-huangshan-hsr/" }, { "id": "guiyang-chongqing-hsr", "name": "Guiyang–Chongqing HSR", "from": "Guiyang", "to": "Chongqing", "category": "high-speed", "train": "CRH380A", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 345, "top_speed_kmh": 250, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 2018, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Almost entirely bridge and tunnel, this 2018 line vaults the karst gorges of Guizhou to join two of the mountain south-west’s biggest cities.", "fame_rank": 606, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/guiyang-chongqing-hsr/" }, { "id": "lanzhou-chongqing-railway", "name": "Lanzhou–Chongqing Railway", "from": "Lanzhou", "to": "Chongqing", "category": "classic", "train": "CR200J Fuxing & sleeper coaches", "operator": "China Railway", "distance_km": 886, "top_speed_kmh": 160, "duration": "6 h 30 min", "opened": 2017, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CN", "name": "China" } ], "highlight": "Twenty years in the building through the folded Qinling ranges — hundreds of tunnels that finally gave Gansu a fast way down to the Yangtze.", "fame_rank": 638, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/lanzhou-chongqing-railway/" }, { "id": "sarajevo-banja-luka", "name": "Talgo Sarajevo–Banja Luka", "from": "Sarajevo", "to": "Banja Luka", "category": "classic", "train": "Talgo 8 tilting trainset", "operator": "ŽFBH · ŽRS", "distance_km": 235, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "5 h", "opened": 2007, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BA", "name": "Bosnia and Herzegovina" } ], "highlight": "A Spanish Talgo leans through the Bosna gorge between Bosnia’s two capitals, past Zenica’s steelworks and down the green Vrbas valley.", "fame_rank": 706, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/sarajevo-banja-luka/" }, { "id": "athens-kalambaka-meteora", "name": "Athens–Kalambaka", "from": "Athens", "to": "Kalambaka", "category": "scenic", "train": "Stadler & MAN intercity railcars", "operator": "Hellenic Train", "distance_km": 375, "top_speed_kmh": 120, "duration": "4 h 20 min", "opened": 1935, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GR", "name": "Greece" } ], "highlight": "The line to the monasteries in the sky — up from Athens across the Thessalian plain to Kalambaka, beneath the sandstone pillars of Meteora.", "fame_rank": 249, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/athens-kalambaka-meteora/" }, { "id": "shosholoza-johannesburg-capetown", "name": "Shosholoza Meyl Trans-Karoo", "from": "Johannesburg", "to": "Cape Town", "category": "classic", "train": "Class 6E electric & diesel with sleeper cars", "operator": "Shosholoza Meyl (PRASA)", "distance_km": 1530, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "27 h", "opened": 1892, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ZA", "name": "South Africa" } ], "highlight": "The classic Trans-Karoo run — a night and a day across the semi-desert heart of South Africa from the Highveld gold city down to Table Bay.", "fame_rank": 98, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/shosholoza-johannesburg-capetown/" }, { "id": "botswana-br-express", "name": "BR Express", "from": "Gaborone", "to": "Francistown", "category": "night", "train": "Botswana Railways sleeper & sitter coaches", "operator": "Botswana Railways", "distance_km": 500, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "9 h", "opened": 2016, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BW", "name": "Botswana" } ], "highlight": "Botswana’s overnight sleeper, reborn in 2016, trundles up the eastern rim of the Kalahari between Gaborone and the mining town of Francistown.", "fame_rank": 431, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/botswana-br-express/" }, { "id": "tanzania-central-dar-kigoma", "name": "Central Line", "from": "Dar es Salaam", "to": "Kigoma", "category": "classic", "train": "TRC metre-gauge coaches, diesel-hauled", "operator": "Tanzania Railways (TRC)", "distance_km": 1254, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "38 h", "opened": 1914, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TZ", "name": "Tanzania" } ], "highlight": "The German-built Central Line of 1914, a metre-gauge marathon from the Indian Ocean across the plateau to Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika.", "fame_rank": 437, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tanzania-central-dar-kigoma/" }, { "id": "baku-tbilisi-kars", "name": "Baku–Tbilisi–Kars", "from": "Baku", "to": "Kars", "category": "classic", "train": "Stadler sleeper cars", "operator": "ADY · Georgian Railway · TCDD", "distance_km": 826, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "18 h", "opened": 2017, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AZ", "name": "Azerbaijan" }, { "code": "GE", "name": "Georgia" }, { "code": "TR", "name": "Türkiye" } ], "highlight": "The Silk Road revived: opened in 2017, it closes the last gap from the Caspian across the Caucasus to Turkey — a rail bridge between Asia and Europe.", "fame_rank": 72, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/baku-tbilisi-kars/" }, { "id": "grand-trunk-express-delhi-chennai", "name": "Grand Trunk Express", "from": "Delhi", "to": "Chennai", "category": "classic", "train": "LHB sleeper & AC coaches, WAP-7 electric", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 2180, "top_speed_kmh": 110, "duration": "33 h", "opened": 1929, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "Running since 1929, the “GT” hauls down the spine of India through Bhopal and Nagpur to Chennai — 2,180 km in a day and a half.", "fame_rank": 139, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/grand-trunk-express-delhi-chennai/" }, { "id": "mandalay-lashio-gokteik", "name": "Mandalay–Lashio", "from": "Mandalay", "to": "Lashio", "category": "scenic", "train": "Myanmar Railways diesel with upper-class coaches", "operator": "Myanmar Railways", "distance_km": 280, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "12 h", "opened": 1900, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "MM", "name": "Myanmar" } ], "highlight": "The Shan hill line crawls up from Mandalay to inch across the Gokteik viaduct — a 1900 American-built steel trestle 100 m above the gorge.", "fame_rank": 66, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/mandalay-lashio-gokteik/" }, { "id": "gotthard-panorama-express", "name": "Gotthard Panorama Express", "from": "Lucerne", "to": "Lugano", "category": "scenic", "train": "SBB panorama coaches & lake paddle steamer", "operator": "SBB", "distance_km": 180, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "5 h 30 min", "opened": 1882, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "A paddle steamer up Lake Lucerne, then the 1882 Gotthard mountain line’s spiral tunnels and the Wassen church glimpsed three times on the climb south.", "fame_rank": 67, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/gotthard-panorama-express/" }, { "id": "ave-madrid-oviedo", "name": "AVE Madrid–Oviedo", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Oviedo", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Renfe S-106 Avril", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 480, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "3 h", "opened": 2023, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "The 2023 Variante de Pajares pierced the Cantabrian wall with a 25 km base tunnel, cutting Asturias’ link to Madrid to about three hours.", "fame_rank": 585, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ave-madrid-oviedo/" }, { "id": "alvia-madrid-badajoz", "name": "Alvia Madrid–Badajoz", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Badajoz", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Renfe S-730 dual-mode Talgo", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 440, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "4 h", "opened": 2022, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "High speed reached long-isolated Extremadura in 2022, sweeping past the Roman city of Mérida to the Portuguese border at Badajoz.", "fame_rank": 589, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/alvia-madrid-badajoz/" }, { "id": "tren-de-la-muerte-santa-cruz-quijarro", "name": "Tren de la Muerte", "from": "Santa Cruz", "to": "Puerto Quijarro", "category": "classic", "train": "Ferroviaria Oriental railcars & coaches", "operator": "Ferroviaria Oriental", "distance_km": 650, "top_speed_kmh": 60, "duration": "16 h", "opened": 1955, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BO", "name": "Bolivia" } ], "highlight": "Bolivia’s notorious “Death Train” rattles east from Santa Cruz through Jesuit mission country and the Chiquitano dry forest to the Brazilian frontier.", "fame_rank": 136, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/tren-de-la-muerte-santa-cruz-quijarro/" }, { "id": "bosphorus-express-istanbul-sofia", "name": "Bosfor Express", "from": "Istanbul", "to": "Sofia", "category": "night", "train": "TCDD & BDŽ sleeping cars", "operator": "TCDD · BDŽ", "distance_km": 585, "top_speed_kmh": 100, "duration": "12 h", "opened": 1888, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "TR", "name": "Türkiye" }, { "code": "BG", "name": "Bulgaria" } ], "highlight": "The overnight heir to the Orient Express, crossing the Thracian plain from Istanbul over the Bulgarian border to Sofia as the berths are made up.", "fame_rank": 140, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/bosphorus-express-istanbul-sofia/" }, { "id": "albula-railway", "name": "Albula Railway", "from": "Chur", "to": "St. Moritz", "category": "scenic", "train": "RhB Allegra & panorama cars", "operator": "Rhaetian Railway (RhB)", "distance_km": 62, "top_speed_kmh": 90, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 1903, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "The UNESCO Albula line spirals through helical tunnels and sweeps over the six-arch Landwasser Viaduct — a curved stone bridge running straight into a cliff — on its climb to St. Moritz.", "fame_rank": 29, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/albula-railway/" }, { "id": "montenvers-chamonix-mer-de-glace", "name": "Montenvers Railway", "from": "Chamonix", "to": "Montenvers", "category": "scenic", "train": "Rack railcars", "operator": "Compagnie du Mont-Blanc", "distance_km": 5, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "20 min", "opened": 1908, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "A rack railway since 1908, climbing from Chamonix to a balcony above the Mer de Glace — France’s largest glacier — beneath the Drus and the Grandes Jorasses.", "fame_rank": 64, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/montenvers-chamonix-mer-de-glace/" }, { "id": "mont-blanc-tramway", "name": "Mont-Blanc Tramway", "from": "Saint-Gervais", "to": "Nid d’Aigle", "category": "scenic", "train": "Rack railcars", "operator": "Compagnie du Mont-Blanc", "distance_km": 12, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "1 h 10 min", "opened": 1913, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "France’s highest railway grinds up to the Nid d’Aigle at 2,372 m on the flank of Mont Blanc — the start of the climbers’ route to the summit.", "fame_rank": 111, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/mont-blanc-tramway/" }, { "id": "schynige-platte-bahn", "name": "Schynige Platte Railway", "from": "Wilderswil", "to": "Schynige Platte", "category": "scenic", "train": "1914 electric rack railcars", "operator": "Jungfrau Railways", "distance_km": 7, "top_speed_kmh": 12, "duration": "52 min", "opened": 1893, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "Vintage 1914 cars grind up an Abt rack to a 2,000 m ridge with the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau lined up across the valley — and an alpine garden at the top.", "fame_rank": 96, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/schynige-platte-bahn/" }, { "id": "ferrovia-genova-casella", "name": "Genoa–Casella Railway", "from": "Genoa", "to": "Casella", "category": "scenic", "train": "Narrow-gauge electric railcars", "operator": "AMT Genova", "distance_km": 25, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "55 min", "opened": 1929, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "A metre-gauge mountain tram that climbs straight out of central Genoa over three Apennine valleys to the village of Casella, sea views at its back.", "fame_rank": 305, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ferrovia-genova-casella/" }, { "id": "nevada-northern-ely", "name": "Nevada Northern Railway", "from": "Ely", "to": "Ruth", "category": "scenic", "train": "1910 Baldwin & Alco steam, wooden coaches", "operator": "Nevada Northern Railway Museum", "distance_km": 22, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 1906, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "The best-preserved steam-era short line in America — the “Ghost Train of Old Ely” still runs its 1910 locomotives out of a National Historic Landmark copper-country yard.", "fame_rank": 108, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/nevada-northern-ely/" }, { "id": "estrada-de-ferro-campos-do-jordao", "name": "Campos do Jordão Railway", "from": "Pindamonhangaba", "to": "Campos do Jordão", "category": "scenic", "train": "Historic electric railcars", "operator": "EFCJ", "distance_km": 47, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "4 h", "opened": 1914, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "BR", "name": "Brazil" } ], "highlight": "Brazil’s highest railway climbs the Serra da Mantiqueira to the mountain resort of Campos do Jordão at 1,743 m, a metre-gauge line electrified since the 1920s.", "fame_rank": 296, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/estrada-de-ferro-campos-do-jordao/" }, { "id": "zig-zag-railway", "name": "Zig Zag Railway", "from": "Clarence", "to": "Bottom Points", "category": "scenic", "train": "1950s heritage diesel & steam", "operator": "Zig Zag Railway Co-op", "distance_km": 8, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "1 h 30 min", "opened": 1869, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AU", "name": "Australia" } ], "highlight": "A 19th-century engineering marvel in the Blue Mountains: trains reverse down a rock-cut Z of sandstone viaducts that once carried the main western line off the plateau.", "fame_rank": 104, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/zig-zag-railway/" }, { "id": "silver-star", "name": "Silver Star", "from": "New York", "to": "Miami", "category": "classic", "train": "Amtrak Viewliner & Amfleet, P42 diesel", "operator": "Amtrak", "distance_km": 2410, "top_speed_kmh": 201, "duration": "31 h", "opened": 1947, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "Amtrak’s daily New York–Miami run via the Carolinas and a loop through Tampa — the East Coast’s classic snowbird train down to the Florida sun.", "fame_rank": 632, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/silver-star/" }, { "id": "ave-madrid-murcia", "name": "AVE Madrid–Murcia", "from": "Madrid", "to": "Murcia", "category": "high-speed", "train": "Renfe S-112 & S-106", "operator": "Renfe", "distance_km": 480, "top_speed_kmh": 300, "duration": "2 h 55 min", "opened": 2022, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "ES", "name": "Spain" } ], "highlight": "High speed reached the Segura in December 2022, running Madrid to Murcia via Cuenca and Albacete on a new elevated approach into the palm-country capital.", "fame_rank": 584, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/ave-madrid-murcia/" }, { "id": "vivarais-mastrou", "name": "Le Mastrou (Vivarais)", "from": "Tournon-sur-Rhône", "to": "Lamastre", "category": "scenic", "train": "1903 Mallet steam, metre-gauge coaches", "operator": "Chemin de fer du Vivarais", "distance_km": 33, "top_speed_kmh": 30, "duration": "2 h", "opened": 1891, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "FR", "name": "France" } ], "highlight": "A metre-gauge steam survivor climbing the granite gorge of the Doux from the Rhône at Tournon to the chestnut country of Lamastre, hauled by 1903 Mallet engines.", "fame_rank": 179, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/vivarais-mastrou/" }, { "id": "chiemsee-bahn", "name": "Chiemsee-Bahn", "from": "Prien", "to": "Prien-Stock", "category": "scenic", "train": "1887 Krauss steam tram", "operator": "Chiemsee-Bahn", "distance_km": 2, "top_speed_kmh": 20, "duration": "10 min", "opened": 1887, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" } ], "highlight": "The world’s oldest steam tram still in service, an 1887 green Krauss engine that shuttles down to the Chiemsee jetty for the boat to Ludwig II’s island palace.", "fame_rank": 97, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/chiemsee-bahn/" }, { "id": "monte-generoso", "name": "Monte Generoso Railway", "from": "Capolago", "to": "Monte Generoso", "category": "scenic", "train": "Stadler rack railcars", "operator": "Ferrovia Monte Generoso", "distance_km": 9, "top_speed_kmh": 14, "duration": "40 min", "opened": 1890, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "CH", "name": "Switzerland" } ], "highlight": "A rack line from the shore of Lake Lugano to a 1,704 m summit whose Mario Botta “Fiore di pietra” lookout takes in the Alps from Monte Rosa to the Apennines.", "fame_rank": 112, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/monte-generoso/" }, { "id": "great-central-railway", "name": "Great Central Railway", "from": "Loughborough", "to": "Leicester North", "category": "scenic", "train": "Preserved express steam & Mk1 coaches", "operator": "Great Central Railway", "distance_km": 13, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "50 min", "opened": 1899, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "Britain’s only double-track heritage main line, where two steam expresses can pass at speed just as they did on the last main line built towards the Continent.", "fame_rank": 110, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/great-central-railway/" }, { "id": "keighley-worth-valley", "name": "Keighley & Worth Valley Railway", "from": "Keighley", "to": "Oxenhope", "category": "scenic", "train": "Victorian steam & vintage coaches", "operator": "K&WVR", "distance_km": 8, "top_speed_kmh": 40, "duration": "25 min", "opened": 1867, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "GB", "name": "United Kingdom" } ], "highlight": "The branch that starred in the 1970 film “The Railway Children”, steaming up the Brontë moors past Haworth to the mill village of Oxenhope.", "fame_rank": 95, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/keighley-worth-valley/" }, { "id": "kingston-flyer", "name": "Kingston Flyer", "from": "Kingston", "to": "Fairlight", "category": "scenic", "train": "1920s Ab-class steam, wooden carriages", "operator": "Kingston Flyer", "distance_km": 14, "top_speed_kmh": 50, "duration": "45 min", "opened": 1878, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "NZ", "name": "New Zealand" } ], "highlight": "A vintage steam service on the old Southland line by Lake Wakatipu, its 1920s Ab Pacific and wooden cars a survivor of New Zealand’s golden age of rail.", "fame_rank": 118, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/kingston-flyer/" }, { "id": "himsagar-express", "name": "Himsagar Express", "from": "Jammu", "to": "Kanyakumari", "category": "classic", "train": "ICF sleeper & AC coaches", "operator": "Indian Railways", "distance_km": 3785, "top_speed_kmh": 110, "duration": "68 h", "opened": 1990, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "IN", "name": "India" } ], "highlight": "From the Himalayan foothills at Jammu to the 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"operator": "ÖBB", "distance_km": 1180, "top_speed_kmh": 200, "duration": "14 h", "opened": 2021, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "AT", "name": "Austria" }, { "code": "IT", "name": "Italy" } ], "highlight": "Board in Vienna after dinner, cross the Carinthian Alps and the Venetian plain by night, and wake rolling into Rome — a sleeper between two imperial capitals.", "fame_rank": 402, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/nightjet-vienna-rome/" }, { "id": "alaska-aurora-winter-train", "name": "Aurora Winter Train", "from": "Anchorage", "to": "Fairbanks", "category": "scenic", "train": "Alaska Railroad coaches, dome & diesel", "operator": "Alaska Railroad", "distance_km": 573, "top_speed_kmh": 95, "duration": "12 h", "opened": 1923, "pax_per_year": null, "countries": [ { "code": "US", "name": "United States" } ], "highlight": "The winter run north across a frozen Alaska — flag-stopping for bush residents between Anchorage and Fairbanks, the northern lights often overhead.", "fame_rank": 113, "url": "https://trainrouter.com/routes/alaska-aurora-winter-train/" } ]