image source, Getty Images
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- Author, Lynn Brown
- Author title, BBC Travel
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Reading time: 7 mins
On September 27, 1825, journalists and onlookers from all over England flocked to the town of Darlington (about 260 miles north of London) to witness an innovation that would revolutionize transportation.
That day, hundreds of passengers crowded into one of the 20 carriages as the steam train reached speeds of 40 kilometers per hour and headed to the nearby town of Stockton. This short, historic journey marked the first public passenger train and the beginning of the modern railway.
Two hundred years later, trains travel around the world, from classic slow rides to futuristic high-speed trains. Although air travel became popular in the 1950s and 1960s, trains still inspire nostalgia and awe for many travelers and remain one of the most environmentally friendly forms of transportation.
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of this mode of transport, we present some of the world’s most beautiful and iconic railway routes to inspire your next trip.
1. The British train in Spain
This remnant of the Victorian era known as “Mr.
The line is named after British railway financier Alexander Henderson, who in 1892 financed the project to connect the British-controlled Rock of Gibraltar with the rest of Spain.
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Previous attempts to connect the port of Algeciras to the heart of Andalusia by rail had failed, in part because the forests and hills the train now traverses were infested with bandits.
Today the convoy crosses remote hills and stops at some of the region’s natural wonders, such as the 100-meter-high Buitreras Canyon.
2. The train in India that passes through 58 tunnels
The Visakhapatnam-Kirandul special passenger train takes visitors on a winding four-hour journey through India’s lush Eastern Ghats.
Featuring 58 tunnels, each enlivened by loud applause from passengers, the route passes through misty mountains and oak forests before ending in the town of Araku, where visitors can immerse themselves in the region’s emerging coffee industry.
image source, Getty Images
3. The newest tourist train in Central Europe
The newly opened Baltic Express lets you explore some of Central Europe’s most vibrant cities.
This hop-on hop-off route begins in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic and travels through pine and oak forests to the coastal town of Gdynia in Poland overlooking the Baltic Sea.
The eight-hour trip offers travelers the chance to visit some of the region’s lesser-known gems, like Pardubice, with its pastel-colored houses and quintessentially Czech bell towers, or Poznań, the Polish cultural capital, whose historic square looks like something out of a Disney movie.
image source, Takaaki Iwabu/Bloomberg via Getty Images
4. An iconic journey through Japan at full speed
The Japanese Shinkansen, better known as the “bullet train,” will turn 60 in 2024. With speeds of up to 321 kilometers per hour, it was the world’s first high-speed line and is known for both its punctuality and its speed.
The train had a huge impact on travel in Japan and six decades later, there are now nine different Shinkansen routes carrying passengers across the country.
The latest line is the Tokaido Shinkansen, known as the “New Golden Route,” and runs from Tokyo to the city of Tsuruga, about 456 kilometers southwest of the Japanese capital.
image source, Getty Images
5. Discover Mexico’s favorite drink on rails
Tequila tourism is booming in Mexico and the newly launched Tequila Express train offers visitors a unique way to learn more about one of the country’s most popular exports while admiring the endless rows of spiky blue-green succulents that make up Jalisco’s agave fields.
The two-hour journey begins in the city of Guadalajara and ends in the town of Tequila, where legend says the drink was invented.
image source, Getty Images
6. A nostalgic train ride through Portugal
The Vouga Historic Train offers a scenic ride along the rolling slopes of Portugal’s Vouga Valley aboard a 1964 Basque Railways diesel locomotive, the country’s only surviving narrow-gauge railway.
The colorful wooden carriages, painted in bright red, hunter green and royal blue, with mint green interiors and dark-painted wooden seats, also feature outdoor platforms that allow passengers to catch their breath during the six-hour journey.
The train, which only runs in summer, stops at several locations, including Macinhata do Vouga, where passengers are greeted by a ten-piece folk band dressed in regional costume.
Another stop is in Águeda, a colorful city known for its artwork, installations and urban displays.
image source, Ralph Hardwick/Sutton Images via Getty Images
7. Britain’s only electric mountain railway
A trip on the Snaefell Railway is an experience, as the convoy that crosses the mountains of the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea is the only electric mountain railway in the British Isles.
The train, along with the Manx Electric Railway, was instrumental in attracting tourism to the island when it opened in 1893.
Today, both lines retain many of their original Victorian-era features, such as: B. the interior made of wood, glazed lobbies and mirror panels.
8. Scotland’s most remote railway adventure
The rugged and remote beauty of the Scottish Highlands can be admired in all its glory via the Far North railway line, which connects the towns of Inverness and Thurso.
The four-hour tour covers 270 kilometers through The Flow Country: the largest intact peat system (wetland) in the world and the only UNESCO World Heritage Site.
image source, SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
9. Discover the beauty of the Gulf of Mexico
Two decades after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area, Amtrak resumed service on the Gulf Coast Line on August 18, 2025.
The train, now called the Mardi Gras Service, winds through coastal wetlands, stunning beaches and colorful seaside towns, connecting several of the most historic cities in the southern United States, including Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans, Louisiana.
image source, Getty Images
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