Why travel by train?
There are plenty of reasons to choose rail travel over air travel. They range from wanting to make the travel element part of the holiday or anxiety about flying to a desire to reduce your carbon footprint.
Or perhaps, as Sally Barlow, Rail Product and Sales Manager at Fred. Holidays suggests, travellers are being inspired by television programmes featuring rail journeys, which she suspects have contributed to the increase in interest.
Whatever the reasons, train travel for leisure is becoming ever more popular: the most recent survey published by the UK’s Department of Transport found that 54% of respondents were taking the train to travel for leisure.
Luxury on rails
Due to demand, luxury train travel is being taken to new heights and new locations, with Railbookers reporting a 43% increase in luxury worldwide rail travel in 2024. In the UK, the Britannic Explorer, A Belmond Train, launched in July 2025, is the first luxury overnight train in England and Wales, while in the southern hemisphere, train travel is also about to receive a significant upgrade.
The Aurora and Australis Suites on the Indian Pacific and The Ghan trains in Australia are due to launch in April 2026 and will be the most luxurious options on rails, costing around A$35,000
(£17,100) for a three-day trip.
But the high price point doesn’t put people off says David Pointer, Product Manager – Australasia at Inspiring Travel: “For those who have the budget, The Ghan and Indian Pacific generally sells very well for us, with some dates next year already full.”
Rachel M. Hardy, Vice President, Sales and Marketing of The Society of International Railway Travelers has experienced a similar increase in demand for more luxurious experiences.
“There is a trend towards more spacious suites, like Imperial Suites on the Golden Eagle in Central Asia, Grand Suites on the Royal Scotsman and Venice Simplon-Orient-Express in Western Europe, and Presidential Suites on the Eastern and Oriental Express in Singapore and Malaysia. These are
typically a third or half the size of a train car and command high prices.”
Sleep tight over night
A slew of newly-launched and reinstated sleeper trains, connecting capitals in Europe, offer a slow travel alternative and a more immersive way of travelling.
Gen Z are often credited with keeping the trains rolling by posting scenic trips on social media, not only embracing climate-friendly travel, but also the chance to relax while travelling more authentically and connecting with locals along the journey. They are also thought to be behind the boost to interrailing, with some 5.9 million trains travelled on in 2024.
We can offer a one-stop-shop for booking interailling passes, along with many other tickets and passes that provide access to Europe’s extensive cross-country rail network.
Meanwhile the over-60s have the disposable cash and time for farflung train adventures, says Hardy: “Rovos Rail in Southern and East Africa is popular for clients of all ages, but especially for those in their mid-sixties and up. The sense of adventure and the longer itineraries appeal to those who are retired or close to retirement. The most popular one we sell is the 17-day Cape Town to Dar es Salaam journey.”
Whatever the generation, budget or time allowance, there is a train trip somewhere that will inspire people to reignite their love for the journey, not just the destination. As a slower, more environmentally-friendly alternative, it’s a win-win, really.
Top trips
In the American Southwest, Canyon Spirit, the rebranded name for the Rocky Mountaineer, winds through desert canyons and mountain ranges. It will begin operating a Salt Lake City, Utah, to Denver, Colorado (or vice versa) route in April 2026.
Scheduled for December 2026 is a service from Czech railway company Leo Express, which has submitted an application to run a train connection from Ostend, Belgium, to Slovakia through Germany and the Czech Republic. Watch this space.
To catch the northern lights, book onto the Norrland Night Train operated by Vy, which allows travellers to sleep in comfort on the way up north, setting off from Stockholm.
For a classic Canadian train trip that takes in the boreal forests and lakes of Ontario, the expansive prairies and the awe-inspiring Canadian Rockies before arriving in Vancouver.
The Alaska Railroad connects many of Alaska’s most popular destinations: Anchorage, Seward, Talkeetna, Fairbanks, and of course Denali National Park, home to the tallest peak in North America. Its tracks span 500 miles, travelling along dramatic coastlines, pristine river valleys, expansive alpine forests and traversing the Chugach Mountains and Alaska Range.
We have seen an increase in demand for both the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express, with equal enthusiasm from younger and older travellers. The operator has added trips on the GoldenPass Line and Gotthard Panorama Express, a no-fly holiday, taking in Lake Lucerne and Lugano.
Book it today!!!
It is late July in Paris, and I find myself at the Gare de Lyon. Each time a platform is announced, a surge of families drag their luggage toward the gates, touching the entry points with their electronic ticket, boarding minutes later and settling down in comfortable seats.
With them come the family pets – cats in carriers, dogs on arms, budgies and hamsters in cages – plus picnics in hampers, with fresh baguettes sticking out, and chilled bottles of rosé waiting to be uncorked.
This time, on my way to Montpellier, I sit next to a black cat, who is clearly used to rail travel. Even after having lived in France for several years, it still amazes me every time just how naturally the French have embraced railway travel instead of flying, even before France decided to ban internal flights if rail travel was a viable alternative.
The French transport system is extensive, smooth fast and cheap, but it is also a matter of “attitude”. Rather than spending hours getting to an airport, followed by queuing to get onto the flight, then, upon arrival doing it all again in reverse, the journey itself is already part of the holiday. At least, if you bring wine and a baguette.