Train Journeys in Asia
Asia's greatest rail journeys, from the Trans-Siberian and Japan's bullet trains to the toy trains of the Indian Himalaya.
Asia is laced with some of the world’s most memorable rail journeys, from tiny colonial-era mountain lines that inch up into the Himalaya to sleek bullet trains that whisper across Japan at three hundred kilometres an hour. Travelling by train here is not merely a way to get around, it is one of the great pleasures of a trip and a window onto daily life.
The romance of the rails runs deep across the continent. India’s vast network, a subcontinent in miniature, remains one of the world’s most characterful ways to travel, while heritage hill railways, tea-country lines and long-distance sleepers thread landscapes you would never otherwise see. Meanwhile Japan and China have built the fastest, most punctual high-speed networks on the planet.
For the classic long-distance journeys, book well ahead, especially for sleeper berths and the celebrated scenic runs, which sell out weeks in advance in peak season. Pack snacks and patience, strike up conversation with your carriage companions, and let the passing scenery and the rhythm of the tracks become one of the highlights of your journey.
Asia's Great Rail Journeys#
Kandy to Ella, Sri Lanka Widely rated one of the most beautiful train rides in the world, this hill-country line trundles through a sea of emerald tea plantations, waterfalls and misty mountains. Ride with the doors open, feet dangling, as the train crosses the famous Nine Arch Bridge on its slow, spectacular climb.
Kalka to Shimla Toy Train, India A UNESCO-listed narrow-gauge marvel that zigzags up into the Himalayan foothills through more than a hundred tunnels and over countless bridges. The little blue train’s five-hour crawl to the former British summer capital is a nostalgic journey back into the age of the Raj.
Nilgiri Mountain Railway, India A steam-hauled rack railway in the south that grinds up impossibly steep gradients into the Nilgiri Hills towards Ooty. This UNESCO-listed line inches through tea gardens, forest and hairpin curves on one of the most charming and leisurely mountain journeys in the country.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, India Another of India’s beloved UNESCO toy trains, this one puffs up to the tea-growing hill town of Darjeeling with views of the world’s third-highest peak. The line loops and switchbacks so tightly it sometimes shares the road with traffic, past monasteries and colonial-era stations.
Tokaido and Tohoku Shinkansen, Japan The world’s original bullet trains glide across Japan with legendary speed and punctuality, offering fleeting glimpses of Mount Fuji from the window. Whisper-quiet, immaculately clean and effortlessly efficient, the shinkansen is a marvel and a joy that makes exploring the country a pleasure.
Qinghai-Tibet Railway, China The highest railway on Earth carries you across the Tibetan plateau to Lhasa, cresting a pass above 5,000 metres where carriages are fed extra oxygen. The journey delivers vast, empty grasslands, herds of wild antelope and snow-capped peaks in one of the great engineering feats of modern times.
Reunification Express, Vietnam The storied line running the length of the country links Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City over more than 1,700 kilometres of coast, paddy and mountain. The stretch over the Hai Van Pass, where the track clings to cliffs above the sea near Da Nang, is among the most scenic rail rides in Asia.
Death Railway, Thailand A poignant and beautiful line built at terrible human cost during the Second World War near Kanchanaburi. Today the surviving section rattles across the wooden Wampo Viaduct clinging to a cliff above the river and over the infamous bridge, through lush jungle and past sombre war cemeteries.
Konkan Railway, India A modern engineering triumph hugging India’s lush western coast between Mumbai and Goa, crossing nearly two thousand bridges and dozens of tunnels. Especially glorious in the monsoon, it threads waterfalls, river estuaries and coconut groves in some of the greenest scenery in the country.
Yangon Circular Railway, Myanmar A slow, three-hour loop around the former capital that offers an intimate, unvarnished window into everyday Burmese life. Traders, commuters and baskets of produce fill the rattling carriages as the train circles through markets, paddy fields and suburbs at a gentle walking pace.
KTM Jungle Railway, Malaysia The East Coast Line cuts through the mountainous, jungle-clad interior of peninsular Malaysia far from the coastal highways. It rolls past dense rainforest, limestone hills, rubber plantations and remote villages on one of Southeast Asia’s most scenic and least-known rail routes.
KTX and SRT High-Speed Lines, South Korea Korea’s sleek bullet trains connect Seoul with Busan and Gyeongju in a matter of hours, whisking you past rice paddies and mountains at high speed. Fast, comfortable and superbly efficient, they make it easy to combine the buzz of the capital with the historic south in a single trip.
Trans-Mongolian Route, Mongolia The great southern branch of the Trans-Siberian threads from China across the vast steppe and Gobi towards Russia, passing through Ulaanbaatar. Endless grasslands, camel herds, gers on the horizon and star-filled desert nights make it one of the world’s ultimate long-distance rail adventures.