Most Scenic Train Journeys in the World

The train journeys that belong on any shortlist. Each one has become iconic for a reason - the scenery is relentless, the engineering is improbable, and the experience stays with you longer than most flights.

Europe’s rail network is dense enough that the train is often the practical choice anyway. These routes happen to also be the scenic choice. The Swiss system is the gold standard - punctual, clean, and routed through landscapes that seem designed to sell postcards. But Norway, Scotland, and the Alpine passes of Austria and Italy all compete for the window seat.

Glacier Express

Zermatt to St. Moritz in 8 hours, through 91 tunnels and over 291 bridges. The route crosses the Oberalp Pass at 2,033 metres - the highest point on the Swiss rail network - and the views of the Rhine Gorge and Landwasser valley are worth the premium over a standard Swiss rail ticket. Panoramic cars have floor-to-ceiling windows. Winter scenery - frozen waterfalls, snow-covered peaks, frosted forests - is arguably better than summer.

Location: Switzerland    Route: Zermatt - St. Moritz    Duration: 8 hours

Bernina Express

Chur to Tirano (Italy) via 55 tunnels and 196 bridges across the Engadin Valley and over the Bernina Pass. The Landwasser Viaduct is the iconic shot - a six-arched curve disappearing into a cliff tunnel. UNESCO World Heritage route. Four hours from Alpine glaciers to Italian palm trees.

Location: Switzerland to Italy    Route: Chur - Tirano    Duration: 4 hours

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

The modern iteration of the legendary route. Art Deco carriages, white-glove service, multi-course dinners, and a hefty price tag. London to Venice in 24 hours, or special departures to Istanbul and beyond. The experience is the transport - the destination is secondary. Essentially a luxury hotel that moves.

Location: London to Venice    Route: London - Paris - Alps - Venice    Duration: 24 hours

Jacobite Steam Train

Fort William to Mallaig across the Glenfinnan Viaduct that Harry Potter made famous. The viaduct is the highlight, but the entire route through the western Highlands and along the coast is beautiful. Steam locomotive, vintage carriages. Book well in advance - it sells out months ahead.

Location: Scotland    Route: Fort William - Mallaig    Duration: 2 hours

Flåm Railway

One of the steepest standard-gauge railways in the world, descending 866 metres over 20 kilometres through mountain tunnels and past waterfalls. The train stops at Kjosfossen waterfall for photos. A 1-hour journey that packs in an improbable amount of scenery. Often combined with the Norway in a Nutshell tour.

Location: Norway    Route: Myrdal - Flåm    Duration: 1 hour

Rauma Line

Six hours from Dombås to Åndalsnes through the Romsdal Valley in western Norway. The Trollveggen (Troll Wall) - Europe’s tallest vertical rock face - looms outside the window. Less famous than the Flåm Railway, arguably more dramatic, and a regular scheduled service rather than a tourist train.

Location: Norway    Route: Dombås - Åndalsnes    Duration: 6 hours

The great long-distance train journeys are as much about the experience of sustained travel as they are about scenery. Days on a train change your relationship with time and distance. The landscape evolves slowly, meals become events, and conversations with fellow passengers fill the hours between stations.

Trans-Siberian Railway

Moscow to Vladivostok, 9,289 kilometres, six to seven days nonstop. The Trans-Mongolian branch (Moscow - Ulaanbaatar - Beijing) is the more popular traveller route. The scenery varies from birch forest to steppe to the shores of Lake Baikal. The social experience - sharing tea and food in the platzkart (third-class open carriage) - is as memorable as the views. Break the journey at Irkutsk for Baikal, Ulaanbaatar for the Mongolian steppe, or both.

Location: Russia (or via Mongolia to China)    Distance: 9,289 km    Duration: 6 - 7 days

Rocky Mountaineer

Vancouver to Banff or Jasper, through the Coast Mountains, the Fraser Canyon, and the Canadian Rockies. A daylight-only train (you sleep in hotels at whistle stops), so you don’t miss any scenery. Glass-dome coaches, meals served on board, and mountain passes that justify the substantial ticket price.

Location: British Columbia to Alberta, Canada    Route: Vancouver - Banff    Duration: 2 days

The Ghan

Adelaide to Darwin, 2,979 kilometres straight through the Australian Red Centre. The landscape shifts from temperate south to tropical north, passing through Alice Springs and Katherine Gorge. Off-train excursions break up 54 hours of travel with outback walks and Aboriginal cultural experiences. Named after the Afghan cameleers who once worked the route.

Location: Australia    Route: Adelaide - Alice Springs - Darwin    Duration: 54 hours

Indian Pacific

Sydney to Perth, 4,352 kilometres across the width of Australia. Includes the longest straight stretch of railway in the world - 478 kilometres across the Nullarbor Plain without a single curve. The emptiness is hypnotic. Three nights on board, with stops at Broken Hill, Adelaide, and Cook (population: 4).

Location: Australia    Route: Sydney - Perth    Duration: 65 hours

Asian rail journeys range from ultra-modern bullet trains to colonial-era hill railways that climb through tea plantations at walking pace. Japan’s shinkansen network is the fastest and most punctual rail system on earth. India’s railways are slower, more chaotic, and often more memorable. Sri Lanka’s hill country line is one of the most scenic short journeys anywhere.

Kandy to Ella

The most famous stretch of Sri Lanka’s hill country railway. The train winds through tea plantations, across the Nine Arch Bridge (an engineering marvel in brick), and past waterfalls and misty valleys. Six to seven hours in second or third class with the windows open and the breeze coming in. The slow pace is the point.

Location: Sri Lanka    Route: Kandy - Ella    Duration: 6 - 7 hours

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The “Toy Train” - a narrow-gauge steam railway that climbs from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling at 2,200 metres. UNESCO World Heritage since 1999. The train uses zigzag reverses and loops to gain altitude, passing through tea estates and hill villages with Kanchenjunga as a backdrop on clear days.

Location: India    Route: New Jalpaiguri - Darjeeling    Duration: 7 - 8 hours

Shinkansen (Bullet Train)

Tokyo to Kyoto in 2 hours 15 minutes on the Tokaido Shinkansen, with Mount Fuji visible from the right side of the train on clear days (sit in seats D or E). Not a scenic journey in the traditional sense, but the combination of speed, punctuality, and the Fuji reveal makes it an experience in itself. The Japan Rail Pass makes the entire network accessible.

Location: Japan    Route: Tokyo - Kyoto    Duration: 2 hr 15 min

Reunification Express

Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, 1,726 kilometres along the coast of Vietnam. The full journey takes about 30 hours, but most travellers break it into segments - Hanoi to Huế, Huế to Da Nang (the Hải Vân Pass section is the scenic highlight), Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City. Sleeper berths, instant noodles, and a changing landscape from rice paddies to mountains to coast.

Location: Vietnam    Route: Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City    Duration: 30+ hours

Mountain railways were built by engineers who refused to accept that some places were inaccessible by rail. The results are routes that cling to cliff faces, spiral through tunnels, and cross bridges that look like they shouldn’t work. Most of these lines were feats of 19th-century ambition; all of them remain feats of scenery.

Jungfraujoch

The highest railway station in Europe at 3,454 metres, reached by a cog railway that tunnels through the Eiger. The views from the “Top of Europe” observation platform - the Aletsch Glacier stretching south, the Bernese Alps in every direction - are worth the steep ticket price and the tourist crowds.

Location: Switzerland    Route: Kleine Scheidegg - Jungfraujoch    Duration: 50 min

Tren a las Nubes

The “Train to the Clouds” climbs from Salta in northwest Argentina to 4,220 metres on the Polvorilla Viaduct, crossing the Andes through a landscape of salt flats, cacti, and multicoloured rock formations. The engineering uses zigzags and spirals to gain altitude without steep grades. Seasonal service, about 15 hours round trip.

Location: Argentina    Route: Salta - Polvorilla Viaduct    Elevation: 4,220 m

Gornergrat Railway

A 33-minute cog railway from Zermatt to 3,089 metres, with the Matterhorn growing larger in the window at every switchback. The summit platform has a 360-degree panorama of 29 peaks above 4,000 metres and the Gorner Glacier below. Runs year-round; winter views are clearer.

Location: Switzerland    Route: Zermatt - Gornergrat    Duration: 33 min

West Highland Line

Glasgow to Mallaig via Fort William - the full route that includes the Glenfinnan Viaduct (Jacobite territory) plus Rannoch Moor, Loch Lomond, and the dramatic approach to the west coast. A regular ScotRail service, not a tourist train, which keeps the price reasonable and the atmosphere local.

Location: Scotland    Route: Glasgow - Fort William - Mallaig    Duration: 5.5 hours