Some of My Memorable Train Rides

A new beginning…..Welcome 2021!!

December 2020, Christmas time but not the real spirit. No gatherings, very few Christmas markets, and hardly any shopping. Yes, it was lockdown time again due to COVID-19. We were almost confined to our homes most of the time having good food and watching Christmas movies to keep up the spirit. We were organizing our pictures and videos on an old hard drive. Old memories became the trigger for this blog. We as a family are fond of traveling. Over the years I have visited some interesting places and experienced some interesting train rides. Sharing a few here.

Pike’s Peak Cog Rail, US

We lived near ‘Garden of the Gods‘ in Colorado Springs for over a year. A week before shifting to California, we decided to visit Manitou Springs, a beautiful town near Colorado Springs, and took this 9-miles long interesting ride to Pike’s Peak. Cog rail where the toothed wheel concept is used to travel up the gradient on mountains offers an exciting ride that can be both scary and exhilarating at the same time. I was only a toddler when I made this 3-hours long cog rail trip to the summit of Pike’s peak. At 14, 115 ft, this is the highest cog rail in the world.

My mother reminds me of how like always I sat quietly throughout the journey looking out of the train window. I kept spotting the spruce and pine trees. I was in awe of the old mountains that stood so high before me. On the way up some passengers spotted marmots but I saw some local mule deer and sheep. When we reached the top, the view was spectacular. I remember my mum was so excited at the summit from where one can see four states. She kept showing me the city of Denver and took lots of pictures. As one rides up through the creeks and canyons, one is mesmerized by the scenery, the wildlife, and the stories and history that your guide engages you in. No wonder Pike’s peak became the inspiration for the song, ‘America the Beautiful’.

Toy Train Darjeeling, India

This is one of the cutest train- rides I have ever had. We enjoyed the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway or the Toy train (A UNESCO World Heritage Site) on our way back from the famous Nathula Pass at the India-China border in Sikkim, a beautiful eastern Indian state. We had booked the tickets for this 2- feet gauge railway Joyride from Darjeeling to Ghum (the highest railway station in India at 7,407 ft) beforehand. The tooting of the steam engine starts at Darjeeling station and this 2-hour, 14 km journey to Ghum and back to Darjeeling is one of the best things to do in Darjeeling. The train ride gives one a fairy tale feeling. We chuckled at how slow this train was that locals could get up and down any time. We felt as if we were passing between the houses and the shops. On the way is the aesthetic Ghum monastery and as you reach the destination, you can enjoy the railway museum at the station.

My best memory is of the Batasia loop on our way back. This spiral railway is an architectural marvel made to counter the 140-ft train fall. The train halts here for 10 minutes. We enjoyed the beautiful garden and fresh air with a spectacular view of the Kanchenjunga mountains.

Shinkansen (bullet train), Japan

In complete contrast to the old- world steam engine of Darjeeling is the bullet train or Shinkansen of Japan. Just as the Toy train ride preserves the beautiful past, the bullet train opens the door to immense future possibilities.

The high-speed railways of Japan that connect Tokyo to other regions of Japan have been operational at a maximum speed of 320km/hr for more than 50 years without a single passenger fatality. We took the Shinkansen on the Tokaido line from Tokyo for our Hakone trip to sulfur mountains and it was a lifetime experience for me. I would trade this bullet train ride for a plane ride any day. Bullet trains are known for their safety, reliability, and punctuality. The average delay of the train is just a few seconds!! Isn’t that impressive?

These trains, which are light, air-sealed, electric multiple-unit vehicles are one of the most advanced in the world, use the standard gauge, slab tracks, Automatic Train Control (ATC), Urgent Earthquake Detection and Alarm System (UrEDAS) like features, and excessive human interaction to make them what they are famous for. Each train spends around 12 minutes at the Tokyo station- 2min (passengers disembark), 7 min (cleaning time), 3 min (next train to get on). The dedication and discipline of the Japanese people are reflected in the operation of Shinkansen. My father especially showed me the pointing- and- calling technique of the station staff where the possibility of errors is reduced by associating one’s task with physical movements. I learned a lesson for life that day.

The Intercity Express (ICE), Germany

These high-speed trains connect not just important cities of Germany but also the neighboring countries like Belgium, Denmark, France, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. At the speed of 320km/hr, the trains are comparable to the bullet trains of Japan both in terms of speed and comfort. Because of ICE, our trips to Brussels and Amsterdam from our home in Germany became weekend getaways. That is the best thing I like about this train journey. I had never before crossed borders of countries taking a nap on a train. A packet of chips that I bought at Dusseldorf HBF, I finished off with the best Belgian waffle. On some other weekend during our Christmas vacation, I had breakfast at home, then enjoyed the boat ride and museums of Amsterdam and could still manage to have my after-dinner warm milk at home 😊.

I am still not done writing about all my interesting rides but will talk about more in another blog. I also have a wish-list of train rides which include the steepest cog rail to Mt. Pilatus, Switzerland, The Palace on Wheels, India, and the environment-friendly hydrogen-powered trains of Germany. Is there any other interesting train journey that you would want us to know about? Would love to know experiences through comments on this blog.