"The best train journeys in the world have an intangible allure about them. Since the dawn of time, the romance of railways has seduced poets, spellbound novelists, and dealt directors the perfect hand for capturing fleeting friendships, illicit affairs, and all manner of crimes and capers. A ticket is not just a permit to ride, it's permission to trespass on the intimacies of other people's lives."
"Türkiye's Doğu Express, once a migration train carrying agricultural workers and the military, is now wildly popular with young Turks who traverse the 800-mile route in winter, decorating the compartments with fairy lights and spreading out picnic blankets covered with baklava, börek, and cold cuts. From the glass-dome cars of the Rocky Mountaineer, passengers watch as Canada's teal-green lakes shimmer like mirrors, snow-capped peaks looming overhead."
Train journeys pair intimate onboard social life with continuously changing external landscapes, creating a romantic travel form that inspires artists and filmmakers. Passengers share meals, debate politics, sleep in couchettes, and observe strangers' private moments while scenery shifts from rivers to deserts to mountains. Climate change and a desire for slower, lower-carbon travel have spurred renewed interest in sleeper and heritage trains. Services gain iconic status for scenery, history, or cultural resonance. Türkiye's Doğu Express sees young travelers decorate the compartments with fairy lights and spread picnic blankets with baklava, börek, and cold cuts. Rocky Mountaineer's glass-dome cars frame Canada's lakes and peaks; luxury services like the Eastern & Oriental Express traverse Southeast Asian rainforests.
Read at Conde Nast Traveler
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