Trains

My husband, Jerry Vetowich, and I took a custom tour to Alaska, July 19-Aug. 1, 2021. As our travel agent, we chose ITN advertiser Varini de Silva of Ceylon Express International (Huntington Beach, CA; 800/423-9566, www.ceylonexpress.com). She had previously arranged trips for us in Sri Lanka and China and was great at following up, when necessary.

On Dec. 2, 2021, a train connection between Kunming, China, and Vientiane, Laos, was completed. With that, it now is possible to travel from Lagos, on the southern tip of Portugal, to Singapore entirely by train (allowing for short treks between train stations in some cities).

When the shortest route is calculated, which still measures at least 11,654 miles, the trip includes 13 countries and requires multiple connections and travel visas. It is estimated that, with some required overnights while switching trains, the journey would take a minimum of 21 days.

In southwest England’s Devon County, the Dartmoor Line (dartmoorline.com), the first line to be reinstated in the country’s “Restoring your Railway” initiative, reopened on Nov. 20, 2021, after having ceased regular passenger service back in 1972.

8-day, 7-night “light” fitness-level trip. Departures July-Sept. 2022. Group limit, 25. Highlights: In Vancouver, Stanley Park, board domed train, passing Pyramid Creek Falls and Mount Robson en route to Kamloops, Jasper Nat’l Park, home to moose, caribou/hike across Athabasca Glacier/hike past lakes in Banff Nat’l Park/Yoho Nat’l Park Visitor Centre interactive exhibits. From $10,995 ppdo. Single supp., $3,400. National Geographic Expeditions (Washington, DC; 888/966-8687, www.nationalgeographic.com/expeditions).

In an onsen (hot spring) resort area two hours north of Tokyo, Japan, visitors can book a ride on the steam locomotive SL Taiju.

SL Taiju travels from Shimo-Imaichi station (accessible by train via Tokyo’s Asakusa station) 35 minutes to the Kinugawa-Onsen station, with a stop at Tobu World Square, a theme park featuring scale models of worldwide attractions. During the journey, attendants dressed in traditional Japanese clothing hand out tourist info and travel advice.

The “Foliage Train,” known locally as the Centovalli (100 Valleys), runs 52 kilometers between Domodossola, Italy, and Locarno, Switzerland. It operates from mid-October to mid-November each year, when the trees begin to shed their leaves. Each car features full-length windows.

On April 2, a passenger train carrying nearly 500 people from Taipei to Taitung, Taiwan, collided with a maintenance truck that had rolled down an embankment and onto the tracks, causing it to derail. Forty-nine people were killed and more than 200, wounded. The train was capable of traveling at about 90 miles per hour, but it was not reported how fast the train was traveling at the time of the accident.

Near the city of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, visitors can take a guided bicycle tour along an old train route, the Kettle Valley Railway, in Myra Canyon, crossing 18 hundred-year-old trestles and passing through two tunnels. The largest trestle is 721 feet long and 180 feet high. The trail, 15 miles round trip, has no climbs and can be biked comfortably, with rest stops, in about four hours.

A passenger train traveling in southern Egypt collided with the back end of another passenger train on March 26, killing at least 32 people and injuring more than 100. Authorities said that someone on the forward train had initiated the emergency brake without cause, but, at press time, it was not known who had done it. Investigators were trying to determine whether the act was a deliberate attempt to cause an accident.