Trains

The Odontotos rack railway, connecting the seaside town of Diakopto to the mountain village of Kalavryta in Greece’s northern Peloponnese, is a rare example of a rack-and-pinion railway, whose engines complete steep climbs by using a gear and a track with teeth. It also operates with one of the smallest gauges in the world, only 75cm (about 2½ feet).

On the 22-kilometer route, with a maximum gradient of 17.5%, the train climbs 750 meters in a little more than an hour, going through tunnels and passing scenic mountains and waterfalls.

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My wife, Elisa, exclaimed in utter disbelief, “We’re going where in December?” “Above the Arctic Circle,” I replied.

In Pakistan, at least 74 people were killed on Oct. 31 when a fire broke out on a passenger train traveling from Karachi, in the south, to Rawalpindi, in the far north. An additional 40 people were injured. Officials reported that at least some passengers were killed when they jumped from the burning carriages while the train was still in motion.

When flying into Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a visitor can buy a KL TravelPass that provides not only a rail transfer from the airport into the city but two days of unlimited rides on the LRT, MRT and KL Monorail lines within the city.