Trains

While crossing Denmark's Great Belt Bridge during a storm on Jan. 2, a commuter train traveling from the city of Odense to Copenhagen was struck by debris from a freight train, which reportedly ripped the side off of one car and caused it to brake suddenly, killing eight passengers and injuring 14 others.

More than 100 passengers were left stranded for hours as emergency services struggled to reach their location in the storm. The bridge, which carries both rail and auto traffic and connects the islands of Funen and Zealand, was completely closed during the recovery efforts.

The king of Morocco inaugurated Africa's first high-speed train system, the Al Baraq, on Nov. 17. The trains connect Casablanca to Tangier, with stops in Rabat and Kenitra. Traveling at speeds of over 320 kilometers per hour (199 mph), each train can make a one-way trip in two hours, 10 minutes. (Previously, it took four hours, 45 minutes.) A one-way ticket costs MAD132 (near $14), second class, or MAD195, first class.

At least 58 people were killed and more than 200 were injured when a train struck a crowd in Amritsar, Punjab, India, on Oct. 19. The crowd had gathered on the raised tracks in order to watch, from a higher vantage point, a firecracker-filled effigy burn during the Hindu festival of Dussehra. According to witnesses, the train whistle could not be heard over the festivities.

At press time, investigations into the incident were ongoing. Police said that they had given permission to hold the event as long as the organizers notified the railways, which it appears was not done.

A commuter train carrying 366 passengers derailed in Yilan County, northeastern Taiwan, on Oct. 21, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 180, making it the country's worst rail incident in 27 years. The train was traveling between Taipei and Taitung.

Investigations were ongoing at press time, but excessive speed is suspected to have been the cause.

A passenger train derailed outside of Rabat, Morocco, on Oct. 16, killing seven people and injuring at least 125. Investigators determined that it was traveling at excessive speed when the derailing occurred, though it is not known whether the speed was due to operator or mechanical error. The driver was arrested and charged with involuntary homicide.

I expected that the transfer from Cˇeský Krumlov, Czechia, to Innsbruck, Austria, on July 31, 2018, would be a challenge for my sister and me. A search online provided several options, including buses and trains. Our choice was to take a RegioJet bus from Cˇeský Krumlov to Cˇeské Budeˇjovice, a FlixBus to Linz, Austria (the FlixBus tickets purchased online from home), and then a train to Innsbruck.

The Coastal Pacific, a train connecting Picton to Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island, is scheduled to resume service in December 2018 after being shut down for track repairs following the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. The roughly 7-hour journey follows the island's east coast and makes stops in Rangiora, Kaikoura and Blenheim.

A Flexi Pass, which allows hop-on, hop-off privileges at all stops on the day of validity, costs NZD159 (near $107), one way. For info, visit www.greatjourneysofnz.co.nz/coastal-pacific.

My wife, Marina, and I took a 2-week vacation to Tuscany in April 2018 and did the whole trip without a car. We wanted to avoid Italian roads and drivers and parking hassles in medieval towns, so we decided to "go green" with public transportation, using Italy's excellent train and bus system supplemented by the occasional taxi.

We started to prepare a year in advance, planning to use airline rewards for our round-trip flights to Rome. We wanted to stay in monasteries or convents for a more authentically Italian experience.

Opened in 1903 and named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, the Albula section of Switzerland's Rhaetian Railway includes 39 tunnels and 55 bridges and stretches between the towns of St. Moritz and Thusis. It's located inside Parc Ela, the country's largest nature reserve.

However, the portion of the track stretching between Preda and Bergün is where visitors will find the Albula Adventure Railway Trail, a scenic route for a 2½-hour hike. For more info, contact Switzerland Tourism (New York, NY; 800/794-7795, www.myswitzerland.com).