In South Africa on Jan. 3, a train carrying about 900 passengers struck a truck stopped on the tracks near Johannesburg, causing the front carriages to catch on fire and killing at least 19 people, with at least 268 others injured. The driver of the truck was arrested.
On Jan. 9, also near Johannesburg, a passenger train struck the back end of another train, injuring more than 800 people. That incident was still being investigated as of press time.
A funicular running between the towns of Schwyz and (car-free) Stoos, the latter overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, began operation on Dec. 17. The gradient of the 1,720-meter-long track tops out at 47.7 degrees, making it the world’s steepest funicular. The train’s four barrel-shaped, 34-passenger cabins each sit on a pivot, allowing them to remain horizontal for the entire trip.
Italy bubbles with emotion, corruption, traffic jams, strikes, religious holidays and crowds. Irate ranters shake their fists at each other one minute and walk arm-in-arm the next. It's bella chaos, and if you're up-to-date on your sightseeing and transit info, you'll love it. Here's the latest, gleaned from research done for the 2018 edition of my Italy guidebook, to help you enjoy Europe's richest, craziest culture.
13-day, 12-night rail tour aboard private Rovos Rail train (chartered by Lernidee Trains & Cruises), Aug. 22-Sept. 3, 2018. Highlights: In Zambezi National Park, ZIMBABWE, river cruise, Victoria Falls, board train/Hwange and Matobo national parks/in Bulawayo, natural-history and railroad museums/medieval city of Great Zimbabwe/in Maputo, MOZAMBIQUE, Casa do Ferro, Tunduru Botanical Gardens/Piggs Peak, SWAZILAND/in SOUTH AFRICA, Kapama Game Reserve, Kruger National Park, Pretoria. Elephant-class, $5,995 ppdo or single, $8,995.
During a stay at my favorite B&B, Agriturismo Ca’ Beatrice (www.agriturismoca beatrice.it), located in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy and where I paid €90 (near $107) per night, I took a side trip to Bolzano.
On April 29, 2017, I headed from Venice to Bolzano, with a train change in Verona. For the first leg, the train I’d been assigned by Rail Europe (White Plains, NY; 800/622-8600, www.raileurope.com) was the handsome, high-speed Frecciarossa No. 9728; I was in Business Class.
11-day, 10-night rail trip with first-class Swiss Travel Pass, June 11-21 & Sept. 15-25. Group, 15-25. Highlights: Transfer from Zürich to Pontresina/Bernina Express to Poschiavo/Glacier Express to Matterhorn in Zermatt/10th-century Chillon Water Castle/Lavaux wine region for a day/Golden Pass train to Interlaken/International Museum of Watches/in Bern, Emmentaler Show Dairy/cogwheel train to Rigi Kulm/in Lucerne, Old Town and folklore show. $3,845 ppdo. Single supp., $599. Magic Switzerland (Kansas City, MO; 800/337-9477, www.magicswitzerland.com).
In western Pakistan, two bombs exploded on the Jaffer Express train as it traveled between the cities of Quetta and Rawalpindi, a suburb of the capital, Islamabad, on Oct. 7. Four people were killed and 17, injured. After an explosion occurred in one car, the train stopped to let people off, at which point the second explosion occurred.
On Oct. 27, six people on a passenger train traveling from Quetta to Lahore were injured when a bomb was detonated on the tracks.
No group claimed responsibility for either bombing.
Austria’s Federal Railways, or ÖBB (www.oebb.at/en), now picks up passengers at Vienna International Airport (VIE). Trains from VIE depart twice hourly to Salzburg, once an hour to Innsbruck and once every two hours to St. Anton and Bregenz. Tickets can be purchased on location or in advance online.
Some trips take a long time to get off the ground. The trip my husband, Paul, and I took to western Canada in May 2017 was one of those.
A passenger train struck another passenger train head-on in Alexandria, Egypt, on Aug. 11, killing at least 41 people and injuring more than 120. One train was traveling from Port Said, the other from Cairo. At the time of the accident, one of the trains had stopped due to a malfunction. The cause of the accident was still being investigated as of press time but had been described as “human error.”