The romance of the railways
is an extravaganza of neon, particularly after dark.
Bullet trains tend to be a bit sterile, so for a better, up close and personal cross-section of Japanese society, take the Yamanote loop line which runs around Tokyo.
Final destination?
The UK’s finest station is rightly a source of pride. Its train shed (technical term for the huge curved roof) was the largest in the world when it was built in 1868, and its resurgence, partly thanks to poet John Betjeman and Eurostar (along with £800million), is spectacular.
Tragically, passengers are herded into the crypt downstairs and when time comes to board they barely notice the station’s glorious cantilevered roof and Byzantine brickwork arches.
So arrive early and check out the Champagne bar, the traditional railway cafe cum cocktail brasserie the Booking Office and sculptor Paul Day’s bronze couple, canoodling under the station clock.
Final destination?
It has to be Paris, although Eurostar’s arrival station, Gare du Nord, in a gritty part of the city, has a fraction of the romance of St Pancras. Once known simply as the Victoria Terminus, below, Mumbai’s Unesco-registered Gothic revival looks like a kind of imperial governmental headquarters from the outside, although its grandeur is completely external: inside it’s a blizzard of humanity, some of it on wheels. There’s a whole ecosystem in a multi-layered subculture existing at this station, and systems of operation – “up” trains and “down” trains – that require much to comprehend.
Take the Konkan Railway south to the beach resorts of Goa. The route runs through impenetrable mountain ranges, and 76 workers were killed while making the tunnels and laying the track. Malaysia doesn’t prioritise train travel so its showpiece station in Kuala Lumpur, built by the railway-loving British in 1910, when Malaya was a British colony, is a shadow its former self.
From a distance, this Moorishstyle building doesn’t look much like a station at all, its roofline dotted with elevated pavilions that echo palace architecture in India. These days, it is mainly used by commuter trains.
Final destination?
The international express that links Singapore with Bangkok passes through every evening, but for a Malaysian adventure set off for the Thai border via the east coast line, aka the jungle railway.
This vast, monumental station was built by Benito Mussolini and its heavy stonework was intended to convey the power and flair of the fascist regime. Its facade looks like a palace or a city hall, and its entrance hallways are giant exhibition spaces showcasing the art deco detailing on the walls.
It opened in 1931, a particular show of magnificence in an attempt to boost morale at a time when Italy was just emerging from a prolonged economic crisis.
From here trains head west into France and
Final destination?
south to Rome but the most eye-catching route is east to Venice, galloping across the fruitful plains of the Veneto, through Shakespearean cities such as Verona and Padua, and finally crossing the lagoon on a causeway into Venice itself.