The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
20 holidays to transport you back to the golden age of rail
With new routes, tours and destinations for 2024, there has never been a better time for a trip on the tracks, says Tristan Rutherford
In the 1960s, Dr Beeching cancelled services on many of Britain’s prettiest rural lines. A decade ago, Europe’s night train operators followed suit. Misguided? Hindsight says completely. But as dozens of brandnew trains and tours in 2024 prove, a new golden age of rail adventure is – finally – about to arrive.
The headline news is Europe’s latest sleepers. In 2014, passengers protested when the Paris-Berlin night train was axed. In December 2023 the service was reinstated. Sleeping car passengers can order a bottle of Stiegl-Goldbräu beer to their cabin and choose bircher muesli and calf ’s liver paté for breakfast. A daytime high-speed link between Paris and Berlin should also begin this year.
Moreover, these trains are fancier than ever before. Austrian Railways operates NightJet and its partner EuroNight on around 30 long-distance routes. Their latest “comfort plus” compartments feature ensuite showers and 6ft 4in fixed beds, while the
You can order a bottle of StieglGoldbräu beer to your cabin and choose bircher muesli for breakfast
new mini cabins are Japanese-style, single-person sleeping pods. This slick accommodation debuted on the Hamburg-Vienna service in December 2023. Europe is back on track.
In terms of sleepers and high-speed trains, the UK remains somewhat in the slow lane. But that is no bad thing. Vintage steamers, not British Rail diesels, showcase the best of Britain by hauling a bevy of new tours in 2024, from Bath to the Scottish Highlands.
Further afield, there are unrivalled new tours. From February, the reinstated Belmond Eastern & Oriental Express is returning, and it will shuttle from Singapore through Malaysia’s rainforest – leopard-spotting territory – in unfathomable luxury. Then, in October, a 25-day South America tour reconnects an ancient rail link from Buenos Aires to Machu Picchu along historic tracks. Both are journeys of a lifetime.
Just one thing to bear in mind: these new trains and tours will book up fast – so pack a sense of adventure, and reserve your seat in advance.