T R A V E L S
T R A V E L S
ROMANCE OF THE RAILS
In Shanghai recently, I discovered the true meaning of speed. And no, it wasn't the rate at which xiao long bao disappeared from my plate or money was coaxed from my Expo-fueled wallet. It happened when I came face to face with an old love: Trains.
Anyone slipping into Shanghai Pudong Airport these days will undoubtedly experience the sleek Maglev trains that lead to the city. At a cruising speed of 450 km an hour, the landscape outside becomes almost an Impressionistic blur. Now that is speed.
While to some train travel may seem a quaint anachronism, for others it is still very much a part of daily life, especially in Europe and Asia. Japan has had its bullet trains for decades, and the rails criss-crossing continental Europe have long been a backpacker staple. Even car-crazy southern California is thinking about getting into the high-speed train game now.
Train travel in fact is far from dead. It may even be on the cutting edge of the future.
The pluses of trains
Ours is an age where long-distance journeys usually conjure images of lengthy airport queues, intense security checks and cramped economy seating. We sometimes forget that it wasn't always this way.
Nor is it the only way. London to Paris on the Eurostar takes a little over two hours, barely the waiting and processing time you can expect before boarding the same flight. The train trip also produces about one-tenth of the carbon emissions of air travel, leaving a significantly smaller carbon footprint.
Trains are often less expensive too, and stop at all those tiny, out of the way places not served even by secondary airports. And rail stations, unlike airports, are usually right downtown in major cities - often with an elegance that is straight from another age. Just look at Kuala Lumpur's or New York's central stations.
For some, it's the comfort of rail travel that's the draw. Luxury trains like the Orient Express or India's Palace on Wheels are literally that - Luxury. But even on regular runs you can read a book, walk around and gawk at scenery through panoramic windows or philosophise with strangers in the bar car. Some people claim they never sleep better than on a train - perhaps it's that gentle rocking motion.
This article article is currently available online in TODAY.
by Mark Malby
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Train travel isn’t just for yesteryear - photographs Mark Malby
Maybe it’s the motion, or maybe the landscapes unfolding before your eyes. Somehow with a train journey you feel you’re really travelling.