[train journey] chance encounters, danger and intrigue

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A long rail journey can be likened to a fabulously drawn out meal for two - the aperitif, the amuse-bouche, the entrée, plat principal, the fromage, dessert, the café and the digestif, a little dancing, a moonlit walk by the river, followed by a long languid night.

The rail journey may even signify freedom, liberty. It was Ernest Bevin who said:

"My policy is to be able to take a ticket at Victoria station and go anywhere I damn well please!"













Couldn't agree more. At Victoria, looking at the big board, with some cash in the pocket and thinking: "I might just go there for the hell of it." It gives one a sense of freedom.

The long distance journey should be taken by rail.

The air flight is one frenetic rush, the car is nerve-racking, the bus is abysmal and bumpy but the train, curving its way through the countryside, whooshing then rattling, sitting back in the seat and gazing from the window with absolutely nothing you must do except meet that elegant lady sitting two seats across from you.










But better is planning the journey, looking at the brochure, viewing the itinerary, arriving at the busy station with its wrought iron roof frame and finding the platform, being met by the attendant, stowing the baggage and then finding the restaurant car for the aperitif.


A Swiss itinerary might fit the bill:

Zermatt - The last section of the journey takes you through wild and romantic larch woods, through avalanche protection structures and tunnels, to the world renowned car-free town of Zermatt. Just before you arrive in the station, the majestic Matterhorn, 4,478m above sea-level, looms up before your eyes.

The Visp - Zermatt section of the line was opened in 1891 after two and a half years of construction. The foresight of the railway engineers of the time is amazing, they realised that the valley communities who had lived off the land for centuries would have to look to tourism to sustain them in the long term.

And so it was - the new rail connection brought a new lease of life and prosperity to the people of Zermatt. Today, the tourist infrastructure of Zermatt leaves nothing to be desired.








Perhaps you prefer danger and intrigue:

At 8:45, the Orient Express arrives at Belgrade. Poirot gets out to stretch his legs, but, because of the bitter cold, quickly returns to the train. The conductor informs Poirot his luggage has been moved to compartment number one, M. Bouc's carriage.

M. Bouc moved to the Athens coach to allow Poirot a spot in first class. Compartment N1 is directly next to Mr. Ratchett and two doors down from Mrs. Hubbard.

While returning to his compartment, Poirot is cornered by Mrs. Hubbard. She tells Poirot that she is "dead scared" of Ratchett and tells Poirot she heard Ratchett trying the communicating door between their apartments the night before.








Abe Lincoln was once moved to write about a rail journey:

A lonesome train on a lonesome track --
Seven coaches painted black --
A slow train, a quiet train
Carrying Lincoln home again;
Washington, Baltimore,
Pittsburgh, Philadelphia,
Coming into New York town,
You could hear that whistle for miles around
Crying, Freedom! Freedom!!

Even with modern trains, there is something old-worldly about some stations and some services. John Betjeman was moved enough to write Pershore Station, or A Liverish Journey First Class:

"The train at Pershore station was waiting that Sunday night
Gas light on the platform, in my carriage electric light,
Gas light on frosty evergreens, electric on Empire wood,
The Victorian world and the present in a moment's neighbourhood."

Can you picture yourself on the Orient Express?

Imagine it is the mid-1930s, and you are in Istanbul. You dine at the Pera Palas Hotel, the hotel established by the Wagons-Lits Company in 1894 specifically to cater for Orient Express clientele, and still a great hotel today.

About 9pm, you head down to Sirkeci station for the 22:00 departure of the Orient Express. You need to eat beforehand, because there is no restaurant car attached to the Orient Express when it leaves Istanbul - this isn't attached until Kapikule on the Turkish/Bulgarian border, in time to serve breakfast.




Each 'S' type sleeping-car has 10 wood-panelled compartments with either one or two beds (one above the other) plus a washbasin - there are no baths or showers on board. The sleeper compartments convert for daytime use into a compact carpeted sitting room with sofa and small table. There is no lounge car or seats car, at least not this side of Trieste.

At Sirkeci station, under the station lights, you catch you first glimpse of the blue and gold sleeping-cars of the Orient Express. It's a very short train - Just four sleeping-cars, with a baggage van ('fourgon' in French) at either end.










Anything is possible on a rail journey. I can't decide if my favourite journey was from Bordeaux to Madrid or from Helsinki to the north through the myriad lakes. Perhaps it was the train from Bergen to Stockholm to Turku. On a first class rail pass, it allowed you to travel either class according to the state of the train and the destination. And in earlier days it really was not all that expensive for a one month pass.



I know it's not really done in Britain and I usually don't break into bonhomie with people on a train but sometimes, over a long journey, when both seem willing, it can be a small pleasure. Chance encounters, that missed train, accidentally bumping into someone, it's all possible on the train:

My wife Asya and I met on a train from London to Leicester. She is Polish and had just arrived in the UK for a six-week working holiday at Hothorpe Hall near Market Harborough ... There were plenty of empty seats when she boarded but she stood watching her case until the train departed leaving the only free seat next to me! We both should have been on the previous train but were both delayed.









I myself was on a train from Madrid to Firenze and met a girl. One thing led to another and we stopped off in Narbonne. She went on to Firenze and I followed later, via Finland. That's the sort of thing which trains make possible.

I've left the down side till the end but it need not be a terribly down side. Sure there are these things to consider:

* If you only speak one language (like English) then you have just encountered what could be your first problem

* The ticketing lines at trains stations are for the most part always long.

* Train connections in Europe can be awfully close when it comes to connecting time.

I really do think that planning and preparation can alleviate many of these but that cuts down spontaneity, one of the joys of train travel. And as for the language barrier - consider it a challenge rather than a barrier.

Travel by rail.