<p class="p1">A new wave of sleeper trains aims to make the journey the destination.</p>

<p class="p1">&ldquo;This is no ordinary train; this is the legendary Orient Express, witness to many strange adventures and foreign intrigues,&rdquo; says a voice backdropped by dramatic musical crescendos in the trailer for the 1974 film adaptation of Agatha Christie&rsquo;s iconic 1934 detective novel <i>Murder on the Orient Express</i>. The movie was a star-studded affair&mdash;Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, and Albert Finney as the celebrated detective Hercule Poirot&mdash;but the train itself was a star, too. Sure, there may have been foul play happening on board, but it&rsquo;s hard to watch without daydreaming about being perched in one of the elegantly appointed restaurant or lounge cars, cocktail in hand, gazing at the vistas gliding by. Trains show up as a character again and again on screen&mdash;the setting for a smoldering t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;te between Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in <i>North by Northwest</i>, for a reunion of brothers in India in Wes Anderson&rsquo;s <i>The Darjeeling Limited</i>, and for a child&rsquo;s wondrous fantasy sprung to life in <i>The Polar Express.&nbsp;</i><i></i></p>
<p class="p1">Today, that same sense of wonder is being rekindled for many adults. As travel by plane and car has become increasingly expensive and uninviting, the lure of the train is more powerful than ever. The rail market is, in fact, booming&mdash;according to the U.K.&ndash;based adventure travel company Explore Worldwide, rail bookings in 2026 are up 41 percent, and demand for train travel has surged by 50 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels, says Gary Franklin, senior vice president of Trains and Cruises for Belmond.</p>
<p class="p1">In many ways, the pandemic catalyzed this shift. &ldquo;It encouraged people to reflect and prioritize a more mindful pace of travel, and, as a result, train journeys have captured the imagination of guests in a unique way,&rdquo; says Franklin. Belmond&rsquo;s luxury rails meander through Italy (on their flagship Venice Simplon-Orient-Express), Scotland, the U.K., Southeast Asia, and Peru. Many travelers are now building an itinerary around a specific train journey. &ldquo;Travelers will stay at a hotel in one city, take oneof these scenic luxury trains, and arrive at their final destination, where their next hotel awaits,&rdquo; says Julie Noda, general manager of groups for travel agency Fora Travel, where advisors are frequently booking clients on the Rocky Mountaineer (now known as the Canyon Spirit for U.S. routes) through Colorado and Utah, the Alaska Railroad, the Rovos Rail in South Africa, and the Costa Verde Express in Spain. &ldquo;The train itself becomes part of the experience, rather than just a way to get from point A to point B. It&rsquo;s efficient, but it also feels elevated.&rdquo;</p>

The bar car on La Dolce Vita Orient Express. Courtesy of La Dolce Vita Orient Express.

<p class="p1">In fact, comfort and convenience&mdash;two words rarely uttered when traveling nowadays&mdash;are two crucial elements of journeys by train, the carriages of which offer more space than an airline seat (a true luxury). &ldquo;Travelers are looking to maximize their time and get more out of their trips, and train travel is a great way to do so,&rdquo; says Dan Reisig of Railbookers, an adventure travel company. &ldquo;They can spend the time they would have normally needed to get to and from the airport slowing down instead and soaking in the culture of their destination.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="p1">And it&rsquo;s that slowing down that may hold the most appeal right now. As so many of our other activities have begun to lean analog&mdash;we&rsquo;re reading voraciously, we&rsquo;re crafting, we&rsquo;re listening to records, and we&rsquo;re making an effort, whether by screen time&ndash;limiting apps or sheer will, to engage far less with our phones and devices&mdash;travel is no exception. &ldquo;Slow travel is at its essence about choosing depth over speed, allowing enough time to truly absorb a destination rather than rushing through a checklist of highlights,&rdquo; says Franklin. &ldquo;It creates space to disconnect from our hyperconnected routines.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="p1">The train journey is the travel antithesis of our quick-scroll culture; a way to quite literally move toward and through a place at a very different, and more intentional, speed. As Christie herself once said: &ldquo;To travel by train is to see nature and human beings, towns and churches and rivers...in fact, to see life.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="p1">Below, explore the destinations to get to by train now, from Australia&rsquo;s Outback to the Canadian Rockies and the Arabian Desert.</p>

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Southern Spain</h2>

<p class="p1">Al Andalus, Spain&rsquo;s signature luxury train, turns 40 this year. Start or end your trip in Madrid on a journey that passes through the UNESCO World Heritage site Toledo, La Mancha, C&aacute;ceres, the ancient Roman capital of M&eacute;rida, C&oacute;rdoba with its world-famous mosque, and C&aacute;diz, which is considered the oldest city in the western world.</p>

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Canadian Rockies</h2>

<p class="p1">A journey that feels like it&rsquo;s carved through the sky, Rocky Mountaineer&rsquo;s new Passage to the Peaks route slices past the majestic Canadian Rockies, skirting icy blue glacial lakes, evergreen forests, skyscraper peaks, and the destination mountain towns of Jasper and Banff.</p>

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Italy</h2>

<p class="p1">Travel like a movie star from a bygone era on La Dolce Vita Orient Express, which pays homage to the glamorous 1960s golden age of Italian cinema and design. Their Grand Tour route is essentially Italy&rsquo;s greatest hits: hitting Rome, Venice, the ancient city of Matera, coastal Taormina, and buzzy Palermo. Stay tuned for 2027, when Accor&rsquo;s L&rsquo;Orient Express debuts (or rather, re-debuts), featuring historic 1920s carriages with interiors reimagined by Paris-based architect Maxime d&rsquo;Angeac.</p>

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Cornwall and Wales</h2>

<p class="p1">Belmond&rsquo;s Britannic Explorer departs from London&rsquo;s Victoria Station and takes you what feels like worlds away, meandering along Devon&rsquo;s southern coast and past the glistening Cornish seas, with stops to take in both the natural beauty of the surroundings and the artistic treasures of St. Ives and Somerset.</p>

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Scotland</h2>

<p class="p1">From Edinburgh to the wilds of the Scottish Highlands, a ride on Belmond&rsquo;s elegant Royal Scotsman will afford you views of Ben Nevis, the U.K.&rsquo;s highest mountain peak; the Isle of Skye&rsquo;s beautiful Cuillin Mountains; and a visit to the charming Isle of Bute.</p>

<p class="p1">Belmond&rsquo;s Andean Explorer is considered one of the highest train routes in the world because of its path from the ancient capital of Cusco through the majestic Andes and tranquil valleys towards sparkling Lake Titicaca.</p>

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Australian Outback</h2>

<p class="p1">Journey Beyond&rsquo;s trains have been traversing Australia&rsquo;s fabled Outback for more than 90 years. Passengers aboard The Ghan will take in the sights of the singular terrain between Adelaide, Darwin, and Alice Springs.</p>

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Saudi Arabia</h2>

<p class="p1">This fall, Saudi Arabia unveils its own luxury train, Dream of the Desert, an opulent 800-mile ride through an otherworldly desert landscape departing from the capital of Riyadh and snaking through AlUla; Jubbah, known for its prehistoric rock art; and Hegra, a preserved necropolis that earned the country&rsquo;s first UNESCO World Heritage label.</p>

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Everywhere</h2>

<p class="p1">The epitome of bucket-list travel may be Railbookers&rsquo; bespoke Around the World by Luxury Train journey, a two-month-long adventure that takes a few lucky travelers (who can afford the $125K per-person pricetag) on eight luxury train routes through nine countries across four continents.</p>

The Golden Age of Train Travel Is Upon Us Again

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