Rail travel

Railroads emerged in the 19th century, as the first widely available means of fast land transportation, and has put its mark on most countries and cities, even before the rise of the automobile. In Russia, the Trans-Siberian Railway was the only coast-to-coast land transport until a Trans-Siberian Highway opened in the early 21st century; in Canada, the country was unified only by rail until the Trans-Canada Highway was completed in 1961.
The availability and quality of rail infrastructure varies greatly between countries. While countries such as Germany and Japan have an excellent rail network both in and between cities, passenger rail service in the United States has fallen far behind its road network, and some countries are completely devoid of rail.
Rail travellers might encounter timetables and information being available in local languages only, poorly translated information or hard to understand ticketing requirements.
Public transportation networks are usually made up of local rail services, together with urban rail systems, such as streetcars and rapid transit, as well as buses.

• Tourist trains

• Heritage railways
• Steam - while associated with heritage railways, there are still regular steam train services, especially in Africa and East Asia.

Public transportation: Comprehensive list of all Metro, elevated rail, light rail, streetcars etc

• Urban rail adventures - Some of the more interesting urban rail experiences in the world

Rail air alliances - While trains and planes often compete, sometimes airlines and railways cooperate. This article deals with this rather new phenomenon

Sleeper trains - Once the preferred and virtually only way to reach many places, it is still a good way to get around in style and sometimes surprisingly cheaply

High-speed rail - The most modern form of rail travel, capable of travelling at more than 250km/h. Often faster than flying for medium distances if one takes into account the time it takes to get to the airport and clear security.

Enthusiast rail travel - For people who are interested in rail transport of all forms

• High-speed rail in China
• High-speed rail in South Korea
• Rail travel in India
• Rail travel in Japan
• Trans-Siberian Railway
• Seishun 18 Ticket (Japan)

• Rail travel in Europe
• European rail passes
• Rail travel in France
• Rail travel in Germany
• Rail travel in the United Kingdom
• Rail travel in Ireland
• Rail travel in the Netherlands
• Rail and bus travel in Sweden
• Rail travel in Switzerland
• Rail travel in the Czech Republic

• Across Canada by train
• Rail travel in Canada
• Rail travel in the United States

• Rail travel in Australia
• Across Australia by train
• Rail travel in New Zealand