The 50 greatest train journeys for 2020 – in Britain and beyond - The Telegraph

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 12:00 AM PST

From right on your doorstep to the other side of the world, these are the rail experiences that will take your breath away

Close to home

1. Scottish spectacular

Two of Scotland's most scenic rail journeys are among the highlights of a new small-group rail tour from McKinlay Kidd. The six-night, seven-day Castles, Gardens, Skye and Glencoe jaunt starts in Edinburgh and, using scheduled services, heads north over the Forth Bridge, before taking in the Kyle of Lochalsh line and the West Highland line (including spectacular Glenfinnan Viaduct) and ending in Glasgow. It includes a tour of Skye and stays in Pitlochry, Plockton and Spean Bridge.

From £1,875 (0141 260 9260; mckinlaykidd.com).

2. Cotton Mill Express

Running for the first time in a decade, this Railway Touring Company day-trip transverses the cotton mill towns of Lancashire, Yorkshire and the rugged Pennines. Highlights include two climbs of Miles Platting Bank and an assault on Copy Pit, all of which will ensure the rostered steam locomotive will have to work hard. A shortish day, there are pickups/drop-offs throughout the North West.

From £99 (01553 661500; railwaytouring.net).

3. The 'season' in style

This spring, luxury UK day train Belmond British Pullman will be toasting the British social season with the launch of four new journeys to society's most prestigious events: Cartier Queen's Cup Final, Royal Ascot, Glyndebourne and Glorious Goodwood. Guests will board at London's Victoria Station and enjoy fine dining and perhaps a glass or two of bubbles in the train's storied vintage Twenties and Thirties carriages. Tickets to the events are available as part of the package.

From £540pp, including table d'hote meals (belmond.com).

On board the Belmond British Pullman

4. Causeway celebration

Michael Palin described the train journey between Derry-Londonderry and Coleraine as "one of the most beautiful rail journeys in the world". It starts in a walled city treasure with 1,500 years of history and ends in a town that serves as a gateway to the Causeway Coast. Along the way, there are rivers, lush green pastures, seaside villages and cliffs. The Causeway can be reached by connecting buses from Coleraine. Return from there or take the train south to Belfast.

Derry-Londonderry-Coleraine from £10 (028 9066 6630; translink.co.uk).

5. Swiss Staffordshire

After the Churnet Valley Line was axed in 1965, Cheddleton station – a glorious piece of Gothic Victoriana – and adjoining lines were slated for closure. Fortunately, the resurrected heritage line puffs through precipitously pretty countryside in an area once called "the Switzerland of Staffordshire". Steam locomotives pull vintage carriages with a dining car in tow. This year heralds headline news for steamies. In April 2020, passengers can ride a new short stretch of track towards the tea'n'crumpets town of Leek, plus a line to Stoke-on-Trent unused in decades.

Adults from £12.60; children £6.30 (01538 750 755; churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk).

Switzerland or Staffordshire? Credit: GETTY

6. Blackpool connection

From spring, Grand Central will transform links between the Lancashire resort and London Euston by introducing five services a day in each direction, calling at Poulton-le-Fylde, Kirkham & Wesham, Preston, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes. Two million passengers a year use Blackpool North station, and an extension of the famous seafront tram system will open between the station and North Pier during the year. State-of-the-art trams complement the town's historic trams, which form part of the Illuminations.

grandcentralrail.com

7. Aberdonian adventure

"The Aberdonian" connects Edinburgh with the "Granite City". Highlights include crossing the Forth Bridge twice and long runs alongside the River Tay and North Sea – all hauled by "A1" No. 60163 Tornado, Britain's newest steam locomotive. Optional off-train excursions include tours of the Glen Garioch Distillery and Crathes Castle.

Selected dates July-September; standard class from £99 (01325 488215; a1steam.com/aberdonian).

8. Caledonian Sleeper

With Glasgow set to host this year's crucial UN climate change conference in November, those thinking of travelling up from London will have little excuse not to look at the train options – which since last year include an enhanced Caledonian Sleeper service, complete with en suite bathrooms and double-bed options – and, yes, it has to be admitted a slew of teething problems. Hopefully these will be resolved by the time the eco-ewarriors land, especially as beyond Glasgow the new sleeper now serves Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William.

sleeper.scot

On board the enhanced Caledonian Sleeper service

9. Mayflower trail

Coinciding with the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower ship setting sail for America, The Steam Dreams Rail Co is running a number of trips with "B1" No 61306 Mayflower, including a four-day tour from London to the South West between 14-17 September. While the "B1" resides in Plymouth, shuttles to and from the Cornish coastal town of Par are planned, while day-trips along the National Mayflower Trail will include visits to Harwich, Southampton and Dartmouth.

The four-day trip costs from £325; the shuttles from £49 (01483 209 888; steamdreams.co.uk).

Across the Channel

10. Silesia escape

Railbookers' week-long celebration of central Europe pairs international trains (the Berlin-Warszawa Express) with the latest in high-speed rail (Poland's pendolinos). The laissez-faire tour treats passengers as grown-ups. In Vienna, passengers are gifted a hop-on, hop-off bus ticket. While in Berlin, guests with a City Card can explore Museum Island at leisure. The best scenery of the seven days? From Krakow to Austria, passing through the forests of Silesia and the timeless towns of the eastern Czech Republic.

From £699 including flights (020 3780 2222; railbookers.co.uk).

Krakow Credit: GETTY

11. Roman Gaul

What did the Romans ever do for Gaul? Thanks to Inntravel, a new six-night trip takes in the bucolic Via Domitia, a Roman road that linked Italy to Hispania. Plus the staggering Pont du Gard, a Unesco-inscribed aqueduct that carried water 30 miles to the city of Nîmes. Here, the Romans also built an amphitheatre to hold 24,000 bloodthirsty spectators. Now, contemporary gladiator contests and music concerts (this year it's Taylor Swift) are held in the honey-stone venue. Gaul's big ticket for 2020 is the brand-new Roman Museum in Narbonne.

From £925 (01653 617001; inntravel.co.uk).

12. On track in Slow-venia

A week is the perfect period to explore the Wales-sized wonder of Slovenia. This trip – the Best of Slovenia by Train – starts in Goriska Brda, a Tuscan-style hilltown reached via a strange train tunnel built by Habsburg emperors, and includes a boat ride across Lake Bohinj. Slovenia's rail tracks follow rivers and streams to the capital of Ljubljana, before trickling down to the resort-strewn Adriatic.

From £1,045 (01653 617001; inntravel.co.uk).

Slovenia might be mistaken for Tuscany Credit: getty

13. Hidden Italy

This brand-new top-to-tail Italian tour is all-encompassing, with first-class passage from London to Italy, a pasta-making class on an Umbrian farm and a private Vatican tour with a clavigero, or keybearer, who switches the Sistine Chapel's lights back on just for you. The 13-day trip also includes a cellar tour of the telegenic booze town of Montepulciano and a high-speed whizz down the Adriatic Coast to Lecce on Italy's heel. Accommodation is pretty special, too. Stay in a converted Perugian monastery and a historic trulli house in rural Puglia.

From £3,050 (01904 527 180; greatrail.com).

14. Black Forest bargain

This brand-new bargain is half steam, half high-speed and 100 per cent train. The tour sprints out of St Pancras then switches to a lower gear along the Black Forest's 46-mile Hollentalbahn Railway, which has zigzagged through mystic woodland for nearly 150 years. Another of Germany's heritage lines, the Sauschwänzlebahn, provides another steamie treat. It snakes into a squiggle of seemingly insurmountable switchbacks through primary forest. You'll need to pack your own slice of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest gateau) for the Eurostar home.

From £949 (01904 734939; raildiscoveries.com).

15. Nordic capitals

This tour unveils hidden gems like the islands of Oslofjord, where brave visitors may dive in for a swim. The five-and-a-half-hour train to Stockholm weaves through dramatic wetlands around Lake Vanern, the EU's largest lake, where hardy campers alight only to disappear into dense forest. On the final leg to Copenhagen, tune in for murders on the Oresund Bridge (made famous by the Nordic noir TV series The Bridge). Tuck into the Danish capital's 15 Michelin stars. Or try Torvehallerne Market for jianbing (Chinese crepes) and local herring crisps.

From £1,399 (01904 734939; raildiscoveries.com)

Oresund Bridge Credit: getty

16. Interrail for grown-ups

Interrail's First Class pass offers access to the finest trains in Europe including Germany's ICE and Spain's AVE (both with club lounge access, free Wi-Fi and at-seat waiter services) – although some high-speed and sleeper services require a supplement. In 2020, Interrail passes grant access to a record-breaking 33 national rail networks. As Estonia and Latvia join the party, passengers can loop from Poland to Sweden with a boat hop from Tallinn to Helsinki (tickets include discounts of up to 50 per cent on many ferry routes).

Global Passes cost £280 for travel on four days within a month, including Premium Eurostar. Discounts apply (0047 61 27 90 88; interrail.eu).

17. Transylvania sleeper

A journey into the dark heart of Transylvania starts at Budapest's majestic Keleti station. Private one-, two- and three-bed compartments aboard the Ister sleeper are met with a misty sunrise over Dracula-style castles and wolf-prowled forests little changed in centuries. The town of Sibiu is a Gothic masterpiece of cobbled lanes and gilded belltowers. Brasov, where the Ister calls three hours later, is big and baroque. Brasov also connects to Sighisoara, the prettiest of towns, via a three-hour branch line.

Sleeper cabins for the Ister cost £101 for two with Hungarian Railways (mavcsoport.hu).

Rural Romania Credit: GETTY

18. Bosnian explorer

This historical voyage belts out of St Pancras and bolts across Germany, then trundles through Croatia to Banja Luka, the de facto capital of the Bosnian Serb territory of Republika Srpska, where local dishes like pljeskavica lamb'n'pork patties are best chased with sljivovica plum brandy. From here new Spanish-built Talgo trains glide across Bosnia to Sarajevo. The Sarajevo to Mostar line tiptoes above the Neretva River. This twist of snaking water puts Switzerland's most scenic routes to shame.

The 13-day tour costs from £1,299 including a flight home (020 3322 7741; tailormaderail.com).

19. Amsterdam promise

The Eurostar link between London and Amsterdam takes a significant leap forwards when it becomes possible to do both legs of the journey by direct train. The London-Amsterdam leg has been in operation since 2018, but passengers on the return leg have had to go through customs and change trains in Brussels. Not any more. From April 30, the journey time each way will be under four hours. See you at the Rembrandthuis.

Return fares from about £85 (eurostar.com).

20. Balkan beauty

The loveliest little line in the Balkans is the narrow gauge up the Rhodope Valley from Septemvri. It took two decades to embed the teetering tracks beside the river, which now carry narrowboat-width carriages pulled by Sixties Romanian diesels. Today, the line links lumberjack and farming communities across a 77-mile long pastoral wilderness. Spa-loving Bulgarians alight to take the waters at the once ritzy resort of Velingrad; the line's terminus is the gorgeous town of Dobrinishte – a ski, spa and culinary centre set in virgin wilderness.

Tickets cost £3 from Septemvri station (bdz.bg).

21. All change in Geneva

A new 10-mile railway, which opened at the end of last year under the streets of Geneva, links the city's main station with Annemasse across the French border in 20 minutes and covers four stops within the city. Besides transforming travel over Europe's largest cross-border rail network of 230km around Geneva, the new line will open up the possibility of easy day trips from Geneva to Annecy and St-Gervais over two of France's most scenic lines, using the new Léman Express service between Coppet–Geneva–Annemasse.

Geneva–Annemasse return £7.60 (sbb.ch).

Annecy Credit: getty

22. A tale of two cities

Charles Dickens's classic of the French Revolution is the inspiration for this seven-day tour of the two capitals, introduced to mark the 150th anniversary of the author's death. The first-class train takes in locations featured in the novel, the Charles Dickens Museum in Holborn, his former home and Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, where he was buried. In Paris, discover La Conciergerie, a Gothic palace used as a prison in the French Revolution, or head to Montmartre, where the streets still evoke the colourful experiences that Dickens would have had.

From £895pp for four-star hotels or from £1,495pp for five-star (planetrail.co.uk).

23. The trains in Spain

RENFE, the Spanish national rail service, is hoping to attract more than a million passengers a year to the new low-cost, high-speed services it will be launching this Easter. The first of these Avlo trains, with their striking purple and orange livery, will cover the 386 miles between Madrid and Barcelona at speeds of up to 186mph, with five trains a day in each direction. Tickets will cost as little as €10 one way.

From €10 one-way (renfe.com and seat61.com/spain-trains.htm).

Take the high-speed train to Barcelona Credit: GETTY

24. Baltic by steam

Train specialists Ffestinog Travel have gone off the rails for this uniquely steamie Baltic circle. The story starts at Finland's Jokioinen Museum Railway, where a steam train putters into the wilderness. Thence to Sweden by ferry, with a poke around the vast Stockholm archipelago aboard a steamboat. Aside from more steamie treats and Danish lunches, a real highlight is the steam railway to Germany's Bad Doberan, which passes inches from both restaurant terraces and grazing cows. A final puff carries passengers to Berlin for the journey home.

The 15-day tour starts from £3,295 (01766 512400; ffestiniogtravel.com).

25. Costa Verde Express

The Costa Verde Express is a new five-night, six-day luxury tour along the north coast of Spain, skirting the Bay of Biscay between Bilbao and Gijón (or vice versa). It takes in Laredo, Santona, Santander and the medieval town of Santillana del Mar, and features wide-ranging tours – everything from Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum to an anchovy-canning factory. On-board suites have double beds and private bathrooms and there's a panorama coach, tea and entertainment saloons and a small on-board library.

From £2,390 (renfe.com)

26. Salt mine cathedral

In first class, the 10-hour sprint from London to Berlin is an armchair cultural cruise. The French serve wine, the Belgians serve chocolates and the Germans beer – all complimentary. There's time to see Berlin's secret bunkers or cruise the Spree river. Then the sights of Warsaw, Krakow and the Wieliczka Salt Mine beckon, the latter hosting a subterranean cathedral carved from crystalline salt. The Cracovia train connects to Prague, this time with beer on tap in the buffet car. Historic Dresden is the final stop, before the train home to London.

11 nights from £1,375 with Planet Rail (01347 825292; planetrail.co.uk).

Dresden Credit: getty

27. Music, maestro

In the year marking 250 years since Beethoven's birth, travel by first-class trains to his birthplace of Bonn on the Rhine for a visit to his birthplace museum. Then travel to Vienna, where he moved at the age of 21 and wrote most of his works. See the Beethoven Museum, the monument on Beethovenplatz, his tomb and the House of Music, Austria's first museum of sound and music. Return trains via a night in Nuremberg.

From £849pp in four-star hotels (planetrail.co.uk).

28. Tunnel vision

In December, the remarkable Swiss project to reduce road traffic and pollution in the sensitive Alpine valleys reaches fruition with the opening of the nine-mile Ceneri Base Tunnel, the last of the three base tunnels to open, following the 22-mile Lötschberg and the 35-mile Gotthard base tunnels. Journey time between Zurich and Lugano will be less than two hours, and Milan will be less than three. Ticino local services will also benefit with a cut in travel time between Lugano and Locarno from 58 to 30 minutes. New Giruno trains with free Wi-Fi enter service in the spring.

Zurich – Lugano, from £26, Zurich – Milan, from £68 (sbb.ch).

Milan Credit: getty

Further afield

29. 'Star Wars' in Tunisia

SNCFT operates more than 10 lines across Tunisia. Many are dusty, several are slow, but all elbow through a Sahara panorama of movie-set distinction. The breakfast departure from Tunis Gare Centrale shimmies along the Mediterranean via Sousse and Sfax, before meandering inland at R2-D2 speeds. The evening terminus at Tozeur sits alongside the purple-tinged salt pan of Chott el Djerid – instantly recognisable as the backdrop for several Star Wars films. The Residence Douz, a fancy desert retreat offering dune safaris and troglodyte dwelling tours, opens nearby in 2020.

First class from Tunis to Tozeur costs £7 (sncft.com.tn).

30. Indian Pacific epic

As its name suggests, the 2,700-mile line connects two oceans – the Indian and Pacific – over four days. The scenic tour includes a dead straight rattle across the Nullarbor Plain, an epic emptiness dotted with gold-prospecting ghost towns. Colour comes by way of the Barossa Valley vineyards near Adelaide, and the Blue Mountains near Sydney where oily eucalyptus trees disperse an azure aura. There are a number of stops for wine tasting and hikes.

Gold Twin cabins cost from £1,320 (0061 8 8213 4401; journeybeyondrail.com.au).

The Indian Pacific

31. Wonders of Oz

Launched late last year, the Great Southern cuts a curvaceous half-circle between Brisbane and Adelaide that rumbles past Pacific beaches, contemporary cities and dense forest over four sun-drenched days (or three in the other direction). The first of nine meals is a fine dining experience in Coffs Harbour, where the arrival of the railroad in 1915 focused the town's exports around timber and bananas. The next morning promises hikes in the Hunter Valley vineyards followed by a day in genteel Melbourne.

From £3,699 for a 15-day tour including stays in Brisbane, Adelaide and Noosa, and flights (0808 250 4889; austravel.com).

32. Kiwi classics

Three astonishing train routes and a telegenic ferry showcase the best of New Zealand. The Northern Explorer from Auckland to Wellington runs panoramic carriages through 423 miles of viaducts and volcanic peaks (Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings). The ferry across the Cook Strait is another Instagram sensation; wildlife includes dolphins, shags and albatross. The Coastal Pacific glides down the Kaikoura Coastline to Christchurch. From here the TranzAlpine, arguably the most scenic of Kiwi trains, putters over the Southern Alps to Greymouth for glaciers and gold mines.

An 18-day tour costs from £2,259 (020 3322 7741; tailormaderail.com).

See New Zealand by train

33. American beauties

Amtrak Vacation's newest itinerary couples two legendary trains: the California Zephyr, which links Chicago and San Francisco, and the Southwest Chief, which runs from LA to Chicago via Arizona, New Mexico and the Mississippi wetlands. Both services connect America's most iconic national parks via a nine-day tour. Stops include Utah's Bryce Canyon, where "hoodoos", or rocky spurs, create an ochre amphitheatre and Zion, where half-mile high canyons glow blood red at dusk.

From £2,299 (020 3327 3500; amtrakvacations.co.uk).

34. On track for the wild west

New for 2020 is the ultimate American railroad adventure. Start in New York, overnight past Lake Michigan, sightsee in Chicago then head west across prairies, canyons and the Mississippi. The train's terminus is Arizona for the Grand Canyon Railway. Still standing? The 14-night tour ends with three nights in Las Vegas.

From £2,050 from Amtrak Vacations (020 3327 3500; amtrakvacations.co.uk).

35. Sacred Valley revisited

From May through to December, Inca Rail is offering three services daily direct from Cuzco's central San Pedro station to Machu Picchu, cutting out the need to travel to the outlying station of Poroy. The time of departure determines the class of service, which ranges from the entry-level Voyager to the 360°, with an observation car and bar, to First Class, with gourmet food served en route.

Singles from £59, returns from £131 (incarail.com).

Machu Picchu Credit: GETTY

36. Patagonia passion

Patagonia celebrates the 500th anniversary of Magellan's landing on its shores in 2020 and the best way of marking this by train is via the weekly service from Viedma, near the Atlantic coast, to Bariloche, on Nahuel Huapi lake. A loco with nine reconditioned carriages operates east-west on Fridays (returning Sundays). A night train, it takes 18.5 hours to cover the 513 miles.

One-way, seated, costs £16.65, while it's £32.13 to go in a camarote shared sleeper compartment (sateliteferroviario.com.ar//horarios/bariloche.htm).

Discover Patagonia Credit: getty

37. Undercover Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires's underground metro railway – known as the Subte – was opened in 1913, making it the oldest in Latin America. Last year, Line E was extended to the Retiro railway station. The Subte is notable for its tiled walls and wonderful art work and the corridors of Line A, the oldest, celebrate Argentina's native peoples and immigration heyday, among other themes. José Hernandez on Line D has a mural honouring Lionel Messi. The stations on Line H commemorate tango legends.

From about 30p (buenosaires.gob.ar/subte).

38. Panama promise

The Panama Canal Railway was the western hemisphere's first transcontinental railroad. Although it's only 50 miles across the isthmus, the topographically crazed jungle route was considered quite the engineering masterstroke in 1855 – before the canal itself copied the same route 60 years later. Carriages lugged by superannuated Amtrak engines departs the Pacific Ocean near Panama City at 7.15am. Lush forest is punctuated by canal locks, as giant tankers steam though a tropical backdrop. The train terminates at Colon an hour later. Spend the day on the Atlantic seaboard before the sunset return journey.

From $25 one-way (panarail.com).

Panama City Credit: getty

39. Scenic Colorado

The steam-hauled Cumbres & Toltec, which follows track laid in 1880 along the Colorado-New Mexico border and bills itself the "most authentic" railway in the US (it's a National Historic Landmark), marks 50 years as a scenic railroad in 2020. Travel on it on a 13-day "Best of Colorado" tour with Ffestiniog Travel, taking in several historic lines.

Departing on June 18; from £4,285 (ffestiniogtravel.com).

Cumbres & Toltec Credit: getty

40. Wadi Rum affair

Besides rock-hewn Petra, the Roman ruins of Jerash and the dunes of Wadi Rum, Jordan's attractions include the only two usable sections of the Hejaz Railway. This new nine-day tour includes private steam charters from Amman to Al Qatraneh and from Disah along a little-used branch line and a night in the desert in an "en-suite goat-hair tent".

Departs Nov 2; from £2,525 (ffestiniogtravel.com).

41. Kyrgyzstan escapade

Kyrgyzstan, in mountainous Central Asia, has only 300 miles of railway, so on a new 11-day tour of "the remotest destination" it's been to, Ffestiniog Travel has one train journey: a scenic five hours in the north. Other draws include Kyrchyn Gorge, home of the World Nomad Games and a 15th-century caravanserai (roadside inn) on the Old Silk Road.

Departing on July 21; from £2,350 (ffestiniogtravel.com).

The World Nomad Games Credit: getty

42. Silk Road supreme

Want to see a bit more of central Asia? In luxury? This new 17-day tour for April 2020 aboard the Golden Eagle train begins in Moscow and travels across the "Five Stans" of the former Soviet Union – Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Off-train excursions include Baikonur space station, a silk factory and a demonstration of eagle hunting. A shorter 10-day Jewels of the Silk Road is also offered.

From £17,495 (17 days) and £9,995 (10) (goldeneagleluxurytrains.com).

43. Dhaka delight

In 1947, the partition of India severed services between East and West Bengal. Now, a nine-hour train links Kolkota and Dhaka via the Hardinge Bridge, a mile-long steel bridge named after the former viceroy. The scenery is an emerald dream of wetlands and paddy fields, paired with the surging power of the Brahmaputra and Ganges. Relations between India and Bangladesh are so convivial that on the Maitree Express, both passport checks are performed before departure.

First Class, £22 (Foreign Tourist Bureau; Kolkota station).

44. Golden Chariot

After refurbishment, the Golden Chariot, the luxury Indian train, will be back in March for three runs before a full service later in the year. It offers six-night tours of Southern India, starting and ending in Bangalore. As well as familiar destinations such as Mysore and Goa, the journeys also include the fascinating ruins at Hampi and Bandipur tiger reserve.

Abercrombie & Kent offers Golden Chariot tours from £6,500, including flights (01242 547755; abercrombiekent.co.uk).

Travel by train across India – stopping to spot tigers Credit: getty

45. Darjeeling Mail

This 14-night Darjeeling Mail tour covers a broad swathe of India. Departing on Dec 3 from Mumbai (with two nights at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel), it includes seven nights on the luxury Deccan Odyssey train, crossing the subcontinent to Kolkata via Udaipur, Jaipur, Delhi, Agra (the Taj Mahal) and Varanasi. It also features two nights in Kolkata and three in Darjeeling, reached by the celebrated "Toy Train".

From £11,795 (0161 928 9410; goldeneagleluxurytrains.com)

46. Totally Taiwan

Taiwan's rail network takes in mountains, beaches and all the main cities, so a new 16-day tour with Ffestiniog Travel makes a great introduction to the country. Highlights include a ride on the steam-hauled Alishan Forest Railway, climbing to 7,313ft; private charters at former sugar mills; and an outing to see the sunrise from Chushan, the highest station, at 8,041ft.

Ffestiniog can tailor make itineraries to Taiwan and is taking bookings for its next group tour departure in February 2021; from £3,870 (ffestiniogtravel.com).

47. Going for gold

The Land of the Rising Sun can be a daunting challenge, but the going is made much easier with the guided tours on foot and by bus and boat included in this flexible, rail-based package. Highlights of the nine-day tour include: Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge, Skytree and Hamarikyu Garden; a tour of a food market followed by a visit to a typical home to learn how to prepare sushi and then enjoy it for lunch; a range of cultural activities and visits in Kyoto; and tours of Nara and Fushimi.

From £3,049pp, including all Shinkansen train journeys (railbookers.co.uk).

Hamarikyu Garden Credit: ap

48. Red Devil

For steam train aficionados wanting to branch out, the Railway Touring Company is introducing a 12-day rail safari in South Africa, including a day in the company of the celebrated Red Devil locomotive, restored in 2018 after 14 years out of service. Other highlights include a journey along the Sir Lowry's Pass over the Hottentots-Holland mountains and a trip into the Southern Cape wheatlands to Bredasdorp, the Southern-most railway station in Africa.

Departing on May 28, the South African Steam Safari costs from £3,795, including flights (£3,295 ground only) (01553 661500; railwaytouring.net).

49. Maasai Mara magic

It's a 10-day rail safari with everything included, from flights to meals and a journey deep into the Maasai Mara. The national park has its fair share of the Big Five, including 2,500 elephants. Guests also travel on the Madaraka Express. This new Chinese-funded service links Nairobi with Mobassa on the Indian Ocean across endless savanna. As the train skirts the Tsavo National Park, cue more elephants, zebra and dik-diks from the train window. A visit to the Nairobi Railway Museum shows locomotives manufactured across Britain.

From £2,695 (01904 527180; greatrail.com).

A lion in the Maasai Mara Credit: getty

50. Desert Express

Namibia's Desert Express is back. After a three year absence for renovations the tourist sleeper train is returning to trundle leisurely between Windhoek and the old German colonial seaside resort of Swakopmund. An ambiance of casual elegance reminiscent of the 1950s prevails in spacious compartments, restaurant and lounge with comfortable armchairs.

A three-day return tour with a game drive, dune excursion and cheetah feeding is £320pp, excluding flights, from Traveltime (0027 21 554 5796; traveltime.co.za). The next departure from Windhoek is on March 20.

Contributions by Tristan Rutherford, Michael Kerr, Steve McClarence, Anthony Lambert, Chris Moss, Daniel Puddicombe, Gavin Bell and Adrian Bridge.