Airlines ask you to arrive at the airport 3 hours before departure, to give you enough time for the long baggage check-in line, the long security check line, waiting for your flight to start boarding, and to finish boarding. A plane takes 1.5 hours for all the passengers to board, all filing through one tiny door, loaded with carry-ons and struggling to fit them into the overhead compartments. The whole line waits while one person struggles, unable to pass him/her due to the narrow aisle.
On trains, there is no baggage check line, no baggage weighing or bag counting. Passengers board a train through its many doors with no lines.

After boarding a plane passengers sit for approx. another 30 minutes while the crew gets ready. Finally the plane begins to taxi toward its takeoff runway. Once there, the Captain announces, “We’re 5th in line for takeoff.”
Trains don’t have to delay everyone 3 hours… they stop only a couple minutes at each station.

Train seats are much bigger than airline seats, and there is much more legroom. You can get up and walk around and stretch your legs on a train. Aisles are wide, and people often spend long times in the aisles gazing out the aisle windows which look in the different direction from the windows in their compartments.

For example, if there are mountains on the aisle side of the train that you can’t see from your compartment, just go and stand at one of the many big aisle windows.
On a plane there are no aisle windows, and you would be told to “take your seat” anyway.

On a plane there are seats a few inches in front of you blocking you from walking easily to the aisle. So if you don’t have an aisle seat, the people in your row between your seat and the aisle have to get up and go into the aisle to let you into the aisle. There is no room to squeeze by them.
Not so on trains. Just stand up and walk.

Airline seats recline only 1 inch, making sleep impossible or uncomfortable.
European trains are deliberately scheduled to depart major cities around 10 pm and arrive in another major city around 8 am. They are deliberately timed that way to allow a nice night’s sleep and wake up to start a full day in your destination.

Whether travelling overnight or travelling by day, make sure you buy a ticket for a wagon that is divided into compartments. Sleeper car compartments have 2 seats facing 2 seats (very social).

At night the conductor comes with clean sheets, blankets, & pillows, and by moving panels up & down converts the 4 seats into 4 bunk beds. So instead of sitting up all night as you would on a plane or driving a car, you sleep in a real bed, rocked to sleep by the gentle rolling and sounds of the train. So much for trains being “time consuming.” It’s a night you won’t have to pay for a hotel.

You see so much from the huge train windows.
From the tiny plane windows you see only cloud tops. You really can’t see anything of the natural beauty, towns, & cities of Norway or Croatia from 30,000 ft.

Trains have dining cars where food is cooked and served to you at real tables with white linen. Those that don’t have dining cars have a bar car that serves some hot food & snacks.

At many stations in the former USSR, local women sell home-cooked food from the train platforms. Just hand money through your compartment’s window & receive the food!
Buy from them to taste local fare. Buy non-corporate, non-global!

The conductor will often keep a couple of your items cold for you in the refrigerator he has in his compartment, where he keeps cold beer for sale. Label your bag with your name & date.

When you buy your ticket ask if there will be a dining car on the train. If not, bring dark bread, cheese, boiled eggs, local beer & dried fish. These will supplement the above hot food you buy from the above women at stations. You can buy some food items and bottled water from the conductor aboard.
[And yes, you may bring your pocket knife on board to slice the salami, unlike on airplanes! Nor can you bring food or drinks onto an airplane.]

Many trains have showers; ask if yours does. If not, you can buy a ticket on the same run departing at a different time of day, maybe costing a few dollars more, and that train will perhaps have showers.

Breaking up your train journey can be a real bonus. Heading to the south of Italy and fancy stopping over in Milan for lunch? Trains allow you to do exactly that at no cost. Stretch your legs on a walk around Paris or take in a museum in London, you can schedule convenient stopovers to make the most of your itinerary, with no extra charge. You can’t do that when flying (except at the airline’s flight hub city).

Switzerland for example has over 20 train stations, but only 3 airports. Trains take you more places!

Italy has 76 passenger train stations but only 8 airports. Trains get you closer to your destination.

Trains are more bike friendly than planes. Most trains charge nothing for a bicycle.

The environment? A journey from London to Madrid produces 265 kg of harmful emissions per passenger by plane, but a mere 42 kg by train, according to EcoPassenger. 265 vs. 42!

If you drive in an automobile through a border passport/customs control, you are often stuck in a slow line of many cars. On a train there is not even one minute’s wait. The passport/customs officers board the train and, as the train continues on to the next station, they walk through each wagon, visiting one compartment after the other. Then the officers debord. You and the train are not delayed at all. Unlike automobiles, the train never never waits in a line.

Consider the speed of trains vs. cars. In a car you have red lights and traffic jams. If you need gas, food, or need a restroom you have to stop. At night you stop to sleep (paying €100+ for a hotel room. ) A train suffers none of these delays. It just keeps on rolling, with you sleeping in your real bed, reading, socializing, or eating in the dining car.

On a plane one has only the person next to him to talk to.
On a train, one has everyone in his compartment to talk to, plus the people one can meet in the bar car, and those standing at aisle windows looking out, stretching their legs. Some of the most interesting people can be met on a train. It’s nice to have your own little compartment with a door that locks from the inside at night to keep the sneak thieves out! It is your own little space, and your compartment mates are your companions.

I’ve traveled many times by overnight train in a 2nd class sleeper car. The compartments have always been 4-person with 2 bunk beds on either side. It’s all very comfortable. (The wagons withj 6 person compartments are for day runs). I have never had any problems or complaints about the people I’ve shared an overnight compartment with. Most of them were very interesting people. You won’t get this good an opportunity to meet the local people in a cafe, a shop, or a hotel, where people are often rushed. You don’t tour a foreign country just to see the sights; you also want to meet the people!

Train compartments are a great way for a traveler to learn about a geographic area; many locals are proud to tell you all about their cities. That way you’ll know something about a place before you arrive, and maybe get some good advice. Inside information, as they say!

Lots of people end up having fun parties in their compartments. On the fold-down table appear sausages, cheese, boiled eggs, dark bread, local dark beer, dried fish… The conductor sells beer, and the snack car/bar sells other foods, but most Ukrainians bring food from home. Very dried salted fish is popular in Europe with beer. Try it!

Make sure you don’t buy 1st class train tickets. These are isolation chambers, with only one person or one couple per compartment. Also they’re very expensive.

Many a traveler doesn’t know to ask for “a 2nd class compartment” (day) or “a 2nd class sleeper wagon” (night), and they get stuck sitting all night in an airplane-style seat, all the seats facing forward. Not only is it anti-social, but the seats only recline one inch, so no sleep.
Or the “language barrier” and a ruxhed and surley ticket sales clerk foists a costly 1st class “isolation” compartment ticket on them, assuming that Westerners all want “luxury.”
So find out the words before you get in line to buy a ticket; write them on a piece of paper and hand it to the ticket window clerk:

. . . . . . . . . . 2nd CLASS. . . . . . . . NIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . DAY
English . . . . . 2nd class . . . . . sleeper wagon . . . . . . compartment
French . . . deuxième classe. . . . voiture-lits . . . . . . . compartiment
German . . . zweiter Klasse . . . Schlafwagon . . . . . . . . Zugabteile
Polish . . . drugiej klasy . . . . . wagon sypialny . . . . . . . przedział
Italian . . seconda classe . . . vagone di cuccette . . . . scompartimento
Spanish . . segunda clase . . . . coche-cama . . . . . compartimento de 6 personas
Russian . . второго класса . . спальные вагон . . . . . . . . . купе

Many tourists take express trains because they are newer, higher tech. I never take express trains because I prefer the old wagons for their charm. Express wagons’ usually don’t have compartments, but instead all seats are together & face forward. Express train tickets cost more, the windows don’t open, and they have more businessmen & tourists than local people.

I advise even more strongly to avoid the high velocity “bullet” trains. Their tickets are much more expensive, and they have non-reclining airplane seating, with no compartments. Few people really need to travel from Paris to Prague in 90 minutes. You’ll miss all the fun!

High speed train stations look like airports, with metal detectors, X-rays booths, restrictions, and armed security. For example you’re not allowed to see friends & relatives off on the platform, or greet them as they come to a rolling stop, like you can with conventional trains. You must arrive 2 hours before high speed train departures. After a long wait in the security line your shampoos and nail files will be confiscated.

High speed tracks are constructed with a huge amount of steel-reinforced concrete, which costs $Billions. This high technology eliminates the pleasing clickty-clack sound of the normal speed trains, as well as their gentle swaying from side to side. Riding in a high speed train feels like riding in a commercial jet.

Interesting sights will pass your window in a blur, without giving you time to look at them. There are no seatbelts, so if you crash at such a speed it is not pleasant. These trains whizz right thru most stations without stopping. Higher tech is not always better, it’s just more costly. Globalization destroys all cultures.

Ticket sale clerks often assume that people from “advanced” countries like the UK want high velocity train tickets, and they’ll sell you one without asking you. So before you get in line to buy a ticket, look in your travel guide for the name of the high speed train service in that country. Write the name in the local language on a slip of paper, with the local words for “I don’t want” in front of it, and give it to the ticket sale clerk. Examples:

UK . . . . I don’t want Eurostar or any high speed train.
France . . . . Je ne veux TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse).
Germany . . . . Ich will kein ICE (InterCity Express).
Poland . . . Nie chcę ani “Y-Line”, ani HSR, ani żadnego szybkiego pociągu.
Italy . . . . Non voglio né Frecciarossa/-gento/-bianca.
Spain . . . . No quiero AVE (Alta Velocidad Española).

High velocity trains are a good example of the modern misconception that new technology is always better. A similar misconception is “If we can do something, we should.”

American tourists should consider that they didn’t come to Europe to fly around, drive on Expressways, and go to Starbucks.

I once had a friend from NYC who took his son to see Europe. He planned it all out, 8 capital cities in 10 days. They took every express & high speed train available, and even flew. Their trip was a whirlwind.
“Look, there’s the Brandenburg Tor… Gotta go!” and “Whoa, the Coliseum!” They collected cities like postage stamps, the more the better.
Speed ruins a trip. Speed makes the world smaller; but I want the world to be big.

Bon voyage!
James Hannum

One must drive about an hour out of town to reach an airport. (No neighborhood wants the noise.) Train stations are in the center of towns, and they are much more numerous — these 2 factors make train stations closer to your home. The closest airport is 2+ hours away for many Americans. In Europe (and formerly in the US) every town has its own train station, and cities have several.

One must arrive at the airport 2 hours before departure. You can arrive at a train station 2 MINUTES before departure!

After finally boarding your plane, you sit for another half hour or so before the wheels begin to slowly turn. You taxi at snail’s pace a long way, then stop again. The captain announces, “We’re fifth in line for take off, thank you for your patience.” Within about 2 minutes of boarding a train, you’re at full speed toward your destination.

Finally your turn to take off comes and the engines begin to scream, about 20 feet from your ears. They continue their high decibel screaming throughout the flight. On a train the engine is far away from your wagon; usually it cannot be heard.

On a train you can have a huge suitcase or two without having to check them. Wheel them on yourself. And no charge for any luggage.

Upon arrival, no waiting 45 minutes for your bag(s) to show up on the luggage carousel.

Airline seats recline only 1″, making sleep impossible or uncomfortable, but you can get real bunk beds on a train. The most popular train trips in Europe, as they used to be in the US, are those that depart a major city around 10pm and arrive in another major city around 8 a.m. These Schalfwagons allow one to travel while sleeping in a real bed with sheets, rocked to sleep by the gentle rolling of the train. So much for trains being “time consuming.”

You see so much from the huge train windows, whereas from the tiny plane windows you see only cloud tops. You really can’t see anything of the towns & cities of Norway or Croatia from 30,000 ft. If you don’t have a window seat you don’t see even the cloud tops.

It’s important that train wagons be divided into several compartments with bench seats facing each other, as they have historically always been until recent decades. These compartments are vastly superior to having airline style seats, especially when these seats are arranged like on an airliner all facing forward. Some of the most interesting people can be met on a train if the seating is right. It’s nice to have your own little compartment, 3 people facing 3 people, a large window, a folding out table, 6 bunk beds that fold down at night, and a door that locks at night to keep out the sneak thieves!

Another article included a quote from couple who said: “We were crammed into a night train compartment with a woman who spoke neither the local language nor anything they could speak, and who was traveling with a vast assortment of baggage, including what appeared to be a sewing machine.” These intolerant travelers are missing the point: Traveling together with other people is one of the things that makes train travel such fun.

Also in these old wagons from Europe, passengers can open the window in their compartment. This is good for saying goodbye to your friends & relatives standing on the platform to see you off. In former Soviet countries, at many stations private women sell home cooked food & beverages thru the windows to passengers.

Jet liner windows don’t open and they have stuffy, recalculated air because of the high cost of heating the below zero outside air at 30,000 feet. (The stewardess’ union is always complaining about the unhealthy air, but airline executives refuse to spend the money to heat enough fresh air.) Trains don’t have this problem since they are at ground level where the air is warm.

Trains are hugely more fuel efficient than planes or cars. For the same gallon of fuel one may travel 7 times as far by train as one can by plane. So planes pollute the air 7 times as much as trains.

And most important about train travel is that it is a lot of FUN!

High Speed Trains

I don’t like the new high speed trains. Their stations look & feel like airports, with all the mouth-breathing over-security presence. They won’t let your friends & family onto the platform to meet your train or to see you off. I don’t like the self-important paranoia and restrictions of airports or high velocity train stations.
High speed trains have airline style seats, all facing forward. They don’t recline.

I don’t like the new high speed trains also because of their speed. I don’t want to travel from Lisbon to Berlin in 3 hours. I want to enjoy it, see the forests and beautiful towns go by, catch up on my reading, meet new people in my compartment or bar car, eat a real meal in the rolling restaurant, & fall asleep at night in a real bed with linens, to the rolling cadence of the train on tracks.

You have to sleep the night anyway, why not do it on a train, while moving toward your destination?

Train station ticket window clerks are usually rushed, and just assume without asking that Westerners want the fastest train. If you want to travel at normal speed rather than on the new high tech 100+ mph “bullet train,” before you get in the ticket line look in your guidebook and find the word for “high speed train” in the local language. Tell the ticket clerk firmly “No / Nein / Nyet [word for high speed train].” In Italy the high speed trains are called Frecciarossa (red arrow). In France, Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV). In Germany, ICE. In England, British Rail Class 395. Tickets on these high velocity trains cost much more than normal trains, so you’ll save money and have a better time.

The French Railways website offers through tickets for both the day and the night trains, whereas the Spanish Railways website seems to offer online purchase only for the night train. Neither website is particularly easy to use, especially in English. However, they do offer bargain fares with substantial advance purchase. A good guide to using those websites can be found at Seat61: http://www.seat61.com/Spain.htm

Hope this helps!