8 Amazing Train Rides

I found this article about cool train rides and I thought I would share. I traveled by train a few times, I went from Hønefoss, Norway to Bergen, Norway and I have take a train to get from airports to the city centers in Stockholm and London. You can find the article that inspired this post here. 

1. The Shanghai Maglev – China

Speed: It once topped out at a 311 miles per hour during a speed test (top operating speed is 268 mph)
Travels: It connects riders with the Shanghai International Airport and the city's metro system in less than ten minutes.
How it works: This train runs its entire route suspended on a bed of air slightly above the tracks. No contact between wheels and rails means that the entire system is frictionless, allowing the train to become one of the fastest things moving across the surface of the Earth.

2. The Indian Pacific – Australia
Travels: Runs from Sydney to Perth and back on a weekly basis (a single trip takes four days and covers 2,704 miles).

3. The Hiram Bingham Rail – Peru
Travels: The Hiram Bingham rail takes you from Poroy up parts of the Inca Trail ending at Machu Picchu. This isn't the only train to make this service but it it iss the most luxurious. The Hiram Bingham offers dining cars, a bar, an open air observation deck and free tour guides when you arrive at your destination.

4. The Bamboo Train (aka the Norry) – Cambodia
Speed: 30 mph (48 kmh) 
Travels: The bamboo train departs from the northwestern city of Battambang to near by villages
Cost: $5

5. The Orient-Express – Europe (Paris-to-Istanbul)
Travels: Paris, Venice, Rome, Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Istanbul:
The Catch: This line only runs about once per year. Although Orient-Express company runs its Paris to Venice line regularly, it only connects that through to Istanbul in September as an annual tribute to the glory days.

6. The California Zephyr – United States
Travels: 2,500 miles from Chicago to San Francisco taking 51 hrs and 20 mins (crossing 7 states!)
Cost: This trip can cost you as little as $204 for just a seat or $1,760 for a Superliner Bedroom which includes all your meals and a private bathroom.
Bonus: Book another passage on Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited, running from Chicago to New York City and do coast to coast in a single trip.

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7. The Trans-Siberian Railroad – Russia
Travels: Covering 6,000 miles of track and eight time zones, this train crosses approximately one quarter of the planet in a two-week journey. Ultimately, this line links up Moscow with the eastern port city of Vladivostok.

Cost: For this particular train, the Golden Eagle, the service is priced well out of pretty much anyone's budget, at over $15,000 per person, this train is dripping with comforts such as a champagne reception, full butler service and even heated seats.

8. The Bernina Express – Switzerland and Italy
"Life doesn't always run in a straight line. It would be boring if it did. Welcome to the Bernina Express, an Alpine switchback ride, taking you from a land of towering glaciers to one of swaying palms." Says Rhaetian Railway's website. 
Travels: Starting at the city of Chur (or Coire) and ending in Tirano, Italy. During the trip you will travel through 55 tunnels and 196 bridges! 

Have any of you been on any of these trains? Or traveled by train?