Are passengers trains a thing of the past, the present, or the future? It depends on your perspective, outlook, and experience. If you’ve never been on a train, you probably think of it as something from old movies. If you commute by rail, it’s very much a thing of your present. And if you’ve ever been on a high-speed train, you may well view it as a thing of the future. Rail travel can be efficient, romantic, and expensive. It can also be frustratingly inefficient and sometimes costly way to get around. Your perception probably depends on what kinds of trains you’ve been on because there are many various of rail travel. Kinds of Passengers Rail Travel Here are the four major categories of rail travel:

 Transportation rail: from commuter trains that take people to and from work or school, to long distance trains that cross continents, and everything in between, rail travel can be a nation’s key from of transporting both business people and leisure travels (for example, in Japan and Britain) or a means of transportation that’s secondary to automobiles and planes (for example, in the United States)  High-Speed Trains: These “bullet trains” represent subdivision of the transportation category but provide such a different kind of service that they merit their own section. Bullet trains travel well over 100 miles per hour and often represent the fasterst way to get from place to place. amtra’s acela (in the U.S. notheast), japan’s Shinkansen, and France’s TVG are the best-known trains of this type.  Specialty trains: Usually privately owned rather than publicly run, these trains are attraction unto themeselves. In some cases, they offer super- deluxe experiences, perhaps the most famous of these are europe’s legendary orient express and africa’s Blue trains. In other cases, they provide the best way to experience a place like the grand canyon, mexico copper canyon, alaska’s interior or the canadian rokies. Some usually called scenic railways, go only a few dozen miles. With restored old trains cars. Other such as india’s luxurious palace on wheels, travel for more than a week  Local rail: Subways, streetcars, monorails, and more- these forms of public transportation provide a vital service to the world’s geat cities. San francisco’s cable cars may be the most famous of all. Of course, precendence over passenger trains. In the united states, for instance a passenger trains may have to wait on a sidetrack to permit a freight trains to pass.

 Having already hinted at some of the factors that motivate people to travel by rail, here are the specifics:  To save time. In an age of lengthy security procedures at airports and clogged roads and highways, rail travel often represent the fastest way to get from place to place, especially when high-speed trains are involved. This is most true for trips of 200 to 500 miles or so. In cities, subways often cover distance for more swiftly than cars or taxis. Can. Rail travel of course, in not always the quickest form of travel. In many countries, inefficient rail systems result in maddeningly slow trips. For long trips, air is almost always faster.  To experience the environment. Specialty trains and local transportation rail lines enable passengers to have an up-close, often leisurely, and personal experience of the ever-changing landscape. even long-distance train travel  To travel in comfort. Intercity and cross-country trains often have wider seats and a much better pitch between seats than do aircraft. The ride is quiet and smooth. Moreover, passengers can get up and walk around-something that’s hard to do on a plane and impossible to do in car or a bus

 To meet people. Rail travel easily lends itself to socializing, usually in a train’s dining or louge car.  To save money. In some cases, easily lt’s quite economical to travel by train by train, streetcar,or subaway. First-class seats on train are almost always less expensive than those on plane. Also, trains usually depart from midcity railway stations. There’s no need to take an expensive cab ride to and from the airport. Special rail passes provide especially good value.  To “travel back in time”. Many specialty trains enable you to experience what was the dominant form of travel in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuy. Their restored train car are marvels of victorian engineering or art deco design.for that matter, train travel itself, in any form, provides an evocative slice of nostalgia.  To’ conquer’ bad weather. A snowstorm can halt air, car, and motorcoach travel. Unless it’s a huge storm, rail travel is largely unaffected. (thunderstorm can delay air travel too.)\  For a feeling of safety. Although train accidents do accur, many people perceive rail travel as a more secure and comforting form of transportation than air travel. After all, it in on the ground. For frequent travelers who are fearful of air travel, rail is usually the transportation of choice

 THE ONBOARD EXPERIENCE  What’s it like to take a long-distance train excursion? That depends where you are. In the united state or canada, typically you’ll board you train at a city- center railroad station or terminal. You many purchase your tickets in advance ( for example from a travel egency, on the web, or via a toll-free phone number)or wait until you arrive at the station.  About 20 to 30 minutes before departure, an announcement will be made, on a large schedule board and/or va public address system, that your train is ready is ready for boarding at a specified track. After perhaps a security screening, you’ll board the train, you luggage in tow or facilitated by a porter. You’ll seek out your train car, based on the class of service you’ve chosen.

 FOREIGN RAIL EXPERIENCE  In many countries, rail travel isn’t hust an alternative to air or car travel; it’s the dominant form of travel. As a result, service is much more frequent than it is in canada or the united states, with far more place accesible by rail. In many developing nation, train travel may be well below the standard you expect and is quite an adventure. Specialty trains in such countries, though, can be impressive In industrialized nations, however, rail travel often represents the best way to get around. The journey would be much like the one described for the united state and canada, with certain exceptions:

 Some foreign trains have small compartments within each rail car, with doors opening onto a corridor that runs along one side of the car. Mavies set in europe feature them prominently. Each compartment has tow rows of two or three seats on each side, with passengers facing one another.  As with U.S. and canadian rail transportation, passengers can sleep onboard either in their seats or in small, bedroom-like compartments. However many foreign trains, especially european ones, feature couchettes a bunk in a passenger compartment. Configured like regular passenger compartment during the day couchette compartment are converted by the porter into sleeping quarters at night. The two lowers seats each turns into the a couchette, and one or two couchettes above each of these fold out from the wall.  Foreign trains lend to have only two classes of sevice, with less difference between the two than in the united state or canada  It’s critical that when you board a foreign train, you know precisely which car to board. Some car may go to one destination, but other will be “decoupled” from the engine and connected to another train and go somewhere else. So you might be going to one place-but your rail car won’t. fortunately, the conductor will usually rectify a mistake before it’s too late when he or she sees your ticket

 MORE THIS AND THAT  The most traveled rail route in the united states is the northeast corridor from Boston through new york city, phIadelphia, and washington, D.C.  Amtrack tickets are handled very much like airline tickets (including as e tickets in fact, amtrack works through the airlines reporting corporation (ARC).  On some specialty trains journeys, such