The very mention of the word Arlberg evokes memories of a belle époque of continental rail travel. On this route for Europe by Rail, we travel from Zürich to Vienna. The Arlberg Railway was opened in 1884.
The Bernina Railway which links the Engadine area of eastern Switzerland with the Valtellina region in Lombardy is in our view far and away the finest of the three north-south rail routes connecting Switzerland with Italy. In 2008 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Route 42 in Europe by Rail highlights the famous Glacier Express. The route from St Moritz to Zermatt runs through high mountain scenery from the Engadine to the Valais takin in such Swiss staples as glaciers and brooding mountain valleys.
This route nicely explores the Switzerland of the imagination – a place full of Alpine meadows, cow bells and snow-capped peaks. With some of Europe’s most efficient rail services running even into remote Alpine valleys, there is plenty of scope for really getting off the beaten track.
Fifty years ago, the direct train to Basel stayed entirely west of the Rhine, traversing Belgium, Luxembourg and France along the way. The through trains have gone, but the railways are still there. Regular regional trains – all offering a high level of comfort – still ply the entire route.
This is one of Europe’s classic rail journeys, as the route south from Cologne hugs the River Rhine and then, once past Koblenz, follows the dramatic Rhine Gorge upstream.
Route 14 in Europe by Rail uses a regional train to travel from Paris to Burgundy, continuing via Lyon to Geneva. The classic line south from Paris (via Sens and Dijon) which we describe here is dubbed the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée (PLM) route. PLM was the company which introduced to the route such celebrated luxury trains as the Côte d'Azur Rapide and Le Train Bleu - names which evoke the romance of travel in a bygone age.
The train journey from Geneva to Barcelona is one of the finest excursions in this volume. It is a good practical way of covering a lot of ground, but it also takes in a wonderful medley of landscapes.