Talk:Rail travel

Japan & Korea

Can we add sections for High Speed rail in both Japan and Korea? --Andrewssi2 (talk) 12:53, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Go for it! :) --Nick ^talk 12:58, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

What is the best term for a train that carries automobiles along with their passengers?

Swept in from the pub

While this service has greatly diminished in recent times (mostly, I think, because it is now cheaper and easier to fly somewhere and rent a car when you're there and the only exceptions to this are highly seasonal), it is still around in two "flavors" a) a bridge/tunnel/causeway that was built railway only (e.g. the Chunnel or the Sylt-causeway) which allows you to take a car with you - those are still rather successful b) a long or very long distance train between mostly a cold weather origin and a warm weather destination, like Amtrak's Auto Train - those have been hit with a lot of cuts in Europe in the last couple of decades. Now I don't know whether a travel topic on them makes sense, but they should definitely be mentioned in destination articles where such trains exist (and in some cases even in region or country level "get in" sections) as well as articles like Rail travel in Germany. I have used the term "car train", but am not quite satisfied as a train is composed of cars (well, in most cases) almost by definition, so the term is not quite the right one. What else could be used? Motorail? Autotrain? Car transportation on mainline rail? Hobbitschuster (talk) 23:29, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

I was thinking "auto train", but maybe that's because that's what Amtrak calls it. It is unambiguous, though. Motorail isn't, as railways have motors, just as trains have cars. Ikan Kekek (talk) 23:52, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

DB says 'Motorail' in English and 'Autozug' in German. If you are looking for this service in Germany then the official name, albeit confusing, is probably the way to go. --Andrewssi2 (talk) 00:10, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

SBB in Switzerland calls them 'car trains' or even 'car-carrying trains' (those are of the "flavour" a) type, usually a short-cut through a tunnel to circumvent a mountain pass). Passengers usually stay in their car as opposed to sit in a separate coach. Drat70 (talk) 00:50, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

I agree with Andrewssi2 that we should use the official term in articles about Germany. Ikan Kekek (talk) 00:56, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

I don't think DB gets to define the official term now that the only such service they have left is the Sylt Shuttle. All other such trains have been withdrawn or taken over by ÖBB who is now the biggest player in that business in the German speaking countries Hobbitschuster (talk) 01:12, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

So since different companies use different names, and there doesn't seem to be a single name we can all agree is universal, why don't we just use the official term for each system, with a brief definition in brackets? Using Hobbitschuster's title for this section, that would be "a train that carries automobiles along with their passengers". It might be a little long-winded, but if we don't know which term is best to use, we can't expect our readers to automatically know what an "Autozug" or a "Motorail" is without any further elaboration :-) --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 01:57, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

Motorail was the brand used by British Rail, for their long distance car trains. But all of those services stopped about 20 years, so not sure if the term is still known in UK English. The Channel Tunnel is probably better known as a "car shuttle" or just "car train". It is a relatively short distance, so maybe a different sort of service (you sit in your car, instead of going to a separate passenger carriage).--Fuaran buidhe (talk) 02:00, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

For what it is worth, traveling with a car on a boat between France and England is known as a 'car ferry'. Andrewssi2 (talk) 02:49, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

We have car ferries (so called) in the U.S., too. Ikan Kekek (talk) 05:32, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

Over here, VR uses the terms "car train" or "car-carrier train" in English. ϒpsilon (talk) 05:35, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

Using the local term is probably the best choice for Rail travel in Germany and the like. When mentioning the service in Get in sections, having to explain the term or concept is more awkward. Then a self-explanatory or widely understood term would come handy. Car-carrying or car-carrier trains sound quite usable. Would "motorail (car-carrying train)" work, where the former is the local term? --LPfi (talk) 06:27, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

(indent reset) I don't think there is an official term as such besides the German term "Autozug" which was indeed used by DB for a long time and seems to be a common shorthand even today (ÖBB seems to like to use complicated terms like "Nachtzug mit Kraftwagenbeförderung" or some such) but as there are currently about as many companies as connections and not all of them even have websites in English, discerning an official English term for something which the national railroad has ceased doing is a bit difficult. And there seems to be no global term or term agreed across "Commonwealth English" either... Hobbitschuster (talk) 21:01, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

Great Railway journeys...

Swept in from the pub

Probably a long shot but do we have an overview?

My knowledge of these is somewhat limited outside the UK, but any list would have to include:-

• Road to the Isles ( Highlands, Scotland)
• Heart of Wales ( Wales)
• Indian Pacific (Australia)
• The Ghan (Australia)

I also seem to recall a mid 1980's BBC series - w:Great_Railway_Journeys, that may give some other suggestions.

ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 18:02, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

• Rocky Mountaineer, The Canadian. Ground Zero (talk) 18:05, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

  Thanks , Do we have a way of adding "thematic" itinerary categories, as opposed to geographic ones?

  ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 18:10, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

  We do it in the form of travel topic articles, such as Tourist trains. There can be secondary categories for these, but usually we avoid them. Wikimedia categories on Commons are for maintenance purposes only, and I don't think we need the category at this point. –LPfi (talk) 18:18, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

  I assume the Trans-Siberian railway is the classic of the category, although problematic for Westerners today. The train to Lhasa should fit and probably some Indian services, but I haven't heard much about them. Perhaps also some of the remaining African long-haul lines. For Europe, I don't know what you count as great – they mostly don't have the exotic touch (for us, at least). Would Inlandsbanan fit? –LPfi (talk) 18:28, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

  I would count some of the trans-alpine routes, and the Harz lines.. ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 18:34, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

  Coincidentally, I literally just wrote this one. I'd also include the line from Vic Falls to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. Brycehughes (talk) 03:27, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

  God, the Bulawayo-Vic Falls train is no longer running. That's really sad. (Actually who knows) Anyway the TAZARA's still going strong. Brycehughes (talk) 06:21, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

  +TranzAlpine railway, NZ? --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 01:39, 25 November 2023 (UTC)

We have things like Grand old hotels and Legacy department stores; I'd say this might be another fine travel topic of that general type. The major ones, like Trans-Siberian railway, can be itineraries linked from the topic article. Pashley (talk) 21:01, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

If we have a dozen or two of rail itineraries over all, I think all "great" ones can be linked from the article. The really great ones should each get their itinerary article. I think they also could have a summary of a paragraph or so (perhaps some similar ones combined to a longer paragraph) in the article, in addition to the link. Hm, that would be the "a few sentences" in the listing, unless we go for including them in running text instead, which I think tends to give more entertaining reading. –LPfi (talk) 07:05, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

One could do an article on the UK alone: The Guardian's 10. Ground Zero (talk) 18:10, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

I'm not sure I agree with some of the Guardian's choices.. but I did add the Cambrian line as a scenic route in Rail travel in the United Kingdom a while back. The approach I used might be a template for other descriptions? ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 18:22, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

The Guardian's choices appear to be as much about the destination as the rail journey. We do have West Highland Line which is mentioned in the article, but I don't agree with the Guardian's list of a random 10 of the most scenic 50 rail journeys. AlasdairW (talk) 20:47, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

See Rail_travel_in_Great_Britain#Most_scenic_routes for our list of the 7 most scenic rail journeys. AlasdairW (talk) 20:49, 5 November 2023 (UTC)