# MISC | Greatest Potential Rail Journies



## jaybob (Oct 8, 2007)

I have a wish that once I retire I would like to travel overland by rail from the U.K to Southern India. Then a short flight to Sri Lanka and travel by rail there. Is such a journey possible? I have been trying to establish what would be the best route so any ideas from you guys out there would be greatly appreciated.

Also if you could travel on your dream rail journey what would it be?


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

You cannot reach India by train right now. It has only a connection to Pakistan, and not further.


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## pewpewpew (Jun 21, 2007)

You could technically get a train all the way from London to Lhasa in Tibet, cross Nepal into North India and then continue.


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## elfabyanos (Jun 18, 2006)

Surely you can go from Lisbon to Vladivostok?


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## urbanfan89 (May 30, 2007)

elfabyanos said:


> Surely you can go from Lisbon to Vladivostok?


Looking at Google Maps, the longest journey you could take all by rail would be from Lisbon to Ho Chi Minh City, though a line from China to Thailand is being built and in a few yeas you can get to Singapore all by rail. You will have to travel by metro to change stations in Paris, Moscow, and Beijing, but that still counts as rail.


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## Pommy (Jun 13, 2007)

It may be possible to get a train to India via Iran. You can definitely get to Terran and I think you can get to Kerman. I think there may also be a line from Pakistan to Zahedan Just inside Iran. I'm not sure if these two places are linked, but I thought there were plans. It would be a fantastic journey.

I would like to do Wick to Singapore when the line through Cambodia is finnished. At the moment there are only buses between Ho Chi Minh and Phnum Phen and Battambang to the Thai border.


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## Trainman Dave (Mar 30, 2007)

Pommy said:


> It may be possible to get a train to India via Iran. You can definitely get to Terran and I think you can get to Kerman. I think there may also be a line from Pakistan to Zahedan Just inside Iran. I'm not sure if these two places are linked, but I thought there were plans.


There are plans but news about construction progress in Iran is hard to come by. As there has been no announcements, I assume that the connection is not yet complete.


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## earthJoker (Dec 15, 2004)

urbanfan89 said:


> Looking at Google Maps, the longest journey you could take all by rail would be from Lisbon to Ho Chi Minh City, though a line from China to Thailand is being built and in a few yeas you can get to Singapore all by rail. You will have to travel by metro to change stations in Paris, Moscow, and Beijing, but that still counts as rail.


You don't have to go through Paris. You can go for example via Zürich where you can change trains at the same station.

Don't know if there is a way around Moscow


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## jaybob (Oct 8, 2007)

I like the idea of going via Iran and Pakistan. As you say info on Iran is sketchy at best. However with the revised rail link between India and Pakistan does open up some possibilities. It would be nice if it could be done all by rail, but may have to accept some short stints on road etc.


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## trainrover (May 6, 2006)

I fancy travelling by train to Buenos Aires from Montreal . . . possibly on my one-way ticket!


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## Augusto (Mar 3, 2005)

jaybob said:


> I like the idea of going via Iran and Pakistan. As you say info on Iran is sketchy at best. However with the revised rail link between India and Pakistan does open up some possibilities. It would be nice if it could be done all by rail, but may have to accept some short stints on road etc.


The rail link between Bam and Zahedan is likely to be completed soon. India and Iran have very good relationships and they need a rail link. In fact this link mostly depends on the relations between India and Pakistan, as trafic would go though this country. China also have huge rail projects between Iran and China and between Pakistan and China.


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## Augusto (Mar 3, 2005)

From www.iran-daily.com 



> Zahedan-Bam Railroad near Completion:
> Bam-Zahedan railroad extends over 323 kilometers.
> Europe and Asia will be linked with the completion of the Zahedan-Bam railway line, Sistan-Baluchestan governor general said.
> Habibollah Dahmardeh noted that the project’s physical progress had been meager in the past ten years, Persian daily ’Iran’ wrote.
> ...


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## Dinuś (Aug 17, 2006)

^^ Great news! :banana: Can't wait to travel all the way from Haydarpasa to Pakistan by train (forget the ferry on Lake Van). I rode the train from Kerman to Bam already in 2005, but there was only one connection a day and the travelling speed wasn't very spectacular but I hope the true potential will be unlocked once Zahedan is linked to the rest of the Iranian railroad network.


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## Svajoklis (Oct 29, 2005)

Pretty much all of these questions can be answered by www.seat61.com !


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## Yardmaster (Jun 1, 2004)

There have been a number of threads on this theme on this forum, including one I started myself: Ten Longest Continuous Railway Journeys on Earth 
... it seemed that somewhere in Norway or Portugal was in fact further than Wick or Thurso in Scotland from, at the moment, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. There are apparently plans to link Thailand with Vietnam, which means you'll be able to catch the train to Singapore (via Beijing).

Other threads which are related:

The 5,000-km Singapore-Kunming Rail link 
How far can you travel by standard gauge rail? 

Singapore to Kyle of Lochalsh sounds like a pretty good trip to me ...


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## Joop20 (Jun 29, 2004)

May I recommend the book 'the great railway bazaar' by Paul Theroux? Although it's dated (1975), it's an excellent read, and the author travels from London to Asia by rail, crossing countries like Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan and Rusland.


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## Yardmaster (Jun 1, 2004)

Joop20 said:


> May I recommend the book 'the great railway bazaar' by Paul Theroux? Although it's dated (1975), it's an excellent read, and the author travels from London to Asia by rail, crossing countries like Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan and Rusland.


I commend it too ... read it already!


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## sathya_226 (Mar 26, 2006)

Wait for another 2 years ! Some super speed maglev trains are comin up right here in India! U ppl will get another kinda experience once it is established!


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## Yardmaster (Jun 1, 2004)

^^ and when it's connected from Iran to Thailand ...


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## Joop20 (Jun 29, 2004)

Yardmaster said:


> I commend it too ... read it already!


Have you read 'the old patagonian express' as well? Is it equally good?


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