For almost 2 centuries trains have become one of the most striking and exciting ways to travel, this means of transport has evolved a lot, and today is no longer the fastest transport that exists, but still remains the favorite of many that is why there is good news for those train lovers as it has recently been officialized the opening of a line that joined tracks that can allow you to travel from Portugal to Singapore and return, the name of this line is Boten-Vientiane.
This is a journey that covers a great distance, it covers a figure of 18,755 km and crosses a total of 13 countries, this journey can be completed in about 21 days having some stops along the way. The most striking thing about this news is that according to calculations it is considered the longest railway trip in the world.
Traveling between continents
This is a route that crosses countries like Spain, Poland, Belarus, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, just to name a few, on Reddit a user posted a map detailing the possible route taken by this train, there we can see the length of the route and an approximate of how long it would take us to get from one end to the other.
The opening of this railroad line has involved an expenditure of about 6 billion dollars between Vientiane and Boten, on the border with China, creating with this investment a continuous rail link from China to Singapore, opening up new travel possibilities. Euronews indicated in a recent report that to book a ticket that covers the entire trip you will have to pay about 1200 euros, or its equivalent in dollars about 1370 $ approximately.
Although, of course, it must be taken into account that as this journey will take such a long route, some locations will have certain restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In a recent article in Post Magazine, a guide with “The best places to visit on the longest train trip in the world” is offered, highlighting interesting destinations such as Vientiane, Singapore, Beijing, Moscow, Paris and other major tourist attractions.
A new way to know the world
A trip of this kind is something that despite its enormous duration attracts the attention of many travelers, but the idea of being 21 days without traveling by train is not something so striking, although it can be very comfortable for the trains as they are very well equipped. According to “The Telegraph” and “Statista” the Trans-Siberian Railway connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East remains the longest direct railway in the world at 9259 km, a journey that takes about 6 days.
This is followed by the route between Toronto to Vancouver in Canada, which covers a distance of 4466 km, and third place is occupied by the line linking Shanghai to Lhasa, which covers some 4373 km.
On the other hand, the European Environment Agency comments that trains continue to be the most environmentally friendly motorized transport in Europe, when compared to airplanes or cars.
Tips for traveling by train
Traveling by train is something that is attractive for many people, especially if you are going to visit Europe since it is one of the continents best connected by this means of transport. But if you are going to travel by train we give you the following tips:
- Travel light, this is a quite comfortable means of transportation but unfortunately it does not have a huge space to store your luggage as in airplanes.
- Its price is usually more expensive than many airplanes, also these last longer in their journey so if you want to travel fast and economical airplanes are still the best option.
- Do not take food on board, although you can do it, it is advisable to avoid it so as not to dirty anything inside the train.