Four (5) Reasons Why You Should Travel by Train

The blog Four Reasons Why... posted the following reasons why you should travel by train.

1. When you travel by air, you are essentially sitting in a tin can with nowhere to go. If you are lucky enough to get a window seat, you have the pleasure of looking at the colour blue for hours on end. Or black, if you’ve got an overnight flight. Driving? A little better, but you still don’t have much comfort, and the most you will often see are the backs of other cars and long stretches of highway. If you take the train, you actually get to see the landscape through which you are traveling and experience the wonders of territories only interrupted by train tracks.

2. The pleasure of train travel is highlighted by the ability to actually stand up and move around. There isn’t really a time someone is asking you to sit down and strap on a belt. Feel like taking a walk? Talk a walk to the observation car! Feel like you need to pee? Go pee! Feel like you need a drink? Go to the bar car! Ah…the bar car. Find me another mode of transportation that has a bar car. Love it!

3. Security. Or lack there of. Of course we’re all concerned about safety and security when we travel. But trains, no matter where you are, are generally safe and, as such, security is fairly limited. You see your train. You have your ticket. You get on. It’s as simple as that. No need to arrive at the train station two hours before your flight, take your shoes off, empty your pockets, dump all liquids over three ounces in volume and subject yourself to the whims of security staff.

4. Many passenger trains these days have wireless Internet connections, so you can stay connected. While it’s not necessarily free, what you save on tickets versus flying more than makes up for paying for access. This doesn’t mean you have to connect to work either. Login to your favourite video streaming site and catch up on some TV or movies. Or if you have a Slingbox, or a friend who will be nice to you, tune in to live action or something on your DVR/PVR. (Do as one friend did during the last World Cup, who Slingboxed live games when taking a long train trip. In the bar car, no less. Brilliant!)

5. Train travel is actually better for the environment. While staying at home and doing nothing is the best things you can do for the environment, if you are going to travel, take the eco-way. According to a Train Chartering, a train uses up to 70% less energy and causes up to 85% less air pollution than a jet aircraft.