Train travel in the United States is not without its challenges, but Washington D.C.'s Union Station is one of the success stories. While other once-grand railroad stations were destroyed and rebuilt in modern, uninspiring styles (New York's Penn Station comes to mind), Union Station has retained the elegant glamor it had when it first opened 100 years ago.

To celebrate its centennial, the station is rolling out special exhibits this weekend (October 4-5, 2008) that hearken back to the golden days of the American railroad industry. Visitors will be able to walk through historic locomotives and rail cars, check out the latest and greatest Amtrak equipment, and get a taste of what used to be the nation's main method of transit.

Of course, Union Station is unique among Amtrak stations around the country, as it provides a headquarters for the company as well as an upscale shopping mall. A $160 million renovation in 1988 restored it to its original 1908 grandeur, transforming it from a decaying relic of a nearly-obsolete form of transport to one of the city's top tourist destinations. So if you're in the District this weekend, drop by to see what a century of railroad history looks like. Who knows, with gyrating gas prices and endless airline hassles, this might just be the beginning of a renaissance in North American train travel.

[Photo: AP via USA Today]

Related Stories:
· Washington, D.C.'s Union Station Celebrates 100 Years of Train Travel [USA Today]
· Union Station [Official Site]
· Train Travel Coverage [Jaunted]]]> Victor Ozols 2008-10-04T15:05:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/21/73622/0784

Determined to tick the Great Wall off your list in your Olympics-inspired visit to China in the future? The Chinese have just created an even easier way for millions of tourists to head out to Badaling, the most popular part of the Wall for snapshots and tacky memorabilia.

The Great Wall Express is a direct train halving the travel time from central Beijing to the wall. Only it doesn't quite take you all the way there: You still have at least a fifteen minute walk ahead of you, but they're "working on it."

The nice part about the Great Wall Express train is that you get to bypass all those nasty traffic jams that would otherwise await you riding in and out of Beijing by bus or taxi. That, and that at just 17 yuan ($2.50) for a first class seat, it's really cheap.

Related Stories:
· All Aboard for the New Great Wall Express [The Age]
· Beijinging: Tick the Great Wall of China Off Your List [Jaunted]

[Photo: auws]]]> amandak 2008-08-21T09:00:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/23/162549/133

For most people in New York, the Long Island Railroad is either the bane of their commuter existence or the one thing standing between Manhattan and partying on the beach. But writer Emily Meg Weinstein decided she'd ride the train just for the hell of it--and think about her upbringing in the suburbia it serves.

Her essay today in The Morning News gives a blow-by-blow account of a ride from Port Washington into Manhattan, as seen from her seat on the 11:11. Not far into her trip:

There is a bay--the bay across which Jay Gatsby gazed longingly at Daisy Buchanan, I'm always quick to point out.

Later Weinstein passes through Great Neck:

The kind of town where an enormous banner proclaiming "BOTOX IS HERE" is not considered to be in poor taste.

After the jump, we've Google Mapped all of her stops, and linked to Jaunted contributor Ben Hancock's guide to surviving the suburbs for you LIRR warriors.]]> pbb 2008-07-23T16:30:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/22/1359/99307

It's hardly shocking that as gas prices rise, more commuters are looking to public transit options they may not have considered earlier. But the Amtrak train leading in gains may surprise you: It's not the soup-to-nuts Northeast Regional or the posh Acela trains, but the Downeaster, the Portland-to-Boston route which picked up 947 extra passengers a day over last year.

We're pleased that we may have reached the tipping point for new public transportation options to be developed nationwide, although the initial result will just be more crowding. (A Midwestern friend of Jaunted says the Milwaukee-Chicago "Hiawatha" service is in dire need of another car per trip, as workers used to driving the 90 miles kick back on the train instead.)

Related Stories:
· Amtrak's Downeaster Ridership up 28 Percent [AP, via Yahoo]
· The Downeaster [Official Site]
· Amtrak coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: herzogbr]]]> egw 2008-07-22T13:50:21-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/16/161840/515

Given the effectiveness of its government, Italy seems like an ideal candidate for private enterprise. But when it comes to the rail service there, we've honestly never been less than impressed. So we're a little surprised to learn that a new private company, Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori, will start running daily trips around Italy by 2011.

NTV plans to use so-called AGV trains developed in France, which are basically next-generation TGVs. In other words, they're fast. A trip from Rome to Milan--which today takes four-and-a-half hours--will be cut to just over three hours. The long haul from Rome to Venice will be shortened by 15 minutes.

Interestingly, the trains will run on existing tracks, which leaves us wondering which service will have priority, the private or the public. Two things the new NTV trains will offer that's certainly new? Internet connections and on-demand TV.

Related Stories:
· NTV [Official Site]
· Private Rail Service Starting in Italy [AP, via]
· Train Travel coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-07-16T16:30:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/15/15914/3205

Moscow might be a blossoming tourist destination with pricier hotels than nearly anywhere else, but until now getting into the city from any of the airports has been a bit of a nightmare. But things are looking up.

With a tongue-twister of a name, the Savyolovsky Station--Sheremetyevo Airport Rail Link has just opened, whizzing travelers from Sheremetyevo into downtown Moscow in just 35 minutes--half the time it used to take on the bus.

Of course, now you miss out on sitting on that smoggy gray traffic jam known as Leningradskoye Highway, but don't worry, it'll still probably take you ages to get through the immigration line.

Related Stories:
· Moscow Sheremetyevo Gains New Rail Link [Business Traveller]
· Moscow Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: jystewart]]]> amandak 2008-07-16T09:11:30-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/24/31440/5153

England doesn't seem that big when you look at it on a map, but a journey from London down to the pretty southwest areas of Cornwall and Devin does take a while. Now that rail company First Great Western has revamped the London to Penzance sleeper train route, however, you don't have to waste time getting there.

This route's been there a while, but now that it's had a £2 million ($3.9 million) upgrade, Great Western is hoping to get a whole heap more passengers. A designer who's worked for Porsche has done new interiors for the trains and all fixtures, fittings and even the toilets have been completely upgraded.

The last time we traveled this route, it was neat and clean enough and very practical for saving a night's accommodation cost--now we're keen to try it again and do it in style instead. With a romantic name like the Night Riviera Sleeper, how can we go wrong?

Related Stories:
· First Great Western Night Riviera Sleeper [Official Site]
· Night Riviera Sleeper Train to Cornwall [Travelbite]
· Train Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: JZjr]]]> amandak 2008-06-24T10:05:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/