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'An Idiot Abroad' Boards the Trans-Siberian Express

On this week's episode of An Idiot Abroad, Karl Pilkington crosses another journey off the Bucket List: traveling across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Express.

When Karl arrived in Moscow to board the infamous train, a cranky taxi driver briefed him on the trip, explaining that Karl was about to spend a week, "in a smelly carriage with Russians who will not wash for a week but they will drink." But, at first that was not Karl's experience at all. He checked into a first class private room on the train and was actually—for maybe the first time on the series—happy. But, that happiness was short-lived after he was moved to a third class bunk where he said he "felt like Anne Frank."

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TSA / Airport Security / Bus Travel / Train Travel / Road Trips / Travel News / VIPR / → All Tags

TSA's VIPR Teams Now Conducting 'Suspicionless Searches' at Train Stations

Since the rest of this post is going to be a mix of straight news and borderline paranoia revolving around the increasing creepiness of TSA VIPR teams, let's start with some balance. Here are the TSA's top 10 good catches of 2011 and here is how they tried to help holiday travelers with medical conditions. Fair's fair. We also want it noted that we decline to create separate posts for each and every negative TSA story that crosses our desk (e.g. this annual holiday nonsense about hostility to pastries or this brutal Vanity Fair article on the uselessness of security theater). That would be obsessive.

Now that that's out of the way, let's proceed with the unpleasantness. Last November we told you about the increased tempo with which TSA has been deploying its so-called VIPR teams, which conduct anti-terror monitoring outside of airports. The program's actual scope is vague and arguably designed to expand, with different government sources and politicians having "differing descriptions of VIPR's exact mission." Critics ranging from mainstream civil liberties groups to batshit crazy conspiracy theorists have specifically picked out VIPR teams—which do their work at highways, ports, bus stations, tunnels, rest areas, etc—for violating the Constitution's Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.

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Italy Travel / Train Travel / Tuscany Travel / Transport / → All Tags

Riding the InterCity Rails in Italy is Molto Semplice

It;s hard when you're based in America to remember just how easy (and lovely) it is to travel by train in Europe. It's quick, it's simple, it's well priced and, in Italy, where we were last week, you have lots of options to choose from.

Normally in Italy, we try to catch the Eurostar trains, which are superquick and awesomely serviced. For our route last weekend - Bologna to Chiusi-Chianciano Terme, the closest station to the magical Val d'Orcia, aka textbook Tuscany - the only options were Intercity or local trains. We chose the Intercity and scored an incredible deal on the journey: EUR31 for two people in first class for the 2hr45min journey, thanks to a buy-one-get-one-free deal on Saturday train travel.

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Holiday Travel / Christmas Travel / Train Travel / National Parks / Grand Canyon / → All Tags

The Polar Express is a Real Thing, for the Next Month Anyway

If your ride aboard the commuter rail just isn’t giving you that warm and fuzzy feeling this holiday season, it might be time to look for a different kind of train. The Polar Express is certainly an option, especially the one offered by the Grand Canyon Railway in the days leading up to Christmas.

All your favorite aspects of the children’s book—and none of the creepy ones from the feature film—come alive as you board the train just outside the Grand Canyon in Williams, Arizona. After a customary declaration of “All Aboard,” the train chugs off through the woods and wilderness on its way to the North Pole. Cookies and hot chocolate are served on the train while enjoying a rendition of the classic story, and then the main event arrives when it's time to visit Santa and his reindeer.

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Awesome Stuff / Eurostar / London Travel / Paris Travel / Travel News / Train Travel / Channel Tunnel / → All Tags

And Now, a Happy Eurostar Story to Warm Your Heart

It’s the nature of news to focus on the bad stuff, we suppose, which is why lovely stories like this make us go all warm in our tummies.

Picture the scene: it's last Monday, and our friend Mia is on the Eurostar returning home to London after a trip to Paris. During the journey, she reads a book—a hefty academic tome worth $120—that she has been asked to read and review for work.

Nearing London, she notices that a friend of hers is mentioned in the book, and puts it down to email her. She forgets to pick it up again, gets off the train, and assumes she’ll never see it again. She is, in her own words, “so annoyed” because not only was the book worth $120, but since it’s brand new it’s not in any libraries yet.

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Train Travel / Amtrak / WiFi / On-Track WiFi / Travel News / → All Tags

Amtrak Rolls WiFi onto 12 More East Coast Routes

SCORE! With the horrible air travel news from over the weekend, it's time for great news on the train travel front. Amtrak just announced yesterday that they've added WiFi on 12 more east coast routes, bringing the percentage of riders who can access it up to 60%.

The WiFi service is called AmtrakConnect and before now, passengers opting for the train over the plane only found it on the high-speed Acela and the normal-speed Pacific Cascades trains. The new routes are short and limited to the east coast—no New York to Chicago or DC to Chicago routes with WiFi yet—and where available, AmtrakConnect will make use of 4G connections.

And the new routes with on-track WiFi are:

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Travel Search Engines / Hipmunk / Train Travel / Amtrak / → All Tags

Hipmunk's Chipmunk is Sporting a New Train Conductor Uniform for a Reason

In another great "duh, why wasn't this done years ago" movie, travel search site Hipmunk.com is now displaying Amtrak train results alongside airline flights when you search. It's official too; Amtrak is literally and figuratively onboard with the whole thing, and heaven knows any extra oomph thrown on their side to help fight for passengers with the airlines is bonus.

So here's what's up: search for flights like usual on Hipmunk. If there are Amtrak options between them, then the Amtrak trains will appear in the results, very much like regular flights do now.

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The Newbie Traveler / Paris Travel / France Travel / Tourism / Tourists / Train Travel / Culture Shock / Andy Miles / Rome Travel / → All Tags

The Newbie Traveler Leaves His Smoking Jacket Home for the Night Train to Rome

What would your life be like if you hadn't yet traveled to Europe? If you'd spent years reading travel novels and fantasizing over guidebooks, but hadn't made the big leap? This is the case for Andy Miles, who in his late twenties is embarking on his first trip to the continent and walking us through the emotions and observations of a true Newbie Traveler. Read his previous adventures and follow along all week as Andy takes us along on his inaugural Euro journey.

This was the moment I had been looking forward to for months. A night train from Paris to Rome. It just felt too good to be true. I expected to chugga-chug through the French countryside, gazing upon family-owned wineries untouched by modern innovations for hundreds of years, sheep on rolling hills and romantic stone archways. In my fantasies, I'd do this while sipping Perrier and conversing with my fellow passengers in the dining car—while wearing a velour smoking jacket, of course.

Later, after an Old Fashioned or four, I'd wrap up my conversations about the current European economic climate and retire to my room for an evening turndown service graciously provided by our train car's attendant. An assortment of Italian chocolates to leave my palate with a taste as sweet as the evening had been? Yes, please!

Unfortunately, the night train to Rome was nothing like that. Nothing at all.

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Photo Gallery / Train Travel / London Travel / Liverpool Travel / LON / Virgin / Virgin Trains / Business Class Travel / First Class Travel / → All Tags

Inside the Virgin Trains First Class Lounge at London's Euston Station

Here's a tip straightaway, before we even discuss the Virgin Trains lounge: always buy your Virgin Trains tickets online, in advance, for the cheapest rates. It was this way (with only two days advance booking) that we scored First Class for 30 GBP less than what regular Economy was asking. Our one-way London to Liverpool cost was 34.50 GBP ($56) and it included free WiFi, food and drinks. Crazy? Maybe for Virgin Trains, but we're not complaining.

So now that you know how we managed to get into the Lounge, let's talk a bit about it. First off, you must traverse the crowded mess that Euston Station sometimes becomes, and head up a grimy stairwell before hitting the sliding glass doors of the lounge. Check in at a desk to prove you're holding a First Class ticket, and you're golden.

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Train Travel / Portland Travel / Amtrak / PDX / Train Stations / Oregon Travel / → All Tags

Train Stations That Still Got It: Portland, Oregon's Union Station

In yet another argument for improving the rail network of the USA, we turn to the impressive Union Station in the Chinatown section of Portland, Oregon. Even if you aren't arriving by the Amtrak Cascades, Coast Starlight or Empire Builder trains and you flew in to this here town, the station is worth a visit for its historical and architectural significance (not to mention that sweet Romanesque clock tower).

As you can see in the above image, the stations is undergoing something of a refurbishment. Sadly, this won't be to add more train services—oh how we'd love to see some hi-speed trains making stops here—but to add housing in places where railroad track used to be.

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Train Travel / Travel Booking Sites / Tripadvisor / Travel Websites / Rail Europe / → All Tags

TripAdvisor Will Now Even Hook You Up with Train Tickets

Okay you guys. Enough of this opening multiple tabs and windows to search all your travel options. Travel booking sites are finally getting hip to integrating many modes of transportation into one search, and the latest to up the ante is TripAdvisor.com. In addition to providing flight prices and information, they'll now set you up with rail tickets:

TripAdvisor has partnered with one of the leading mobility and logistic companies in the world, Deutsche Bahn, as well as other top European rail providers including Rail Europe Inc., to give travelers access to train choices across continental Europe as they plan the perfect trip. It becomes the first travel website to integrate multiple rail providers in-line with flight options across a global network.

When travelers conduct a flight search on TripAdvisor, the site will now display rail itineraries alongside flight choices for routes where it's relevant, and in some cases priced even cheaper than air travel. The site has partnered with leading European rail providers, including Deutsche Bahn and Rail Europe, for the beta launch to give travelers access to train choices across continental Europe.

[Photo: Tripadvisor]

Train Travel / Technology / China Travel / Shanghai Travel / Beijing Travel / Videos / → All Tags

The World's Fastest Train to Zip Between Beijing and Shanghai Starting July 1

Amazing news from Shanghaiist today: The world's fastest train will begin traveling between Shanghai and Beijing as soon as July 1! For lovers of train travel, technology and more transportation options, this is huge news. Plus, it means far less airport congestion and delays on this popular and heavily-trafficked route.

The zippity-quick train at the focus of the new service is the CRH380, a beast of a bullet train that most closely resembled an actual bullet, more so than any other bullet train we've seen. It's a China-designed and China-made train, coming in both 8-car and 16-car lengths. It made the world record for fastest train last year, after the 16-car version hit an incredible 486 km/h (302 mph).

· Time it takes to fly between Beijing and Shanghai: 2 hours for just the flight, not counting airport transportation, security and wait times.

· Time it takes the CRH830 to travel from Beijing to Shanghai: 4 hours, 48 minutes

· Time it takes a regular train to travel from Beijing to Shanghai: 9 hours, 49 minutes

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