Just for fun, I was wondering what the longest train ride in the world would be, if you were able to transfer trains within a station, but not physically leave a train station.
I assumed that the Trans-mongolian Moscow-Beijing train would be a good place to start, given that it's obviously very long. The only problem is that you have to transfer at the Moscow station to a different station, because as far as I know, the Trans-mongolian station only serves siberia. So, with that in mind, you could make it to Beijing. From Beijing, you could definitely go to Lhasa from the same station, right? You could also probably make it from Moscow to Hong Kong. What about Ho Chi Minh City? Singapore?
A few things to note:
- You could obviously go in circles forever once you got into China without leaving a station -- I'm thinking more of a Point A to Point B thing here.
- Could you make it past Moscow westward if you transfered to another train at a station before Moscow? I.e. Novosibisrsk or something?
- For the permantently-disgruntled members of the board, I'd just like to note that I don't actually think doing this would be a good idea. It's not real traveling -- I get it. You can't see a country from inside train -- I know. Calm down and go take your pills.
Anyway, any ideas?
I think this can be extended westward. It seems there is a train every couple of days from Irkutsk, on the Trans-Siberian (and Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Manchurian) line, to Kharkov in Ukraine. From there it's easy to get to Kiev Pass. station. And from there you should be able to get to most places in Central and Western Europe, with just a bit of care to avoid changing in large cities with multiple stations like Paris. If you really wanted to make it as long as possible, while still avoiding backtracking or crossing your own route, you could head south to the Balkans (Sofia, Istanbul, Thessaloniki) before heading back to Central Europe via Zagreb or Ljubljana. Ultimately I would think you could get as far west as Lisbon.
I think you could also do a fairly long trip in North America, e.g. something like Boston-Washington-Chicago-Los Angeles-Seattle-Vancouver. From Vancouver you could take the Transcanadian back east to Toronto, and possibly further east (I don't know if Toronto has more than one station).
South America can probably be ruled out as there are so few remaining long stretches of railway. I don't think Africa would have anything comparable either.
"Lisbon to Lhasa" has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Would look good on the cover of a book. Off you go, and let us know how you get on!
One problem with this option is that you will often end up in places that are famous because of their railway junction.... and not because there is anything else
Small correction: scratch Istanbul from my previous post, it would require covering the same stretch of track into and out of Istanbul which I think breaks the rules.
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<hr>It's not real traveling -- I get it. You can't see a country from inside train<hr></blockquote>
Yes you can. Actually I think you learn more about a country, its people and the physical environment by traveling on public transport than by spending all your time at the different 'must see' sights. If it would be a pleasurable experience is, of course, a wholly different matter...........
check worldreviewer.com they have a section about train travelling maybe you could include these in your plans!
Not sure if this is really the longest, but Paul Theroux's book, The Old Patagonian Express, was sort of an attempt. He left the train from hometown Boston and went all the way down via train to the tip of Agentina. In reality, he did have to leave train stations and even take one short flight, but it's a good read nonetheless.
The longest train ride Ive taken was this winter a.) from Hanoi Vietnam to Beijing Xi, the west station. and then three months later b.)from Beijing main station to Moscow.
But you would have to change stations in Beijing. Beijing has three stations, Trans-Siberian always goes from the main station, but the only Vietnam train leaves ones a week from the West station, which I believe is the largest station in Asia.
If I would define a long trainride as a ride that goes in almost in a straight line (or in somekind of arc, so you would never really go anywhere backwards) I think I read somwhere that the longest trainride in the world would be if you would buy a ticket in Ukraine that would lead you through Moscow to Vladivostock and there down to a city in North Korea (yes the russians have a weekly train to North Korea).
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