Holiday Travel By Train During the last ten years there has been a return to train travel, particularly in the United States. This might have something to do with nostalgia and romance, but most analysts put it down to a consequence of the aerial bombing of Twin Towers on 9/11/2001. The government's and the airlines' reaction to those acts of terrorism have resulted in enormous hikes in the level of security at airports and rightly so, but travellers are also put off by the long queues and invasive searches at airports. This difficulty is even worse at busy airports and during vacation periods such as while schools are off. Car travel is also an alternative, but then you have to carry out your own driving and that brings its own worries, especially if you are with children and particularly if you are a single parent. Besides that, travelling by train is a holiday in its own right. Your vacation begins the moment you put your bags in the rack and find your seat. Once you have sat down, given the kids a colouring book and a can of soda, you can sit back, relax and simply snooze or look out of the window at the scenery flying past. Most of your problems are over until you arrive at where you are going. Your kids cannot become lost or wander off and they are very safe from predators. Furthermore, trains seats are usually much more roomy than the equivalent airline seats. Economy seats in a train are much more comfortable than economy seats in an airplane. You can also get up and walk around which makes long journeys much more comfortable. The backdrop is also better from a train than a plane. After all, clouds are clouds are clouds, but you can see all types of things out of the window of a train. There are also sleeping and dining carriages to break up the journey, but there is usually also attendant service in your seat, if that is what you want. Simply push the button and someone will come to take your order. Have you heard of the Orient Express, the Flying Scotsman or the Trans-Siberian Express? What romantic visions they summon up. Contemporary trains might not have the nostalgia or the steam engines of the Thirties, but they are still great to travel on. You can book your seats on a train journey much the same as you would on a plane, which means that if you stand up to go to the bathroom or dining carriage, your seat will still be unoccupied when you return. This is a colossal plus point, because it is maddening if someone takes your seat. The next time that you make a decision to go away, think again about going by train. You can leave your car at the station or you can even take it with you on the train, if you want. You will not regret having given the rail network a chance, because the chances are that you have forgotten how handy and inexpensive they are.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a lot of topics, but is currently involved with American Flyer Train Sets. If you would like to know more about train sets for kids, please go over to our website for some great offers.