At one station the doors opened, and suddenly the afternoon quiet was shattered by a man bellowing violent, incomprehensible curses. the man staggered into our car. He wore labourer’s clothing, and he was big, drunk, and dirty. Screaming, he swung at a woman holding a baby. The blow sent her spinning into the laps of an elderly couple. It was a miracle that she was unharmed. Read this very interesting story here.

Pic Courtesy: MSN Encarta (A crowded commuter train in Tokyo)

The world’s highest railway was opened nearly a year ago on 1 July. This engineering marvel is extremely controversial because of the Tibetan connection.

Linking China’s Golmud to Lhasa in Tibet, the journey reaches it’s highest point at 16,640 ft. The entire journey is about 1,140 kms long. You can read more about this railway in this very informative article.

One of the greatest books on trains and train journeys that I have read is Paul Theroux’s ‘The Great Railway Bazaar’. It is a fantastic book written about 32 years ago when the author pursued his dream of ‘boarding every train that chugged into view from Victoria Station in London to Tokyo Central, and to come back again via the Trans-Siberian Express.’

His journey took him to Turkey, Iran, France, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Russia…

Although this book is a few decades old and rail travel has since then improved considerably around the globe, what is beautiful about this book is the language and the passion with which the writer is able to describe his rail journeys.

I have an interesting connection with this book. I keep it with me only to read it on a train journey. For a very long time, I would inadvertently reach the same spot (about 1/3rd of the book) by the end of the journey. It was only a few days ago, that I was able to shake that jinx off and read some more…

Well, all these people are certainly going somewhere…!!!

Doing a blog carnival on trains is not very easy. Fact is there aren’t too many posts on trains or train journeys and even if there is, not many people know about this carnival. But, since I believe in persevering, I am going ahead with this carnival.

The romance of a train journey is second to none and since I live in India, a train journey is not yet a clinical experience where technology has taken over and killed the sounds, the sights and the smells…

So welcome into this journey…Zenofeller writes about globe trotting, the sights, the women, moths and riding the Orient Express among other things in Xenophillia – zeno globetrotter. That was interesting!

Sheila Scarborough talks about a couple of fun family train ride options in Carolina in her article Blue Ridge Railroad Fun. Hey, somebody’s got that right!

That’s all folks at this edition of the Carnival of trains. To be a part of the next carnival which is due on 1 July submit your article here.

Pic Courtesy: Big Foto

Here is an excellent article about how the Mahatma’s thinking was influenced by some rail journeys that he undertook. His most famous defining moment of being thrown out of a train in South Africa, is such a powerful anecdote. The writer goes on to say that through the railways, he was able to travel the length and breadth of India and see the plight of his countrymen first-hand. Read this interesting article here…

Pic Courtesy: Big Foto

I found this interesting blog which had a feature titled train tales . Kat rides the train five days a week and has done a great job with little snippets from her inexhaustible journeys. Take a look…

Pic Courtesy: Big Foto

“A train journey is different from travelling by road or air, especially if you happen to be alone and sitting next to a window during a day trip. The train has the effect of setting the mind completely at rest. Thoughts wander in and out. Sights outside the window spur some past memory and activate a new set of hyperlinks…” Thus goes Rajesh Jain’s well written article A train Journey. When the journey provides the seed for new ideas, it’s just what a rail journey is all about. A must read for rail buffs.

Pic Courtesy: Big Foto

Some events change your life forever. While searching for blogs or articles on trains I chanced upon this beautiful posting about an incredible experience on the tube in London. Read all about it in Damian’s The holy man on the train.

Apparently, Italy is another place where rail travel is very cheap and it is also a great way to see some great historical spots. I found this article really interesting, you can read it in Trains in Italy.