Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
visitor attractions in some cases. These also include rural trains, which often
do have a strong tourist appeal because they offer great scenic and sometimes
nostalgic value, including features such as old railway buildings and signage.
In some countries, local or regional partnerships have been formed to
develop such lines. In the UK, for example, local community rail partnerships
estimate that they increase the footfall of such local railway lines by 7 per cent
over a three-year period, of which 26 per cent is estimated to be a shift from
car use. Many of the promotional schemes developed by such community part-
nerships are targeted at staying and day visitors (Transport Regeneration
Limited, 2009). However, there are concerns about the viability of some rural
routes (Haywood, 2007), due to decreasing passenger numbers and hence
insufficient revenue to maintain infrastructure. Loss of rural routes is signifi-
cant for the future of slow travel; once routes are cut, infrastructure is very
costly to reinstate at a later date.
Long-distance trains are those which operate beyond 100km, and are
more likely to involve a range of 1000km in accordance with a previous EU
study, Dateline. However, long-distance trains can cover more than 1500km,
and often the journey time is greater than one day. These trains sometimes
convey sleeping cars as well as conventional carriages. They may pass through
several countries, although in the USA or Australia they offer, in the main,
long-distance travel within the country of origin only. According to van
Goeverden (2009), 59 per cent of passengers in long-distance trains in Europe
are tourists staying one or more nights at a given destination. The long-
distance train is likely to pass through scenic landscapes but stop only at the
principal stations serving major populations, where onward connections can
be made.
An increasing number of long-distance trains are also high-speed trains
which travel at speeds of over 150mph (250km per hour), such as the 'Bullet'
trains in Japan (Shinkansen), TGV in France, ICE trains in Germany, AVE
trains in Spain, and in North America, the Boston to Washington service.
These trains have the capability to reduce travel times and, it is argued, with-
out significantly increasing environmental impacts (Blum, Gerceck and Viegas,
1992). This is subject to some discussion (see below). However, most long-
distance trains, such as the Trans-Siberian railway at 9010km or the Indian
Pacific between Sydney and Perth in Australia, are not high speed; the latter
takes three days to cover the 4340km.
There is also a distinction to be made between scheduled railway services,
which offer scenic views and are marketed to the 'walk on' tourist trade, and
those designed specifically for tourist markets. The latter tend to be pre-
booked and operate, in effect, as charter trains, by tour operators where
tickets are sold on the internet or through agencies well in advance of the
departure date. For example, there are regular steam-hauled charters on the
Darjeeling Himalayan train in India which are sold by specialist travel agents
throughout the world. Other categorizations include funicular railways oper-
ating between low and high quarters of towns or to nearby hills (such as in
Braga, Portugal, Naples in Italy and the Unesco World Heritage site in
Valparaiso, Chile) and similarly cog railways in mountainous areas, such as
