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OUT THERE: ROLL WITH IT

The age of the train has come again. You might expect to hear that line being taken by a man who used to be the station manager at Charing Cross in London and who now runs an award-winning website devoted to international train travel. But Mark Smith, better known as The Man in Seat 61, is not alone. "People are being pushed and pulled towards train travel," he explains. "Pushed because flying has become such a hassle and is no longer glamorous, and pulled because of the desire to reduce their carbon footprint and to enjoy the experience of travelling."

The Man in Seat 61 takes his name from his preferred seat on the Eurostar-first-class, on its own, by a window, "in car 7, 8 or 11", as he says with typical precision. The Eurostar is an example of what he is talking about: it has just increased its London-Paris service (which now has between 18 and 20 round trips a day), at a time when airlines are nervously grounding aircraft and cutting routes.

There are many advantages to letting the train take the strain. "You see where you are going, you have space to move around, you're not strapped into your seat and can face your companions. And unlike a motorway, the track doesn't destroy what it passes through." He argues that the obvious drawback--the fact that it is slower than flying--is overstated, in Europe, anyway. "A one-hour flight in practice takes at least four-and-a-half hours. The same journey by train might take seven." And a train, unlike a plane, is not a nanny state: you can take your own bottle of wine. The Man in Seat 61's top tip is "never travel without a good book and a corkscrew." We asked him to choose journeys where you shouldn't even need the book, because your eyes are glued to the windows. For these, a corkscrew should be all that's required. ~ REBECCA WILLIS

ZERMATT TO ST MORITZ
It may average little over 25mph on its seven-hour, 180-mile narrow-gauge journey, but passengers on the Glacier Express (above) don't mind. Every morning it leaves the ski resort of Zermatt, tucked beneath the Matterhorn, and heads up the valley, the Mattertal. It conquers the bleak Oberalp pass, 2,033 metres above sea level, and snakes through the scenic Rhine gorge past caves and castles to St Moritz. You miss nothing thanks to huge panoramic windows in the coach sides and roof, while an optional three-course lunch is served at your seat. The fare is around £75 one-way.

AUCKLAND TO WELLINGTON
Between Auckland and Wellington on New Zealand's North Island is just about every type of geography: farmland, volcanoes, river gorges, rainforests, coastline. You see it all from the Overlander, an amazing day-long 423-mile train ride between the country's economic and political capitals. The North Island Main Trunk Railway is itself part of New Zealand history, completed in 1908 with such feats of engineering as the Makatote Viaduct and Raurimu Spiral. The Overlander comes with reclining seats, an open-air viewing platform and a lounge area at the rear with a large window looking back along the track. Ditching that domestic flight for a rail adventure costs £48 booked in advance.

NEW YORK TO SAN FRANCISCO
The 900-mile one-night journey along the scenic Hudson River valley from New York to Chicago on Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited is just the hors d'oeuvre. The real deal is the 2,400-mile two-night journey from Chicago to San Francisco aboard perhaps the most scenic of Amtrak's transcontinental trains, the California Zephyr. By the first night, you reach the vast Nebraska farmlands; next morning they give way to an ascent out of Denver into the river canyons of the Colorado Rockies. The day after that, the wild beauty of the Sierra Nevada mountains is followed by a descent to Reno, Sacramento and the Bay Area. The double-deck carriages have spacious reclining seats, comfortable private sleepers, an observation lounge, café and dining car. You can go coast-to-coast for just £95.

BANFF TO VANCOUVER
The Rocky Mountaineer takes visitors wide-eyed through some of Canada's most beautiful vistas, on a two-day all-daylight journey between Calgary or Banff and Vancouver. The train passes a sea of pines along the Bow River, heads through Kicking Horse Canyon, runs by the water's edge at Shuswap Lake and along the Fraser River Canyon. Wildlife abounds, from ospreys and bald eagles to (if you're lucky) a black or even grizzly bear. The history is as rich as the scenery: this is the original 1885 Canadian Pacific transcontinental line. Fares from around £295 including hotel at the overnight stop.

GLASGOW TO MALLAIG
For me, this is Britain's most scenic railway. Its single track stretches from Scotland's largest city into the heart of the West Highlands, the train twisting and turning through the glens at 35mph. There's the windswept wilderness of Rannoch Moor, the rocky rapids of Monessie Gorge, and after Fort William there are lochs and more lochs, then the elegant Glenfinnan viaduct as featured in the Harry Potter films. At the end is Mallaig, a tiny fishing port with the ferry for Skye and a restaurant serving the tastiest langoustines you'll find anywhere. From £28 return booked in advance, or £47 for a flexible return.

KALKA TO SIMLA
The 6am Himalayan Queen leaves the heaving humanity of New Delhi and races across the sunburnt Indian plain, pulling into Kalka Junction at the end of the broad-gauge line several hours later. Now the real journey begins, as passengers change onto a narrow-gauge toy train up into the hills. The train snakes its way into the Himalayan foothills, always climbing and in places spiralling around on itself to gain height. The air gets cooler, the landscape greener, and the first pines appear. Around 5pm the little train pulls into Simla, once the summer capital of British India, free from the heat below. New Delhi to Simla is just £7.

CAPE TOWN TO JOHANNESBURG
Whether you splash out £580 for the luxurious once-a-week Blue Train, £100 for the twice-weekly deluxe Premier Classe train or a mere £24 for a sleeper on the regular four-times-a-week Shosholoza Meyl express, this is an unforgettable 27-hour journey from the tip of Africa into its heartland. Table Mountain disappears behind you and the Cape vineyards at Paarl give way to the sheep-farming scrubland of the vast, arid Karoo. You head up the beautiful Hex River Pass, the occasional eagle circling overhead, past the diamond mines of Kimberley and finally into Jo'burg, a city built on gold. 

SYDNEY TO PERTH
The journey across Australia is an epic three-day trip on a train that's a rolling hotel, complete with private sleepers and en-suite showers, restaurant and bar-lounge. It'll take you from the lush vegetation of the Blue Mountains near Sydney through the endless and desolate treeless desert of the Nullarbor Plain between Adelaide and Perth, with brief stops at the tiny settlement of Cook and the gold-mining town of Kalgoorlie. "Our hospital needs your help--get sick!" reads the sign at Cook, a town which defines the phrase "the middle of nowhere". (Not enough people did get sick, so it closed.) Once off the Nullarbor, you'll be spotting koala in the eucalyptus trees over dinner. About £615 in a Red Kangaroo sleeper, or £890 in Gold Kangaroo.

(Mark Smith is the author of "The Man in Seat 61" (Bantam). Rebecca Willis is Associate Editor at Intelligent Life. Previous "Out There" features include how to rent a lighthouse and William Mackesy's ten best treks)

IMAGE SOURCES: soham_pablo/flickr, Idcross/flickr, Cayetano/flickr, rabble/flickr