Travel by Steam Train - Kelling Heath, Norfolk

Unusually, Kelling Heath has its very own train stop along the small but stunning North Norfolk Railway. This 10.5 mile round trip by steam train takes you through an area of outstanding natural beauty. 

Our beautiful old steam train chuffed into the station, complete with two drivers covered in soot!
The old style cabin seating only added to the charm, taking you right back in time.
We headed south to Sheringham, a charming little station, with station museum, signal box and gift shop. The children loved the play area. A train inside a train, the mini loco complete with ticket office and carriages was a real hit!

When our return train arrived we watched as it pulled in, surrounded by plumes of smoke. Tucked back into our cosy cabin we headed back out along the track, this time to Holt. Due to the gradient of the Kelling Heath station, trains can only stop when travelling downhill. Our return train would take us past Kelling Heath and Weybourne to Holt before making an about turn and dropping us off on the way back to Sheringham.
As well as marvelling at the detail of our train and the carriages, it was wonderful to be able to sit back and simply enjoy the view. The coast in Norfolk is stunning, and what a great way to enjoy it!

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We're all a bit more savvy about train travel nowadays. We don't just turn up at the station with five minutes to go and pay a fortune for our ticket. We know that if we go online a few days - or even a few weeks - in advance we can pay far less for our ticket.

But before we get carried away with just how clever we have become, it's worth bearing in mind that many of us are still paying almost 50% more than we need to - because we're falling foul of the rip off train booking websites.

The complexities of the UK train system make it tricky to know exactly who will be operating your rail service. There are scores of services around the country and even the same journey is often run by more than one train company. It's hardly surprising, therefore, that so many people don't try to tack down their train company website.

The rip off
There's no doubt that they are easy to use, but research by Southern Railway has discovered that they often charge far more than going direct to the rail company, and in some instances charge 50% more.

They searched for a journey from Brighton to London Victoria, and found that while their lowest fare was £4.50, Trainline and Raileasy would charge £5. To add insult to injury the other companies also add a booking fee, a fee if you use a credit card and another fee if you want the tickets posted to you first class. It means overall a £4.50 ticket from Southern would set you back £9.50 at The Trainline or £8.95 from Raileasy.

The solution
And you don't need to be booking tickets with the operator running your service in order to pay less. Most operators will allow you to book on other company's lines, and it will still constitute a saving. The railway operator found that in every single case it was cheaper to buy direct from Southern, even when travelling outside their operating area.

Alistair Buckle, head of marketing at Southern Railway said: "With headline adverts like 'Save up to 80% on train tickets', customers could be mistaken into thinking they are getting a good deal by using a commercial ticket site. In fact, these percentages only compare the commercial sites' prices to the cost of buying a ticket at a station on the day of travel, when even greater savings could be made by buying advance tickets direct from the train operators' websites. The truth is that all commercial ticket sites include a mark-up on the face value of the tickets sold, and then create extra revenue with added booking and credit card fees, further increasing the cost to the consumer."

The simple message, therefore is that if you have a few minutes more to shop around for your ticket, you could save significant sums. It's worth doing a search for who runs the service and looking up the prices on its website. It's also worth bookmarking a few other operators who don't charge booking fees, postage fees or credit card fees, so you know you can make a saving when you travel.


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Railways upgrade postponed

CHILTERN Railways has postponed bringing in its new speeded-up timetable for May, just days after unveiling it.
The train operator said it had taken the decision to reduce the risk of disruption for passengers after reviewing progress on its Evergreen3 improvement project, which will cut journey times between Oxfordshire and London by about 25 per cent.
The review found there was a possibility that the final phase of engineering work in late April and early May could overrun and disrupt services at short notice.
Chiltern’s chairman Adrian Shooter said: “We’re obviously disappointed to be postponing the launch of the Chiltern Mainline timetable but I do believe it’s the right decision for our passengers.”
As a result of the decision, work to commission the final track and signalling changes will be rescheduled for the end of August, when many commuters are on holiday.
Once the work is complete, trains will be able to run at 100mph most of the way between London Marylebone, Bicester and Banbury.
Mr Shooter added: “We’re sorry that we’re not able to offer the improved service from May as planned, but it will be ready when commuters get back from their summer break.”
Chris Bates, chairman of the Cherwell Rail Users’ Group, said: “Something has slipped, what it is I’m not sure at the moment.”
He added: “They have done the right thing. There was no way to complete the commissioning in the time they had left, to be ready for May 22, when the new timetable was due to start.
“They now need to give passengers more information, as quickly as possible, about when the work will be rescheduled, so they can plan for work and holidays.”
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Huge Delays in Pakistan as Rail Workers Strike

LAHORE: Trains from Lahore were delayed for up to eight hours on Tuesday as Pakistan Railways (PR) workers, in a protest against the non-payment of their salaries, refused to let locomotives out of their shed.
Train services resumed later after the workers were paid and they stopped their protest, but not before thousands of passengers spent hours stranded at Lahore Railway Station. Many had been planning journeys home for the Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi holiday. The protest lasted around eight hours.
Pakistan Railways, like several other public departments, is under severe financial constraints at present. There were small-scale protests at the beginning of February after pensioners did not get their monthly cheques.

On Tuesday, railway shed workers surrounded the Mughalpura locomotives shed, which housed 32 engines. As a result, the Karakoram Express, Allama Iqbal Express, Tez Gam Express, Rail Car to Rawalpindi, Farid Express, Night Coach to Karachi and others were unable to depart Lahore. Meanwhile, the city railway station filled up with passengers anxiously awaiting news of their trains.
The head of the Railways Workers Union (RWU) told The Express Tribune the protest was related to the upcoming Eid-e-Milad holiday. “We were scheduled to get our salaries today [Tuesday],” said RWU president Sarfaraz Khan. “We are religious people and we need money for the holiday. We cannot celebrate without our salaries.”
Khan said the union was not insensitive to the needs of passengers headed home for the holiday, but that they had little choice. “Our members are poor people. They don’t have money to feed their families. If the distribution of salaries had started on the 12th there would not be this problem. There are some PR officials who are always trying to create disturbances in railway operations.”
A PR spokesman said that the due date for the salaries of these employees was between the 15th and 22nd of every month. “If workers do not get their salaries today [Tuesday] they will get them on Thursday after the holiday,” he said. “It’s routine practice.”
PR officials tried to resolve the protest by offering to pay half the salaries of the shed employees. Workers said they had been offered Rs6 million, but the total salaries came to Rs12 million.
They refused to stop the protest. After further negotiations, PR divisional superintendent Abdul Jabbar had the workers paid their full salaries. The locomotives were allowed out of the shed and the delayed trains set off, but not before the holidays of thousands of passengers had been ruined.

Romantic Train Journeys - Switzerland

When you think about the most romantic mode of transportation, what comes to mind? Cars take concentration. Bus rides are too busy. Cruises only deliver you to ports reachable by water. Trains, though, are a terrific way for couples to travel. 

 

Seated side by side, you get to view magnificent scenery through your window. There's time to kiss. Sleep. Dream. Whether you board a scenic train, an overnight train, or even scenic commuter trains, you're likely to find such rides great fun for two.

Swiss Train Rides

 

The country best known for its clean, modern, on-time trains, Switzerland offers visitors an incomparable way to experience the countryside. Couples you can go from point to point at their leisure or speedily. In fact, vacationers in Switzerland can ride from mountain top to balmy beach by train in less than two hours. Imagine skiing in the morning at Engelberg, attending the Zurich Opera at night, and leaving the details to the highly efficient and dependable
Swiss Travel System?
Swiss train stations, staffed by multi-lingual personnel, function as service centers complete with currency exchanges, luggage-storage facilities, and bicycle rentals.

More Brits use high-speed rail to reach luxury villa holidays

More and more Brits are opting for high-speed rail travel as their chosen transport for summer holidays.

Ideal for villa holidays in France, high-speed rail now has the highest number of UK passengers since the 1920s, according to the Association of Train Operator Companies (ATOC).

ATOC member Eurostar has seen passenger numbers double over the last 30 years.

Last year, the travel company had 9.5 million passengers, travelling to a range of European destinations including Lille, Paris and Nice.

Brits planning luxury villa holidays in France this year can travel to a range of French cities with Eurostar.

Recent research by the rail company revealed that 97 per cent of respondents believe Eurostar's services have brought the UK closer to France and Belgium in terms of social and cultural exchanges.

Travellers currently have the opportunity to win free rail tickets as part of a new social media campaign launched by the company.

To enter, passengers have to upload a video of themselves explaining why they want to visit a Eurostar destination, before asking people to vote online for their entries.

European Train Journeys

No matter what your basis on traveling by train, the bottom line is that you are no longer limited to one or two choices, in fact you can deciede for yourself regarding the comfort and convenience while on your trip. The railway services in Europe have done a great job updating their trains including all the on board features that provide guaranteed satisfaction for passengers. The establishment of more lines has virtually made difficulties like transferring from one train to another obsolete. Train Travel has been the favored form of  land transportation for  many years now because train travel suggests more enjoyable and exciting ways to travel.

So if you plan to take train for your next trip, whether it is intended for business or leisure , basically, the total package of enjoyment and many additional benefits are entirely obtainable, most especially if you are passing through places with myriad picturesque landscapes. On European train routes, for instance,  there is an abundance of scenic routes to choice from, and various class options to enjoy.

In a world full of excellent train routes, Europe is still the pinnacle.  Travelers are spoilt for choice, one can be  passing through the glaciers and Alpine sceneries in Switzerland or through the West Highlands of Scotland; equally outstanding a train journey through France reveals beautiful churches, French villages and eye-catching views. Not to be out done, Spain offers some fantastic rail journeys of its own,  the most  popular  being in and around Madrid.

Isn't time you experienced first hand the relaxation and comfort of your very own Rail Journey? TrainTickets.co is on hand for all your booking needs.