Africa

 

The quality of train services in Africa varies greatly. But the continent have some of the most fascinating train journeys. The famous Blue Train in South Africa is a must for every train buff.

 

The first African railway was built in Alexandria going southwards to Cairo. The line was completed in 1856. A track between Cairo and Suez was a very profitable line but with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the importance of the railway decreased. A lot of the railways in Africa was built by the European in order to control and extend their African colonies.

 

Africa has a lot of interesting train journeys but the most famous railway is the South African Blue Train. The main service runs between Cape Town and Pretoria. The 1600 kilometer (1000 mile) journey takes 27 hours. Another popular route covered by the Blue Train is the track between Pretoria and Durban.

 

The Shongololo Express offers a number of wonderful high class railway journeys in Southern Africa. Unfortunately, the number of services is very limited, you need to book well ahead. Here is a link to their website. Rovos Rail have a couple of interesting train journeys, similar to the Shongololo Express.

 

It is still possible to travel by train along the Nile. Daily trains run between Alexandria and Aswan. Of course you can, and should, make stops in places like Cairo and Luxor. Travelling by train in Egypt is cheap but the authorities may have restricted which trains foreigners are allowed to use. Also, being able to read Arabic will be very helpful. Signs in English or Roman numbers are far between.