Dean Nelson in Delhi
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RAIL enthusiasts with a sense of adventure and 23 days to spare will be able to travel by train from London to Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, when a new link opens later this year.
The 7,000-mile Trans-Asia railway will follow one of the old Silk Roads through Istanbul, Tehran, Lahore and Delhi.
It is already being described by train buffs as “the world’s greatest railway journey” and will be longer than the Trans-Siberian railway, which spans 5,772 miles.
Under a United Nations-sponsored scheme, Pakistan and Iran will link up their lines in the coming months to join the sub-continent’s track to that of Europe for the first time.
The UN said the link would open up new trade routes within Asia and give the former Soviet republics of central Asia rail access to Iran’s strategic sea port at Bandar Abbas on the Gulf.
The route was extended when the Calcutta to Dhaka line reopened earlier this month, more than 40 years after it was blocked during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965.
Last week, senior Indian officials met their Iranian counterparts in Tehran to discuss progress. India has already earmarked £90m to extend its vast rail network towards its border with Burma. From there just 218 miles of missing track stands in the way of an overland rail journey from London to Singapore.
An intrepid traveller will soon be able to leave London for Brussels, Cologne, Vienna, Bucharest, Istanbul, Tehran, Quetta, Lahore, Amritsar, Delhi and Calcutta before reaching the end of the line in Dhaka.
The prospect has caused excitement among Britain’s rail enthusiasts. Mark Smith, whose website Seat61.com promotes rail adventures around the world, was planning his first London to Dhaka itinerary.
His trip incorporates the Eurostar to Brussels, breakfast in Vienna and onward trains to Istanbul, where travellers must take the ferry across the Bosporus linking Europe with Asia. The ferry will eventually be replaced by an underground tunnel, but for now passengers will be able to enjoy views of the Aya Sofya and Topkapi Palace.
Smith’s journey continues with a Turkish express train to Lake Van, close to the Iraqi and Iranian borders, where passengers switch to another ferry to get to the Tehran-bound express, which is described as surprisingly modern.
Iranian engineers have extended their network through Kerman to the Pakistan border, where travellers will switch to a Pakistani train before continuing their journey to Quetta.
China, a big supporter of the project, is spending billions on extending rail lines to its Burmese border.
Trans-Asia railway sources said the only barrier to eventually connecting London to Yunnan province and Singapore was Burma’s military regime, whose poor human rights record means that no foreign funding is available to rebuild its railways.
Smith, who always books seat 61, said the journey offered a return to romantic overland adventure, despite some security concerns on the Iran-Pakistan border.
“If you have the time, a taste for adventure and can arrange the necessary tickets and visas, this promises to be a truly epic overland journey,” he said.
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I hope its really thrilling. I wont miss it
Tanu, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Hi
I think this an excellent news, because there are many people who are afraid of height and they cant fly. This is a good opportunity for them. Travelling on land gives people opportunity to enjoy the watching the scenery and get familiar with the other countries geography.
Parvin, Sunderland, uk
I can't wait to try this! I'd love to travel overland to India from the UK, but up to now the Iran-Pakistan border has put me off, but with organised rail links there'll presumably be less hanging around and more official security and so on. I might try it in the other direction on the way back from my gap year :-)
Price shouldn't be too bad: from looking into the route as far as Tehran, the fares looked reasonable (i.e. what local commuters or holiday makers would use).
Kishore - I can't comment on the Taliban, but if the "mullah vice squad" comment was aimed at Iran, you are so wrong. Iran is a lovely country to visit (so much so that when my parents said they'd contribute to a holiday for my graduation present I immediately said "Iran!" and am now going for my second visit in as many years). Somehow, I suspect that the borders will be a whole lot easier than trying to follow the same route via air.
Deborah, Edinburgh,
Excellent!
I have more than 23 days for you, my DREAM TRAIN.
Pallab Kumar Hazra, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Thanks to Shivji Khaled for your thoughtful comment and I am really feeling sorry for Elgin. Pls try to think broadly.
Syed Hasnain, London, UK
wowwww!!! this is just fanatastic....this is gonna be soo awesum..i mean its like a lifetime journey. i know its gonna be time consuming but its like a great adventure n through so many countries, so many different cultures and all by the end of this year? its just to good to be true....i hope its a true news n not a bluff...
really looking forward to it. this is going to be wonderful for bangladesh n all the other countries its gonna pass though...yayyy cant wait!!!
Aanon H Siddiqua
aanon, london, united kingdom
check out seat61.com. A great website. You can go London-Tehran for around the £200 mark. Wonder how much more it'll be to Delhi?
Weird, i'm planning to go overland to India next year. If the Iran-India connection is open by then... t'will be a beautiful ting.
Nelly, Brighton,
To Mohammed,
The journey from Quetta through to Dhaka will cost you around ten pounds in total so don't let the price put you off.
PD Long, Leicester, UK
I am Waiting for this.
Sayeed Chowdhury Tipu, Sylhet, Bangladesh
its beyond my imagine, i am waiting with my great eagerness, its a dream like heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
m zakir hossan, dhaka/london, Bangladesh/ uk
Excellent news. Finally we can begin the second European invasion of Asia, starting with Iran.
Clive, London, UK
hi,
Its a geat news, i wish this historic train journey all the best and being a speical interest rail tour operators and a rail enthusiast i assure you every possible help and assistance within the Pakistan territory. For the last 15 years we have been operating special interest trains in Pakistan and can rightly claim the pride and the privilage in introducing the famous KHYBER STEAM SAFARI between Peshawar- landikotal-khyber Pass which has been rated in TIMES magazine in its issue of August 19 2002 as " fasinating train journey through of the east ". Also enjoyed by British television celebrity Michel palin. we will be glad to assist the organizers as far as Pakistan part is concern.
All the best.
Zahoor Durrani
Sehrai rail tours
Zahoor durrani , Peshawar, Pakistan/Peshawar
"Excellent news. Now thousands more Bangladeshies will be able to conveniently migrate to Britain.
Iain, Elgin, "
Err, you didnt sound sarcastic - did you?
Rez, Kuching, Malaysia
Ian from Elgin, your xenophobic sarcasm is most unwelcome. Your resistance to migration is akin to King Canute trying to command the tide to halt. We now have policies in the UK that restrict immigration from outside the EU to only those who are most highly skilled and the migrants that can come to the UK bring immense benefits to the economy. Let them come on the trains, planes and automobiles, visas in hand with a willingness to contribute to the successes that we all share in the UK.
Khaled Shivji, London, UK,
A century ago this would be an adventure of a lifetime. Today it will amount to the worst nightmare of one's life. Can you imagine the excruciating security checks and massive delays at the borders, not to mention the mullahs vice squads or the Talebani kidnap gangs.
kishore, Galena, USA
Excellent news. Now thousands more Bangladeshies will be able to conveniently migrate to Britain.
Iain, Elgin,
Won't you have to get the boat across the Bosphorus in Istanbul? I didn't think the train stations on both sides of the Bosphorus were linked by rail.
greg, Sydney, Australia
Wow, this sounds like once in a life time adventure. The sad news however will be the price of tickets. I bet ordinary people like me will need to take out a mortgage. It could also be ideal for a movie setting. Agatha Christie would have been pleased.
Mohammed, London, UK