The TranzAlpine from Christchurch to Greymouth on New Zealand's South Island. Took the trip on a brilliant sunny day the morning after a heavy snowfall in the mountains.

Spectacular!

http://www.kiwirailscenic.co.nz/tranzalpine/

The old Ghan from Adelaide to Alice Springs...... on a cheap standby First Class ticket...

The AMTRAK service from CHI to SAC.... now THAT was relaxing!

my favorite is SBB ride between Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen.

meanwhile In Indonesia, I like a line between Jember and Banyuwangi. did it in economy; there was a time we can buy the spicy local dish when the train made a stop in Garahan, a tiny station in the middle of nowhere. I also find the mountain and green fields are easy in the eyes.

Haven't done many new train journeys recently, but there were a couple of good little ones last summer, on holiday down in Cornwall.

First was the St Ives Bay line, from St Erth (junction for the mainline) to St Ives. Not only does it avoid the traffic queues and parking stresses in St Ives, it hugs the bay precipitously through Carbis Bay and up to (the wonderful, light-filled) St Ives itself. Beautiful journey. Made all the more exciting by the St Erth Tyre Fire which was quite the local event...

The other was the Looe Valley line, from Liskeard down to Looe. From Liskeard mainline station, you exit and cross the road to this little terminal platform, perpendicular to the others, in the middle of an industrial area. The train leaves and leaves on a massive, spiralling loop, passing under the viaduct you've just come from (twice) down to the Looe River, reversing, then following the river down through the wonderfully named St Keyne Wishing Well Halt. It then meanders along the wooded river valley and emerges into a sandy estuary, shimmering and full of bird life.

I do love this part of the country.

Budapest-Bucharest
 

Summer of 2016, I took Hungarian Rail's overnight train from Budapest to Bucharest. The 12 h ride travels through the Carpathian Mountain passes so its very scenic. 2nd class sleepers were surprisingly comfortable, and no one spoke English! The cost was under 100 Euros.

Oslo to Bergen in March. Split the trip in Geillo to be in daylight the whole time (and get some skiing in). Whiteout blizzard conditions through parts of the pass but the train didn't care. And the descent into the valley is incredible.

The TGV from Paris to Lyons in 1995.

Also the WDW monorail back when it was new (in the 70s, when I was a kid) :D

Stockholm City to Arlanda Airport with the Arlanda Express.

Fast transport for dummies.

Has anyone done the Copper Canyon (Mexico) train in the recent past? It routes through areas of Mexico generally considered higher risk due to the cartels.

Probably my first ride on Eurostar in first class from London to Paris in 1996.

I took my very first long distance Amtrak trip in a Roomette Denver/Portland.

If you don't have a lot of time, try to ride between Denver and Glenwood Springs Colorado. The ride is breathtaking. That's ~5 hours.

Trip report in the Amtrak forum from June/July 2016.

dh

Transmongolian Moscow - Ulaanbaatar - Beijing, closely followed by Amtrak Montreal - New York - New Orleans - L.A.

U.S. favorite: LA to Seattle on the Coast Starlight, circa 2002: Beautiful views, good food, wine tasting, excellent service and met some great people.

European favorite: Eurostar from Paris to London, just for the novelty of it. Way cooler than the Acela.

My favourite was the West Highland line for many years but recently took the Andean Explorer in Peru. Nearly 11 hours through the Andes from Puno to Cusco and not a minute of boredom. Never seen anything like it and doubt ever will.

I took El Chepe from Chihuahua to Posada Barrancas in October 2018. No problems anywhere, save for unreliable transport from Posada Barrancas to Creel.