sophieontrack.com aims to provide readers with information about how to travel the UK, Europe, North America, India and beyond by train. This is because I, Sophie, love trains. I am totally biased, then. But I promise I will tell you which trains are not worth it. Like the train from Rome to Palermo – totally not worth it during the day. Unless you are travelling first class. This is because it’s a very long journey, Italy is hot, and if the family you end up sharing a booth with are, shall we say, big-boned, you’ll find it difficult to get comfortable. So there you go, not every train is worth it. But most are. And where your argument might be that they are expensive – I will respond first by saying only in wealthy countries are they expensive, and secondly by attempting to explain the array of seating options at your fingertips, from split-ticketing for those on a budget, to the luxury of first class train travel – and beyond this, the exclusive world of train chartering. Also, the world is worth saving, and cheap flights are not going to save the world anytime soon. Flying with low-cost carriers is for many a miserable experience. Plus some people are terrified of flying. Which is logical – we were not born to fly. Who, on the other hand is scared of trains? No-one. That’s who. Because trains are ace.
Who am I?
Quite. I’m Sophie Collard, a freelance travel writer and copywriter. On this site I write about trains. Travel by train, where to do it, how to do it and what it’s like. Train travel is not only better for the environment than air travel, it’s often more relaxing too. Trains in the UK can be expensive, but there are ways to make it cheaper that I can share with you. Trains in India are some of the cheapest and most soulful you will ever have the pleasure to travel on. Trains in Canada have some of the tallest trees and most thrilling wildlife passing by the windows. Trains in Japan are super fast.
From an early age, I negotiated my way onto educational trips abroad, even if I wasn’t taking the courses. I went on family holidays with families who weren’t necessarily mine. When I grew up, I travelled the world. Gazed at mountains mirrored in lakes through the windows of the TranzAlpine in New Zealand. Watched kangaroos jump past the Ghan train, which travels to the red heart of Australia. Stood in a flurry of mosquitoes on a train from Bangkok and ate beef-flavoured noodles on a sleeper to Hanoi. I love the way train travel gives you a sense of distance and a feel for the changing landscape. I’ve written articles for a number of publications but for the most part I’m a copywriter. And a person with many projects on the go. At other times I’ve worked behind bars (serving drinks not inmates), in a furniture shop, a couple of bookshops and a pie shop. If for no other reason than to collect the t-shirts.