Rail Renaissance: The Biggest Train Travel Trends for 2025

Rail travel is back and seemingly bigger than ever as demand grows and as new train services, itineraries, and destinations continue to hit the market.

Vacation rail packager, Railbookers, reported at its second annual global summit in December that the company saw a record year in 2024 with 30% growth in revenue and an already strong start to bookings in 2025, leading 31% ahead of the previous year at the time. 

Over the past year alone, there have been a wave of new investments in train trips from suppliers like Belmond and adventure tour operator Intrepid, along with a resurgence in night trains in Europe as travelers look for more affordable and sustainable alternatives to flying across the continent. 

And as demand for luxury, slow travel, sustainability, and longer trips continue to grow among travelers, train trips can easily provide a memorable portion of a traveler’s journey, or serve as the main event entirely.

Here are a few new train trips, services, and trends to look out for in 2025. 

New Luxury Train Trips

Belmond is certainly leading the way when it comes to luxury train travel. The high-end LMVH-owned hospitality and travel provider will be launching two new luxury train ventures in 2025, beginning with L’Observatoire in March 2025. 

Belmond will introduce the brand-new Britannic Explorer in July 2025, which will be the first luxury sleeper train to serve England and Wales. The Britannic Explorer will depart from London and will offer three-night journeys on three different itineraries that will visit Cornwall, the Lake District, and Wales. Trips to Cornwall and the Lake District will run from Friday to Monday, and trips to Wales will operate from Monday to Thursday, allowing travelers to combine the two regional journeys into one itinerary.

In addition, Belmond is adding a new amenity to one of the most famous trains in its portfolio, and in the world. L’Observatoire is a new sleeper carriage that will be an additional accommodation available on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express. With interiors designed by French artist JR, the new decadent carriage will serve as an exclusive suite featuring a bedroom with a double bed, an ensuite bathroom, wardrobe, reclining daybed, lounge area, library, and a secret tearoom with a fireplace.

Also launching in 2025 is the La Dolce Vita Orient Express. This new luxury overnight train from Accor and luxury hospitality group Arsenale will operate in Italy, providing travelers with a timeless way to traverse the country in style through eight different itineraries that span one to two nights. 

Onboard there will be 12 deluxe cabins, 18 suites, along with a La Dolce Vita suite, as well as a restaurant, lounge and bar. The train and its interiors are designed to reflect the art and creativity of Italy in the 1960s and 1970s, which was known as the La Dolce Vita period. Three-Michelin star chef Heinz Beck will lead the culinary program, which will showcase Italian gastronomy and its culinary heritage. 

Europe’s Night Train Renaissance

Night trains are making a comeback in Europe. These trains typically leave late at night and arrive early the next morning, providing travelers with an alternative to flying when traveling by night. Night trains typically offer reclining seats, couchettes, and shared or private cabins. They’re a little less about luxury and more about providing a greater amount of people with a comfortable and convenient way of getting around.

There’s a new night train service to the Dolomites in northern Italy that is perfect for travelers looking for a ski getaway. Last year, FS Treni Turistici Italiani (Italian Tourist Trains) relaunched the Espresso Cadore night train from Rome to Cortina d’Ampezzo, a popular Italian ski resort that hosted the 1956 Winter Olympic Games, and will do so again in 2026. The Espresso Cadore is a vintage sleeper train restored from trains built in the 1980s and 1990s. The journey takes about 10 hours and services onboard include a three-course dinner, breakfast, along with private cabins. 

Elsewhere around Europe, Eurocity Direct is a new high-speed night train that launched in December 2024 serving the Netherlands and Belgium. It connects travelers to major cities between the two countries, including Brussels, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam, and provides 16 daily departures. 

German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and France SNCF also launched a new night train route in December directly connecting Berlin and Paris, which previously required a separate connection. The journey takes about eight hours and makes stops in Strasbourg, in France’s Alsace region, and Frankfurt and Karlsruhe in Germany.

Trains Farther Afield

Luxury rail travel is heading farther afield and its first stop will be Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia will launch its first luxury rail service, the Dream of the Desert train, beginning in fall 2026. This will be the country’s first luxury train, and it will traverse the Arabian Peninsula between Riyadh and Al Qurayyat. The 14-carriage train will have 34 suites, with interiors designed by Lebanese architect Aline Asmar d’Amman. The train will be built in Italy by Arnsenale, the same luxury company working with the La Dolce Orient Express. Renderings showcase soft desert hues with luxe textures and design motifs that reflect Saudi culture and its regional heritage. 

Even farther afield, Intrepid will introduce a new sustainable train journey in Mongolia in June 2025. 

The company’s new Trans Mongolian Railway Adventure is an 11-day voyage from China to Mongolia. The trip starts off in Beijing before boarding a bullet train to Inner Mongolia that will explore the steppes of Khustai National Park, the dunes of the Gobi Desert, the spiritual wonders of Sainshand, and more. Guests on the trip will spend one night traveling along the famous railway, while seven nights will be spent in a hotel, and two nights in a traditional tourist ger camp.