Night trains · city to sea
Fall asleep in the city. Wake up by the sea.
One night, 912 kilometres, four quiet stops. Board at dusk with a book, and wake at 06:20 to the sound of the tide.
21:40 · Platform 4 · Northgate
The city slides away behind you.
Leave your bags with the porter. Your cabin is made up, the dining car is open until Calder, and the platform lamps fall behind one by one.
The route
Four stops, one night.
The line follows the river out of the city, climbs to the pass while you sleep, and comes down to the coast for breakfast.
22:55
Calder
Last call in the dining car. The river follows you out of town.
01:10
Hollin Pass
The highest point of the line. Most people sleep right through it.
03:40
Marrow Lake
Ten minutes on the platform in the clearest air you will ever breathe.
06:20
Saltmere
End of the line. The sea is just across the road.
The cabin
A cabin that rocks you to sleep.
Small-town lights slide past the window, the carriage sways a little on the long bends, and the next thing you hear is breakfast.
- 1.9 m bed, made up before you board
- Blackout blind that really is dark
- Quiet carriage from 23:00
- Window berth on the sea side
01:10 · Hollin Pass
The highest point of the line.
- 1,847m
- The pass, under snow from November to May.
- 912km
- City to sea on one set of rails.
- 11h40min
- Long enough for a full night and breakfast.
- 62cabins
- Each with a window, a washbasin and a door that locks.
03:40 · Marrow Lake
A sky with no city in it.
Ask to be woken at Marrow Lake. The platform lights go off for ten minutes, and the whole sky turns slowly about the pole star.
- Spring
- The Milky Way rising after three
- Summer
- Meteors in the second week of August
- Autumn
- Satellites crossing the lake in pairs
- Winter
- Northern lights, low over the water
06:20 · Saltmere
Wake up by the sea.
Breakfast comes to the cabin: coffee, warm bread and the first light on the water. You can be swimming by seven.
- Coffeefrom the dining car, 05:50
- Breadbaked in Calder at midnight
- The seaacross the road, 14 °C
Saltmere Terminus · 1891
Arrive somewhere worth arriving.
The station clock has kept the line on time since 1891. Its second hand sweeps the dial and waits at the top for the minute to turn; breakfast is right under it.
Departures tonight
| Time | To | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 21:40 | Saltmere | On time |
| 22:15 | Hollin Pass | On time |
| 23:05 | Marrow Lake | Boarding |
Tonight · 21:40 · Northgate
Six cabins left on tonight's train.
From €189 a person, with breakfast by the sea.