South Africa is shining on another global rankings list this year. This time, local luxury locomotive Blue Train is in the spotlight.
Recently, InsureandGo – a travel insurance company in England – released a list dubbed “The World’s Most Scenic Train Journeys”, based on a study that they conducted.
As a result, the Blue Train moved full steam ahead to a high spot on the list. Take more:
GETTING ON TRACK
In order to put together this list, InsureandGo showcased various images of “iconic views” from 24 train routes worldwide to a sample of 100 participants.
To measure their visual engagement – specifically, how quickly they looked at the images and how long these images held their attention – the company utilised eye-tracking software.
The train journeys were then ranked against a weighted “eye-catching” score of 100.
WHERE DID THE BLUE TRAIN RANK?
Out of the 15 train journeys that made the final list, the Blue Train achieved a respectable 14th place ranking.
The train – which takes passengers on a 54-hour journey spanning 1 600 kilometres between Pretoria and Cape Town – scored 75.5.
It sits between New Zealand’s TranzAlpine (13th place – 75.6) and The Ghan of Australia (15th place – 73.3).
FAST-TRACKED TO GREATNESS
Here’s the full list (from first to 15th place):
- Sagano Romantic Train, Japan – 91.9
- Bernina Express, Switzerland/Italy – 91.5
- Glacier Express, Switzerland – 88.5
- West Highland Line, Scotland – 86.0
- Alishan Forest Railway, Ireland – 84.8
- Serra Verde Express, Brazil – 84.4
- Rocky Mountaineer, Canada – 83.2
- Semmering Railway, Austria – 78.7
- Coast Starlight, United States of America – 77.8
- White Pass & Yukon Route, United States of America/Canada – 76.9
- Central Andean Railway, Peru – 76.8
- Kuranda Scenic Railway, Australia – 76.5
- TranzAlpine, New Zealand – 75.6
- Blue Train, South Africa – 75.5
- The Ghan, Australia – 73.3
The Sagano Romantic Train offers passengers immaculate views of Japan’s scenery, including a bamboo forest, cliffs overlooking rivers and mountain views.
Granted, the Sagano’s journey time (a mere 25 minutes) is short compared to that of the Blue Train. So, we can boast that at least there’s more to see and certainly more to appreciate if you hitch a ride on our beloved luxury train.
Congrats on the Blue Train for notching this outstanding achievement!
In other news, Cape Town’s Table Mountain is in the running to win “Africa’s Leading Tourist Attraction” at the 2026 World Travel Awards.
