Viewing a country across a border during a train ride

There are many places in the world where a rail route is close enough to an international border such that while riding a train on that route, you have clear view of another country across the border.

For example in the US one that is very well known is the view of Mexico across the Rio Grande from the Sunset Limited near El Paso TX

I thought it might be fun seeing how many here have come across such at other places. Often such happens at or near border station.

For example three places come to mind between India and Bangladesh:

• At the Kolkata Suburban Station Gede which is on a piece of land that sticks a bit into Bangladesh. All the Suburban trains from Kolkata to Gede give you a view of Bangladesh across the border. The Kolkata - Dhaka Maitree Express crosses the border into Bangladesh just beyond Gede station.
• At the Bangladesh Railway station Hilli on the pre-partition route of the Darjeeling Mail. The western edge of the platform is essentially the border between India and Bangladesh. So all BR trains that go to Northeast Bangladesh give the passengers a view of India across the border.
• At New Changrabandha in North Bengal where Bangladesh is visible below as the Northeast Frontier Railway (India) train runs along a cliff in India. The original Changrabandha station was abandoned as it was on the line crossing into then East Pakistan which was closed.

I am sure there are many such places in Europe, and maybe a few more in North America too. Of course wherever trains cross a border I suppose by default there is a portion where one can see the other country across the border.

jis said:

Of course wherever trains cross a border I suppose by default there is a portion where one can see the other country across the border.

Click to expand...

I did not see anything recognizable as foreign land before arriving on French soil through the Channel Tunnel.

Looking at a map of the UK's EEZ I probably would have guessed incorrectly even if I had tried.

On the Trans Siberian route, past Kilvchevskii or there abouts, you enter the Amur River valley & follow it for more than 1,000km to Khabarovsk [the capital of the Russian Far Eastern Federal District]. It is the boarder between Russia & China, you can see across it most of the time, not that there is much to see, except more river valley.

Fortunately, no longer offered: the intra-German border near Vienenburg from a Deutsche Bundesbahn train running inside the restricted zone in December 1970.



No second chance to get another exposure.

Cold War Berlin was full of places where views of the Wall or views over the Wall were visible from trains, especially the S-Bahn (commuter rail). German railfans got photos and video of these from trains in 1989-90.

1970 - West Berlin trains were upstairs at this East Berlin station.


1971 - if one had the right documents, the morgenrot view out the open windows as the West Berlin S-Bahn train crossed the Spree was memorable. There's a watchtower in the shadows. This line also included interzone/international long-distance trains. The second photo looks north, and the Reichstag building can be seen in the distance. Swimming here was deadly, and not a joke.




1971 - the Bornholmerstrasse interlocking tower is in West Berlin, the S-Bahn train is in East Berlin. The border crossing here was the first to open freely in 1989, perhaps with pressure from East German commuters who could see through the wire every day for 28 years.

jis said:

There are many places in the world where a rail route is close enough to an international border such that while riding a train on that route, you have clear view of another country across the border.

For example in the US one that is very well known is the view of Mexico across the Rio Grande from the Sunset Limited near El Paso TX

I thought it might be fun seeing how many here have come across such at other places. Often such happens at or near border station.

For example three places come to mind between India and Bangladesh:

• At the Kolkata Suburban Station Gede which is on a piece of land that sticks a bit into Bangladesh. All the Suburban trains from Kolkata to Gede give you a view of Bangladesh across the border. The Kolkata - Dhaka Maitree Express crosses the border into Bangladesh just beyond Gede station.
• At the Bangladesh Railway station Hilli on the pre-partition route of the Darjeeling Mail. The western edge of the platform is essentially the border between India and Bangladesh. So all BR trains that go to Northeast Bangladesh give the passengers a view of India across the border.
• At New Chngrabandha in North Bengal where Bangladesh is visible below as the Northeast Frontier Railway (India) train runs along a cliff in India. The original Changrabandha station was abandoned as it was on the line crossing into then East Pakistan which was closed.

I am sure there are many such places in Europe, and maybe a few more in North America too. Of course wherever trains cross a border I suppose by default there is a portion where one can see the other country across the border.

Click to expand...

If you ride the train from Basel in Switzerland towards Freiburg in Germany along the Rhine valley, the line passes very close to the French border in a place called Kleinkems (and on the line to either side). Furthermore the nature of the valley at this point, with overhanging cliffs, is such that GSM connectivity towards the German side is very poor whereas the French signal is very strong. Your phone thus assumes you must be in France. In the past, when such things were still expensive, many people racked up high international roaming bills because of this.

And did i mention, the train WiFi also typical stops working on this section?

If you ride from Vienna towards Budapest, there is a short section in a place called Komarom, where the line runs alongside the Danube and you can see Slovakia on the other side. If you look very carefully there is even a rail line on the other side and you can see freight cars parked there. For a long time there were also a number of long withdrawn ex-GySEV ex OBB Schlieren cars parked there, but they were gone the last time I went that way.

Devil's Advocate said:

I did not see anything recognizable as foreign land before arriving on French soil through the Channel Tunnel.

Looking at a map of the UK's EEZ I probably would have guessed incorrectly even if I had tried.

Click to expand...

To be pedantic, when travelling by the South Eastern Main line from London to Dover (that is via Tonbridge and Ashford) the line runs along the coast between Folkestone and Dover, and when the weather is clear you can just about make out France in the distance.

There are of course also cross-border trains between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Another place you might have got close to a foreign country on a British train might have been in Gibraltar. But that railway has long been dismantled.

Isn't there somewhere around Schaffhausen in Switzerland where the Swiss train actually runs for a while in German territory? I recall reading Airey Neave's book, "They Have Their Exits," where Neave, who has successfully escaped from Colditz Castle, is being escorted by the Swiss Police on a train, looks out the window, and sees he's in a German station. Apparently, this isn't any problem, as he continues on to Bern, and eventually escapes to Gibraltar and back to Britain.

MARC Rider said:

Isn't there somewhere around Schaffhausen in Switzerland where the Swiss train actually runs for a while in German territory? I recall reading Airey Neave's book, "They Have Their Exits," where Neave, who has successfully escaped from Colditz Castle, is being escorted by the Swiss Police on a train, looks out the window, and sees he's in a German station. Apparently, this isn't any problem, as he continues on to Bern, and eventually escapes to Gibraltar and back to Britain.

Click to expand...

yes, this is the Schaffhausen to Zürich via Eglisau line. There are two stations on the German section., Lottstetten and Jestetten.

The line is covered by a special international treaty that allows Swiss regulations to be valid on trains. You thus do not need to declare goods to customs when only in transit and cannot be arrested, but the moment you set foot on the platform, the German authorities have the right to ask questions. This treaty was signed some time back in the 19th Century and is still valid today (actually Germany did not exist at that time and Switzerland signed it with the Grand Duchy of Baden, the law was then retroactively absorbed into German law when Germany was unified under Bismarck). the law has been in force throughout the National Socialist era (sorry, I had to spell that out because the filter didn't like the short version) without any changes.

Devil's Advocate said:

I did not see anything recognizable as foreign land before arriving on French soil through the Channel Tunnel.

Looking at a map of the UK's EEZ I probably would have guessed incorrectly even if I had tried.

View attachment 36084

Click to expand...

This is likely to happen when one crosses a border through a tunnel. Does not have to be under the sea either. Examples on land that come to mind:

• Switzerland to Italy through Simplon Tunnel
• France to Italy through Mt. Cenis Tunnel

jis said:

This is likely to happen when one crosses a border through a tunnel. Does not have to be under the sea either. Examples on land that come to m ind:

• Switzerland to Italy through Simplon Tunnel
• France to Italy through Mt. Cenis Tunnel

Click to expand...

The Michigan Central Tunnel between Detroit and Windsor also comes to mind.

Further examples of cross-border rail tunnels in Europe include

- Port Bou (Spain) to Cerbère (France)
- Perthus tunnel (on high speed line between Barcelona (Spain) and Perpignan (France)
- Presently disused tunnel at Canfranc (Spain to France again)

I was going to add the Vatican City rail link to this list, but according to the map on Wikipedia, although the line is largely in a tunnel, the actual border crossing is not.

That said, both of the two France to Monaco border crossings are in a tunnel, as is indeed the entire length of the line within Monaco. So maybe that sets a record for the highest number of border crossings within a single tunnel?

I never rode it, but I believe the VIA Rail train that used to go thru Edmundston, NB was within sight of Maine, along the St. John’s River…

jis said:

This is likely to happen when one crosses a border through a tunnel. Does not have to be under the sea either. Examples on land that come to m ind:

• Switzerland to Italy through Simplon Tunnel
• France to Italy through Mt. Cenis Tunnel

Click to expand...

The Maple Leaf from Niagara Falls, NY to Niagara Falls, ON. OK, that's a bridge, but it's the same idea.

MARC Rider said:

The Maple Leaf from Niagara Falls, NY to Niagara Falls, ON. OK, that's a bridge, but it's the same idea.

Click to expand...

Yes, but in that case you can see Canada from Niagara Falls NY station. If it was a long tunnel under a tall mountain or a broad sea, you would not be able to see. I think that was the original point that @Devil's Advocate was making.

If there was still active rail on it, the Carrizo Gorge....

And the tunnel to Canada from Michigan up in Huron to Sarnia.

The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway goes form Skagway AK (USA) to White Horse Yukon (Canada).
Tourist landing fro the cruse ships can board the WP & YRR for a scenic trip up the mountains. The get to the top and actually travel into a 100 yards of Canada but cannot get off.

​

I am not sure what the author of this thread is asking about…crossing a border on a train (lots), or traveling along a border, seeing the other side (not so many)?
Or perhaps both?

Anyway, the former VIA Rail and CP Atlantic Limited crossed the US - Canada border twice on its overnight Montreal-Maine-Saint John journey.
As did the Amtrak former Niagara Rainbow on its New York-Ontario-Detroit run.
And so did the former CN train that ran from Thunder Bay thru Minnesota to Winnipeg.
The previously mentioned Carrizo Gorge route of the former SP subsidiary, San Diego and Arizona Eastern, on its thru train between San Diego and Arizona, would cross the US and Mexican border a couple of times.

Last summer I rode in the local train from Zittau to Görlitz, Germany. The train crosses the border with Poland several times. Before Poland moved a bit to the West after the second WW it was just an in intra-Germany line.

My trip report is here on AU.

It's gone now, but in the nineties I took a trip with the steam museum train Vennbahn from Eupen to Malmedy in Belgium. This line lies (well, the bike trail they replaced it with does) partly inside Germany as you can see on GoogleMaps.

When Amtrak ran the Inter-American from Chicago to Laredo,Texas, you could see Mexico across the Rio Grande River from the Laredo side.

The Aztec Eagle, an N de M Passenger Train utilizing old Mopac Equipment, departed for Mexico City from the Nuevo Laredo Rail Station a few miles South of the River, but there was no Rail connection.

One had to use a Taxi or Bus to make the Connection if traveling to or from either side.

Bob Dylan said:

When Amtrak ran the Inter-American from Chicago to Laredo,Texas, you could see Mexico across the Rio Grande River from the Laredo side.

The Aztec Eagle, an N de M Passenger Train utilizing old Mopac Equipment, departed for Mexico City from the Nuevo Laredo Rail Station a few miles South of the River, but there was no Rail connection.

One had to use a Taxi or Bus to make the Connection if traveling to or from either side.

Click to expand...

The first Amtrak Thruway service was a bus between Laredo and Nuevo Laredo in 1973, if Wikipedia's article is correctly interpreting its footnote to a page at history.Amtrak.com.

Bob Dylan said:

When Amtrak ran the Inter-American from Chicago to Laredo,Texas, you could see Mexico across the Rio Grande River from the Laredo side.

The Aztec Eagle, an N de M Passenger Train utilizing old Mopac Equipment, departed for Mexico City from the Nuevo Laredo Rail Station a few miles South of the River, but there was no Rail connection.

One had to use a Taxi or Bus to make the Connection if traveling to or from either side.

Click to expand...

At one time their were thru cars on the latter, in fact there was a thru Pullman all the way to New York City, conveyed on MP's Texas Eagle, and PRR's Penn Texas. I saw an NdeM sleeper several times in New York on that train.

PeeweeTM said:

It's gone now, but in the nineties I took a trip with the steam museum train Vennbahn from Eupen to Malmedy in Belgium. This line lies (well, the bike trail they replaced it with does) partly inside Germany as you can see on GoogleMaps.

Click to expand...

I understand that as part of the WW1 peace settlement, the entire line was given to Belgium. That means that even on the parts where it crosses Germany, the actual ROW was technically Belgian territory. Even though the line is now gone and replaced by a bike and hiking trail, this situation still holds. As long as you are on the trail itself you are in Belgium, but if you step onto the grass on either side you are in Germany.

If the eastbound Empire Builder is late, you can see into Canada for a few minutes as you make a big sweeping curve to the right, just after exiting the Flathead Tunnel. You are still more than 20 miles from the border. But you a) are on the shoulder of a ridge, about 500 feet higher than the elevation of the valley floor at the border, and b) the range of mountains that run northwest from Whitefish into Canada, and the rolling hills west of the Koocanusa Reservoir, are in sight.

cirdan said:

I understand that as part of the WW1 peace settlement, the entire line was given to Belgium. That means that even on the parts where it crosses Germany, the actual ROW was technically Belgian territory. Even though the line is now gone and replaced by a bike and hiking trail, this situation still holds. As long as you are on the trail itself you are in Belgium, but if you step onto the grass on either side you are in Germany.

Click to expand...

The Tim Traveller did a video about it's current state a few years ago.

Yesterday while watching videos of train rides on remote Indian lines I came across a strange one. The line to Munabao in the Thar Desert still has a local passenger service. This is the same line that carries the Jodhpur (India) to Karachi (Pakistan) Thar/Thar Link Express when India and Pakistan are on the occasional friendlier terms.

Munabao is the border station on the Indian side. But the border and beyond is visible not from Munabao but from a place called Gadra Road, a station a stop or two short of Munabao, where the border comes within 2km of the line and is at a lower level than the line. Normally it would be indiscernible from the background. But being the border between India and Pakistan it of course has a ten feet tall electrified fence with bright floodlights and guard posts etc. So it is clearly visible from the train for a little while, day and night, until the line curves away from the border. You can see the layout in Google Map by looking for "Gadra Road" which is a station. Incidentally, Gadra Village which the Gadra Road station was supposed to serve originally, is now in Pakistan and is more or less unreachable from the Gadra Road station.