The Victorian cartographer, printer, and publisher George Bradshaw published Bradshaw’s Railway Companion in 1840, with supplementary monthly time sheets to keep the book up to date. This was the first national tourist guide specifically for railway journeys, its popularity fuelled by the railway mania sweeping the country.

We have long been drawn to train journeys. Perhaps it’s the thought of relaxing in a comfy seat with a warm drink, gazing out of the window and watching the world go by. It’s slow travel, away from the madness of our roads—traffic, congestion, and rage. Comfort can vary. Hard wooden benches in fourth-class carriages traversing the Kalahari Desert have their charm when the view is so mesmerisingly expansive and wild, while the opulence of gold-rimmed dishes and white starched linens in the dining car of the Orient Express, winding its way from London to Venice, might be more enticing.

Scenes change, as do the variations in locomotive and track noises, soothing passengers with a soporific rhythm. The West Highland Line ‘floats’ across the peat bogs of the wild, windswept Rannoch Moor, crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct that carries wizards into Harry Potter’s world. Trains briefly slow here, allowing passengers to take photos of the 30-metre drop to the peatland below. The iconic and endlessly cool Pacific Surfliner, journeying past California’s palm-lined beaches, travels on top of shifting sands as ocean spray layers the train windows with salt. Train journeys are not simply a means of reaching a destination; they are reasons in themselves.

But there is another reason to travel by train: carbon. Trains are a sustainable means of transport in an age when we desperately need them. Electric trains, and some using renewable diesel, always emit less carbon than cars, coaches, and, of course, planes—although the calculations depend on passenger numbers, engine type and size, and distance travelled. In the UK, the ‘global warming potential’ of an average petrol car is 0.16 kgCO₂e per kilometre, with diesel vehicles not much better, while national rail emits just 0.03 kgCO₂e per kilometre (Carbon Trust, 2023). By this calculation, petrol cars are over five times more polluting than trains in terms of carbon emissions. And you can’t fully enjoy our beautiful countryside while driving a car—but you can while gazing out of a railway carriage window.

On a cold, bright November morning, Dorset Wildlife Trust, funded by South Western Railway, journeyed with Bournemouth and Poole College students and teachers from Poole Station to Upwey Station, the gateway to Lorton Meadows nature reserve—a haven for barn owls, song thrushes, orchids, and corky-fruited dropwort. The students, all post 16 and studying entry level foundation courses, were excited while we waited for our train on platform two.

Leo, one of the students, said he liked buses and trains, as the car usually makes him late. Owen agreed and added that the train was very direct as there was no traffic. We listened to another student expertly reciting the train timetable for the day, informing other passengers on the platform that there was an “unexpected delay” and to stand back because the next train wasn’t stopping. He leapt up and down waving excitedly as it passed through. 

Many of the students have autism, some experiencing sensory overload. Trains can be very noisy, have unscheduled changes, and the possibility of close proximity to strangers can prove overwhelming. Network Rail’s Autism friendly guide to Travelling by Train is helpful with visual interpretation advice. But people with autism are also known to have a fascination with trains. A diagnostic criterion is having special restricted interests which can be intense and consuming. Trains can be a focus for this with their predictability of movement and routine schedules providing a sense of security and stability, reducing anxiety and stress.

Another student, Ryan, told us that he likes to travel by train because of its speed and sense of safety, and he enjoys following the route of the train on his phone.

Rory particularly likes the phone charger by his table, so he can listen to music or cancel out background noise. Our world is noisy and chaotic, more so for people with autism who often have super sensitive hearing. The students are quiet and happy. Some look at their phones, but many, like Deacon, enjoy gazing out of the window because they enjoy seeing things in the beautiful Dorset countryside that they wouldn't see in town during the 45-minute journey to Upwey.

We travel through some of Dorset’s most iconic landscapes, passing Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Lytchett Bay nature reserve and Tadnoll and Winfrith Heath, part of Thomas Hardy's Egdon Heath, internationally important heathland and chalk stream habitats. You could of course, break off your journey at Hamworthy and Moreton stations respectively and visit these beautiful reserves either on foot or by bicycle. But we continued on to Upwey, and walked the 15 minutes to the meadows, hedgerows and woodland copse of Lorton Meadows nature reserve. Here, we enjoyed jumping through muddy puddles with our wellies, and striding towards tree lined hills as we explored the beautiful scenery.

If time had allowed, we would have walked through the reserve and on to Weymouth and got the return train home. Perhaps in summer when the weather is warm, we can stop for ice cream on the seafront. The train journey was as much part of the excitement of the day as the walk we did through the winter puddles of Lorton Meadows.

You can find more information on autism and train travel here, and plan your trip to Lorton Meadows here. 

The work of the Wilder Communities team has been supported by South Western Railway's Customer Community Improvement Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.