The Most Exciting Train Routes Launching in 2025

With the launch of new train routes, high-speed rail projects, and ultra-luxury journeys, 2025 promises to be yet another exciting year for rail travel enthusiasts.

In the US, travelers can expect to finally see long-awaited Amtrak updates, including the return of its New Orleans-bound route from Mobile, Alabama for the first time in 20 years, plus the rollout of the new high-speed Acela fleet on the Northeast Corridor. Further away, the so-called rail renaissance will also pick up speed, with plenty of new options for tourists to plan train-centric adventures in Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.

The most captivating routes debuting next year will whisk passengers through a variety of cultural sites and landscapes, from the verdant English countryside to the snow-capped Alps. Below, see four of the most notable new train journeys scheduled to launch in 2025 that are worth planning a trip around.

Beginning in July 2025, the Explorer will begin trips out of London to Cornwall, Wales, and the Lake District.

Belmond

Belmond’s Britannic Explorer

The launch of a new Belmond train is truly an event in the world of rail travel. And next year, luxury train enthusiasts will be treated to the debut of the Britannic Explorer, a brand new Belmond line traversing the UK countryside. Beginning in July 2025, the Explorer will begin trips out of London to Cornwall, Wales, and the Lake District. Additional stops and activities along the three different routes include a private party in a “quintessential” Cotswolds pub, a black-tie gala at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, and an exclusive Cornish wine tasting overlooking St Michael’s Mount. Time spent on board the new train will be just as memorable, with a beautifully understated dining car designed to evoke an English garden, a wellness spa, and a combination lounge-observation car, where guests can grab a cocktail inspired by Victorian apothecaries and watch the striking landscapes roll by.

Saudi Arabia’s Dream of the Desert line

The opportunity to explore Saudi Arabia’s stunning desert by luxury train will be a reality by the end of 2025. A new 41-cabin train, called the Dream of the Desert, is slated to run over nearly 800 miles of track, stretching through the kingdom’s interior from the capital city of Riyadh to Al Qurayyat, near the Jordanian border. On the one or two-night journeys, travelers will pass otherworldly landscapes, rugged peaks, and notable sites such as the King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Royal Natural Reserve. Saudi Arabia Railways is collaborating on the project with Arsenale Group, an Italian company that has built luxury trains like the Orient Express La Dolce Vita. Details of the train’s interior have yet to be released, but we know there’ll be upscale dining and lounge cars—and that once the train is completed, the cars’ design will reflect “Saudi style and tradition,” according to the companies.