Reading guides
Longer reads on how railways work, where to ride them and how to make the most of a cab-ride video. Each guide links to the journeys it talks about.
- How mountain railways climb: loops, spirals, switchbacks and rack Why trains cannot simply go straight up a mountain, and how engineers used curves, spirals, zigzags, rack rails and viaducts to gain height, with GONOM rides for each. Read the guide →
- How to watch a cab-ride video: signals, signs and what the driver sees A viewer's guide to driver's-view train videos: signals, speed boards, gradient posts, passing loops, level crossings and tunnels, with what to look for on GONOM routes. Read the guide →
- Korea's east coast by rail: Gangwon, the Donghae Line and Busan How Korea's east coast fits together by train, from the KTX to Gangneung and the new Donghae Line to Busan's seaside railway, and what each GONOM cab ride shows. Read the guide →
- Japan beyond the Shinkansen: slow local lines worth watching Why Japan's rural railways reward a slow ride: the Tadami and Gonō lines on GONOM, how one-person trains and unstaffed stations work, and how to reach them from the city. Read the guide →
- Why subway maps look the way they do How Harry Beck's 1933 Tube diagram and Vignelli's New York map shaped transit maps, how to read lines and transfers, and how GONOM draws its own. Read the guide →
- Rail journeys of Norway and Sweden Six Nordic cab rides on GONOM, from the Bergen and Flåm lines to the Arctic Nordland and Ofoten lines: how they connect, what to watch for and when to go. Read the guide →
- Crossing the Alps by train: the Alpine cab rides on GONOM and how they connect A guide to GONOM's Alpine cab rides: the Albula and Bernina lines, the Gotthard, the Bernese Oberland, Semmering and Bohinj, with Munich, Vienna and Milan as bases. Read the guide →
- Planning a rail trip from a cab-ride video: how to go from watching a line to riding it A practical guide to riding a line you watched on GONOM: finding the operator, reading timetables and reservations, rail passes, the scenic side, seasons and metros. Read the guide →
- Railways on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and what earned them a place Why UNESCO inscribed the Semmering Railway, the Albula and Bernina lines and India's mountain railways, what outstanding universal value means, and how to see it on film. Read the guide →
- Hill railways of South Asia: Darjeeling, the Nilgiris and Sri Lanka's tea country How three colonial railways reached the hills of India and Sri Lanka, what tea had to do with them, why their gauges differ, and what life along them looks like today. Read the guide →
- Narrow gauge explained: standard, broad, metre and 2 ft track, and why the width matters What track gauge is, how 1,435 mm became standard, and why builders chose metre, 3 ft or 2 ft gauge for mountains and remote places, with GONOM rides on each width. Read the guide →
- Coastal railways: why lines by the sea are so hard to build and keep open Why railways follow the sea, and why waves, landslides and storms make coastal track so hard to keep, from the Cinque Terre and Spain's north coast to Japan and Korea. Read the guide →
- Railways in winter: how trains keep running through snow, ice and avalanches How railways in Norway, the Alps, Japan and Alaska keep trains moving in winter, from snow fences and sheds to wedge and rotary ploughs and heated points. Read the guide →
- Railway tunnels: summit tunnels, base tunnels and how they are dug Why railways go underground and how tunnels are built, from hand-dug summit tunnels to the Gotthard Base Tunnel, and what to watch for in GONOM's cab films. Read the guide →
- Rail through the seasons: when to ride which kind of line Spring blossom, midnight sun, autumn colour, deep snow and the monsoon: how the season changes each kind of railway, using GONOM's route notes and cab films. Read the guide →
- British rail journeys: the West Highland, Highland Main, Dartmoor and East Coast lines Four British lines on GONOM, from Victorian builders and the Beeching cuts to the 2021 reopening of the Dartmoor Line, and what to watch for in each cab film. Read the guide →
- Metro, commuter rail, light rail or tram: how to tell city trains apart What separates a metro from commuter rail, light rail, a tram or an airport link, explained with the Yamanote Line, BART, Roslagsbanan and GONOM's subway maps. Read the guide →
- Korean trains explained: KTX, KTX-Eum, ITX, Nuriro and Mugunghwa A clear guide to Korea's train types, from KTX and KTX-Eum to ITX, Nuriro and Mugunghwa, how high-speed and conventional lines differ, and where subways fit in. Read the guide →
- Everyday regional trains of Central Europe, and why they are worth watching How regional rail works in the Netherlands, Czechia, Germany, Austria and Slovenia, and what ordinary lines like Zwolle–Amersfoort and Trutnov show from the cab. Read the guide →
- Scenic railways of the Americas and New Zealand: built for gold, silver and ports Why the White Pass & Yukon Route, Royal Gorge Route, Curitiba–Paranaguá line and TranzAlpine were built, how they survive today and what to watch in their cab rides. Read the guide →