The most scenic railway in Europe: how an old Welsh mining line became a world beater

A Which? survey has found that Wales has the best scenic railway, the Ffestiniog, plus two more in the top 10, which beats Switzerland and Norway

The train steams across the Cob embankment: on the right are the peaks of Snowdonia and on the left glitter the waters of Tremadoc bay. The smartly painted locomotive, Merddin Emrys, built in 1879, puffs towards the undisputed European capital of scenic railway journeys: Porthmadog. “It’s a stunning panorama,” says local resident David Jones, “The best possible start or finish to any railway journey.” Jones is chair of Great Little Trains of Wales, a group that promotes a dozen heritage lines around the country. It comes as no surprise to him that, according to a new survey by consumer body Which?, Wales is home to three of the 10 most scenic railway lines in Europe. “I think we could have filled the entire top 10,” he says.

The survey sampled the opinions of Which? members on aspects of Europe’s most picturesque lines, from views to comfort, cleanliness and value for money. The result is a star-studded array of Europe’s finest, including Switzerland’s spectacular Glacier Express and Norway’s vertiginous Flam Railway, which climbs 867 metres from fjord to mountaintop on one of the steepest standard-gauge tracks ever constructed.