Rail across Africa, network by network.

A French-built TGV in all but name, and by a distance the best rail experience on the continent — quiet, punctual, and cheap by European standards even in first class. Second class is fine; first buys a reserved seat and more space, which matters on busy weekends. It stops at Casablanca, so Marrakech still needs a conventional connection, and the through journey is the one most visitors actually make.

Reliable, inexpensive and the sensible way to move between Morocco's imperial cities — far more comfortable than the equivalent bus, and it drops you in the centre rather than at an edge-of-town terminal. First class buys an assigned seat in a six-seat compartment and is worth the small difference on Marrakech runs, which fill. There is no rail to Chefchaouen, Essaouira or the desert; those remain road trips.

Cairo to Alexandria on a first-class express is straightforward and genuinely pleasant, and beats the road comfortably. The Nile run south is slower and less predictable than the timetable suggests, so treat arrival times as approximate. Buy first or second class air-conditioned; the unreserved classes are a different experience entirely. Ramses station is chaotic — arrive early and know your platform.

Two-berth cabins with a washbasin, dinner and breakfast served at your seat, and a night's travel that saves a hotel and a day — that combination is the whole appeal. It is priced in dollars or euros for foreign passengers, well above the domestic fare, and the cabins are dated rather than luxurious. Still the most civilised way to reach Luxor without flying, and it books up in winter high season.

Modern, secure and the obvious way from OR Tambo into Sandton — well ahead of a taxi in both time and cost at rush hour. It is a commuter system with a limited footprint, so it serves Sandton, Rosebank and Pretoria and little else a visitor wants; anything beyond those still needs a car. Buy a Gautrain card at the station; services stop relatively early in the evening.

Five hours city to coast on a modern train, through Tsavo where zebra and elephant are a genuine possibility from the window — comfortably the best way to make this journey. First class is worth the modest premium for the space. Both terminals sit outside the city centres, so add a transfer at each end, and book several days ahead because the express services sell out.

Africa's first fully electrified cross-border railway, but there is no single through passenger train. The corridor is two services with a change at Dire Dawa, taking roughly eighteen hours across two calendar days; each direction runs on alternating dates. The Addis stop is at Lebu, well outside the centre, and Djibouti's terminus is at Nagad. Check the official booking portal for the exact date before building a connection around it.

The most convincing of the world's luxury trains, largely because it is unhurried and unapologetically analogue — no televisions, no phones at dinner, and an open balcony car at the rear. Suites are properly sized, with baths in the larger grades. It is a holiday costing thousands, not a way to reach Cape Town, and the multi-week Dar es Salaam run is the trip of a lifetime for a very specific traveller.

A single night rather than Rovos's two or three, all-inclusive down to the butler service, and correspondingly easier to fit into a trip. The suites are plush in a formal, slightly dated way and the dress code at dinner is real. Between the two South African luxury trains, Rovos wins on character and the Blue Train on convenience — this is the one to pick if you want the experience but only have twenty-seven hours.

A two-night crossing on a Chinese-built 1970s line, and one of the few trains anywhere where you may see elephant and giraffe from the window — the Selous stretch is the reason to go. Set expectations accordingly: delays of many hours are routine, the dining car is basic, and first-class four-berth compartments are segregated by sex unless you book the whole compartment. Bring water and food for two days.