You've seen the viral maps. Maybe you saw that one TikTok or a stray Facebook post showing a sleek, silver line curving through Russia, across the Bering Strait, and down into Alaska. It looks amazing. People get really excited about the idea of a train London to New York, imagining a cozy sleeper cabin where you watch the Siberian taiga melt into the Yukon wilderness.
It sounds like the ultimate slow-travel adventure. But honestly? It doesn't exist. Not even a little bit.
We’re talking about a gap of roughly 5,500 miles, two oceans, and some of the most brutal terrain on the planet. While the tech for high-speed rail exists, the geopolitics and the sheer physics of bridging the continents make this specific journey a fantasy for now. If you want to go from Big Ben to Times Square, you're either getting on a plane or a very long boat.
The Bering Strait: The 55-Mile Massive Problem
To get a train London to New York, you have to solve the Bering Strait problem. This is the narrow stretch of water between Russia’s Far East and Alaska. It's only about 55 miles wide. In engineering terms, that's not impossible; the Channel Tunnel between the UK and France is about 31 miles. However, the Bering Strait isn't the English Channel.
It's freezing. Literally.
The water is shallow, the ice floes are massive, and the environment is incredibly remote. Building a tunnel or a bridge here would be the most expensive construction project in human history. We're talking hundreds of billions of dollars. And even if you built the bridge, you’d have to build thousands of miles of tracks leading to it on both sides. Right now, the Russian rail head is thousands of miles away in Yakutsk, and the Alaskan rail system doesn't even connect to the lower 48 states.
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What about the TKM-World Link?
You might have heard of the TKM-World Link. This was a proposed project back in 2011, backed by Russian officials like Vladimir Yakunin, who was the head of Russian Railways at the time. The plan was a $65 billion tunnel. It made headlines for a week and then basically vanished into the bureaucratic ether.
Geopolitics killed it.
Russia’s relationship with the West has fractured significantly since those early 2010s discussions. Even if the money was there, the political will to connect the Russian mainland to US soil via a permanent rail link is non-existent in the current climate. It’s a tough pill to swallow for rail enthusiasts, but a train London to New York requires a level of global cooperation we just don't have right now.
Realistic Alternatives: The "Almost" Rail Journeys
So, if you can't go all the way by rail, how close can you actually get?
You can take a train from London deep into Asia. The Trans-Siberian Railway is the gold standard here. You start at St. Pancras in London, take the Eurostar to Paris or Brussels, and then work your way across Europe to Moscow. From Moscow, it's a six-day trek to Vladivostok or a branch-off to Beijing.
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- London to Paris: 2 hours 16 minutes via Eurostar.
- Paris to Moscow: This used to be the "Moscow Express," though services are currently suspended due to the conflict in Ukraine.
- Moscow to Vladivostok: 5,772 miles of pure rail endurance.
Once you hit the Pacific coast of Russia, you're stuck. There are no ferries that take cars or trains across to Alaska. You’d have to fly. And once you land in Anchorage, there isn't a train that goes to New York anyway. You'd have to take a bus or a flight to Seattle or Vancouver before you could hop on an Amtrak or VIA Rail train to head east.
Why Do People Keep Talking About It?
It's the "Silk Road" nostalgia. Humans love the idea of interconnectedness.
There's a specific charm to the idea of a train London to New York because it represents the total conquest of geography. It’s about the journey, not the destination. When Bloomberg or CNN Travel runs a piece on "The World's Longest Railway," people click because they want to believe the world is getting smaller.
But the reality is shaped by "gauge" issues. Different countries use different widths for their tracks. Russia uses a 1,520mm gauge. Europe and North America mostly use 1,435mm. Even if the tracks were physically connected, the trains would have to stop and change their wheels (bogies) or use variable-gauge axles, which adds hours of delay at every border.
The Environmental Argument
Some people push for the London to New York rail link as a green alternative to flying. Aviation is a massive carbon emitter. A high-speed electric rail link could, in theory, be much cleaner. But the carbon cost of building 5,000 miles of new track through pristine wilderness, tunneling under the ocean, and maintaining that infrastructure in -50°C temperatures would likely negate those savings for decades.
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It’s a classic case of the "green paradox." Sometimes the infrastructure for a green solution is more damaging than the problem it tries to fix.
What You Can Actually Book Today
If you’re determined to travel without a traditional commercial flight, you have to mix your modes of transport. Forget the train London to New York as a single ticket. It’s a jigsaw puzzle.
- Cunard’s Queen Mary 2: This is the only regular transatlantic ocean liner. It’s not a cruise ship; it’s built for the rough Atlantic. It takes 7 days to get from Southampton to New York.
- The Amtrak Connection: Once you arrive at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, you’re a short Uber from Penn Station. From there, the world—or at least North America—is your oyster.
- Freighter Travel: For the truly hardcore, you can иногда book a cabin on a cargo ship. It’s spartan, quiet, and takes about 10-14 days.
Honestly, the QM2 is the closest you’ll get to that "sleeper train" vibe. You have a bed, you have meals, and you watch the world move at a human pace. It’s just water instead of tracks.
The Future: Maglev and Vacuum Tubes?
If we ever see a train London to New York, it won't be a traditional train. It’ll be something like Hyperloop—if that technology ever actually matures.
A vacuum-sealed tube across the Atlantic floor would theoretically allow for speeds of 700+ mph. That would make the trip in under 6 hours. But let's be real: we can't even get a high-speed rail line finished between London and the North of England (RIP HS2's northern leg) or between Los Angeles and San Francisco without massive delays and cost overruns. A transatlantic tube is centuries away, not decades.
Actionable Steps for the Ambitious Traveler
If you want to simulate this journey, here is how you do it without losing your mind or your savings:
- Book the Trans-Atlantic crossing first: Look at Cunard's "Wayfarer" fares or off-season crossings in November or April for the best rates.
- Don't look for a "train" website: There is no "Expedia for trains" that covers London to New York. You have to book the Eurostar, the European rail segments, and the ship separately.
- Check the Alaska Railroad: If you’re dead set on the "northern" route, fly to Fairbanks and take the Denali Star. It’s the most beautiful rail journey in North America and gives you a taste of what a trans-continental link would feel like.
- Acknowledge the Gap: Understand that the "Bering Strait Crossing" is currently a geopolitical impossibility. Any site claiming you can buy a ticket for this is a scam or a "concept" site.
The dream of a train London to New York is a beautiful one. It represents a world where we can just keep rolling until we hit the horizon. But for now, pack your sea legs or your boarding pass, because the tracks stop at the water's edge.