If the discovery of aeroplane and consequently air travel were a boon to human civilization, it has also fuelled a lot of debates concerning its advantages and disadvantages over the other popular mode of transport-train or railway.

Many people give traveling by aeroplane a big thumbs up because it cuts down on the time it takes to travel from one place to another. For e.g. if you take a flight out of your city, you can reach a different city from your local residence, say, within a space of 3 hours.

It would take a train more than 24 hours to cover the same distance. Busy executives, corporate honchos, businessmen, celebrities, political big wigs and others who are always facing a time crunch prefer to travel by airway for it is the fastest mode of transport on earth and flying in  the executive and business classes is one of the most luxurious and comfortable experiences one can hope for.

But on the flip side, air travel is costly – not everyone can afford it and spending long hours on a lengthy air journey can become pretty boring at times, with nothing to see out of the windows.

Moreover, there’s the green issue or pollution factor to be taken into account. Many small towns are not on the air map, nor do they have airports; so there’s no option but to remain connected to other bigger towns and cities by railways.

But all in all we should remember that apart from ships and cruises, aeroplanes are the only mode of transport that links one continent with another, one country with another across seas and oceans.

Railways on the other hand might be a vastly slower mode of transport, but it is thoroughly cheap when compared to the prices of air travel tickets and it’s targeted at the masses – middle class people who can’t shell out huge amounts every time they travel.

Besides, if you want to savor the beauty of the natural landscape and soak in the freshness of the country air, you only have to look out of the windows and time will glide away on silken wings, without your noticing it. These are the two areas where trains score over air planes.

The Cairo-Aswan express, Zephyr, Bernina express, the Northern Line and the Trans-Siberian railway can be recommended for pleasure trips, but not for professional time bound trips in today’s mindless rat race.