The World's First Solar-Powered Train Will Whisk You Silently Away To One Of Australia's Favorite Vacation Destinations

Train travel is undeniably one of the most scenic ways to explore the world. There's something irresistibly romantic about staring out a window as you pass through blurry landscapes that almost resemble an Impressionist painting. But train travel can also cause issues like air and noise pollution, which can be harmful and disrupting to communities. This is why residents of Byron Bay, one of Australia's best beach destinations, weren't sure about reinstituting a rail line that would connect Byron Beach and North Beach. The solution was simple yet astonishingly innovative: Make the train 100% solar-powered.

Rather than waste energy and resources building a new train, a 1949 legacy train was restored and brought back into service. Electric motors and inverters replaced one of the diesel engines. A battery bank stores energy from the custom-made solar panels at the top of the train or from the panels in the train shed roof. While the train usually uses only 35% of the energy it generates — giving the rest back to the local grid — one diesel engine was left intact so it can serve as a backup. Energy produced by the braking system is also converted into power. The best part? The train is blissfully quiet and doesn't pollute the air.

While the journey between Byron Bay Beach and North Belongil Beach is a little under 2 miles, it's a fun experience that's easy on the eyes. The train operates every single day of the year except Christmas and takes passengers through seaside rainforest, a creek, wetlands and more. One-way tickets cost only 7 Australian dollars (about $5 USD) for adults and 5 AUD (about $3 USD) for children. Kids under 3 ride free. A roundtrip is 12 AUD (around $8 USD) and 8 AUD (around $6 USD), respectively. 

For an upgraded experience, two packages include lunch at some of the area's best restaurants. Passengers can also bring surf boards and bikes on the train, making it easy to combine the train journey with a day at either beach – though beware of sharks while swimming in this bay as it has the most shark attacks in the country – or an afternoon of biking. Affordable, unique and entertaining, this experience has become a must-do when visiting this part of New South Wales.

If Australia is a too far but you still want the adventure of rail travel, there are many routes in North America that will take you to national parks. Hopefully, they'll soon follow the Land Down Under's example and transition to renewable energy for even better train rides.