Politicans, Royals and famous people , who travel by rail ?

The thread in the Amtrak forum on Joe Biden. ( former Vice President , and presidential candidate in the USA ) , travelling by rail , got me thinking.
viewtopic.php?f=46&t=172026
I guess famous people covers it , but are there others that travel by rail ?. Obviously there are royal trains , private cars etc, but I'm thinking of regularly scheduled services. I can't think of any , but , then I'm not a royalty / celebrity follower. Politicans I would be more likely to read about .
Maggie Thatcher is nagging at me for some reason . Pretty sure I have seen a picture of her in a train.
Anyway just a bit of fun , not wanting any comments on the politics of any of them .
I can think of a few leaders from WW2 era , but lets keep it modern , say from the 1950 's on .

Richard Nixon rode the Metroliner from DC to Philadelphia, Jan.1970, and return IIRC. But due to the security requirements it was a hassle, i.e. Air Force One had to fly to Philadelphia and standby, so travel by train is not a good fit for the Chief Executive. So outside of a campaign train, you might not see the Presdent on a train, you would still have AF One standing by somewhere with helicopters and cars staged to whisk the President away. Then there are the security requirements for the train and rail line operations [actually none except a pilot train].

I think Prince Charles rode the NEC too , not so long ago , on a visit to America. Seem to remember it been something to do with a charity football game.

As I noted over there, Biden hasn’t regularly used Amtrak since he was a senator (one of 100 people with an immense amount of shared political power & influence, but not an executive per se.)

Still , i'm having trouble thinking of someone else who regularly used rail , and rose to a high position.
Only one i can think of in New Zealand is Jeanette Fitzsimons. She rode Auckland's virtually unusable commuter trains in the 80's, and rose to be an MP , and deputy leader of the Green party.

As Milan Linate airport in winter is frequently closed because of heavy fog, many Lombardy politicians, uses train to/from the capital.
The luxury Settebello was famous for having very few paying passengers as Italian parliament members travel free.
And a famous comic actor told: "... and I pay...."

Ciao

The current Austrian Green president van der Bellen apparently regularly uses trains for travel within the country, and occasionally uses the subway for getting around Vienna (see below).



For travel abroad within Europe he occasionally uses regular trains, although apparently typically with the entire waggon reserved for him and his entourage - even if it's sometimes portrayed a bit differently for show.

David Benton wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 5:27 am I think Prince Charles rode the NEC too , not so long ago , on a visit to America. Seem to remember it been something to do with a charity football game.

I think that was the trip he took in Bennett Levin's Pennsylvania. I'm sure I read somewhere that Prince Andrew had previously made a similar trip and told his brother "you have to do this."

I once saw a newsreel clip of Harold Wilson traveling from London to some Party function in an ordinary first-class compartment in a scheduled train, but "that was then." Would any PM today be able to do that?

As Bob Roberts said in the Amtrak topic...

Bob Roberts wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:55 am Kim Jong Un...

mtuandrew wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 2:17 pm As Bob Roberts said in the Amtrak topic...

Bob Roberts wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:55 am Kim Jong Un...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Kor ... %27_trains

Kim Jong-il's preference for the railroad transport was due to his fear of flying.

I've seen a couple of news stories suggesting that Joe Biden likes riding the trains, but I'll post them and then duck my head below the parapet and leave it to the US voters on the forum to follow up!

Biden, an Amtrak Evangelist, Could Be a Lifeline for a Rail Agency in Crisis (NYT)

Amtrak has reduced service and is poised to cut thousands of jobs. Rail supporters argue that, win or lose, the Democratic presidential candidate could shift the debate over the agency’s future...

Joe Biden’s love of Amtrak tells us how he would govern (Washington Post)

The moderate policies driving our passenger rail system reflect Biden’s pragmatic approach...

John, the thread was started as an offshoot of a Biden thread in the Amtrak forum.
Hope all is well in your part of the world.

Hey there! It's true that many politicians, royals, and famous people have been known to use rail travel in their daily life. Most of the time, they use regularly scheduled services, and you occasionally see some paparazzi photos of them on trains. A modern example besides Joe Biden would be UK politicians who frequently take trains, such as members of Parliament commuting between their constituencies and London. Royals like Prince Charles have been spotted on trains too! As for celebrities, I think it's common for them to use trains when traveling between cities, especially in Europe where train travel is prevalent. Even though we might not be able to think of a long list, it's fun to imagine who we could bump into on a train ride! Btw, I just read an interesting article about US politics on https://www.politiq.net/US_President_De ... ction_2024 , you should check it out if you're into politics.