Moonlight Express
SHORTLISTED FOR TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE 2026 EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL WRITING AWARDS
A FINANCIAL TIMES READERS BOOK OF THE YEAR
From the author of the smash-hit Around the World in 80 Trains comes a new globetrotting journey - this time celebrating the peculiar magic and mayhem of the night train.
'Nobody writes trains like Monisha Rajesh' Irvine Welsh
'Hugely entertaining' The Times
'A moonlit express train to travel writing heaven. This is Monisha Rajesh's wittiest and most irresistible adventure yet' William Dalrymple
The wonder of the night train: headlamps ablaze, passengers boarding after sunset and leaving before sunrise, slipping in and out of compartments unseen. For Monisha Rajesh, the singular thrill of sleeper trains inspired a new journey around the world – one filled with moonlit landscapes, cosy compartments and quirky companions.
From Austria’s Nightjet to the Caledonian Sleeper and the Santa Claus Express, Rajesh invites us on an adventure aboard the world’s most wondrous night trains. Along the way, she samples reindeer stew in Scandinavia, retraces the original route of the Orient Express, sips on pisco sours aboard the Andean Explorer, and watches the sun rise over the Potomac River on the Silver Meteor to New York.
A decade ago night trains were giving way to budget airlines and high-speed rail. But as people search for slower and more environmentally friendly ways to travel, night trains are in the midst of a renaissance. By turns romantic and hilarious, Moonlight Express brings us along for the ride – and drops us back at the platform before sunrise.