panama canal railway

We took the Panama Canal Dome Train which ran adjacent the canal as an excursion from a cruise ship.It was a wonderful day out and a great experience. It wasn't cheap but well worth it. Four of us went and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. A quick summary of the trip - it took about an hour by train to get from the Caribbean to the Pacific coast which in itself is great to say you've done and about two hours to get back by coach. We started in Colon which is best seen "looking in the mirror" (a city seriously in decline!). We saw many views of Gatun Lake, some views of the canal, a reasonable amount of dense woodland, locks in construction and, to finish with, we visited a lock on Gatun Lake where a heavy cargo ship (4000 cars) was passing through. Fantastic to watch. While on the Pacific side, which might have been part of our specific excursion, we visited one of the islands in the Pacific which was predominantly for shopping!!If you are in a glass dome carriage and it's a nice day, our advice would be to go on the open deck at one end of the carriage which has a roof but no windows. You get fresh air and better photographs with no glass to obstruct..Whilst I don't want to put people off, I consider it only right to summarise the downsides which are minimal - they are - Colon, the cost and that you do pass by some reasonably long stretches of woodland with no sight of the canal but that wasn't the end of the world. This is an experience of one of the world's greatest construction projects - old and new.Would I recommend it - definitely. It's an experience.

The train is a great way to get a feel for the scale of the Panama Canal. It's also a great place to meet tourists, as they are the only ones that take this train.

A wonderful and well thought link to get freight from Atlantic to Pacific from ships that are over size for the canal. However with the new locks due to open soon then the traffic flows may become less. It also has a little known passenger service which had one train each way but not sure if thus still runs. Locomotive drivers acknowledge passing cruise ships so remember to wave!! The trains can be seen on the Port side of any ship that is heading from Atlantis to Pacific and is best seen after the half way point.

The Panama Canal Railway was in fact built in 1855, long before the canal was built. The canal largely shadowed the railway as it was crucial to the canal's construction. So when you ride the train you are never far from the canal. For a good stretch the railway passes through lake Gatun. The tourist car is entirely glass above three feet to allow for unobstructed viewing. Note that the city of Colon, the northern terminal of the railway, is rough; make plans to have someone meet you there or to take a taxi. You will not want to wander Colon on your own.

Decided to take this trip on my own one morning. The staff on the train were friendly and I enjoyed the coffee as the a/c on the train works really well. One complaint is that they should wash the windows on the canal side much more frequently as it obstructs the great views from inside the train. The outside areas of the train are really nice. There are several outside viewing areas as you make your way back from the observation car to the end of the train. There are also 120volt plugs in the train if you need to charge anything. The views are really nice at times and when I took it, you could see the new locks in the canal that were waiting to be installed on the Caribbean side. They are huge and known by the Panamanians as the Giants.When we arrived at Colon, they handed out small lunch boxes which I missed because I got off of one of the non-tourist train cars. The people who take the train to/from work every day open up the train doors themselves. You can tell it is routine for them. Not sure how true this is but a Panamanian told me that "The People who live in Colon do not want to work, and the people who work there do not want to live there."Anyway.. I took a short $1-2 taxi ride to the bus station(there will be some taxi's at the station when you arrive), then a $3.50 bus ride back to the Albrook bus terminal in Panama City and was back in time to have lunch.

We took the one hour ride from Panama City to Colon and found it to be a beautiful ride along the Panama Canal. It was nice to see it from a different perspective.

If you want a climate controlled, bug-free, no sunblock needed, smooth panoramic ride through scenic rain forest from Panama City to Colon, this is it. Purchase snacks and drinks onboard for a nominal fee or bring your own. We selected upper level seating. A table separated couples; two people faced forward; two faced backward. Leg room was limited.

Its always a great ride w a client. Can sight see and hold a meeting all in a one hour ride. The free snack is a ending plus.

We took the train from near the Aldbrook mall to Colon on the Caribbean coast. The restored 1938 car with the glass ceiling allowed you to see the rain forest up close without being in it. It is a nice trip, taking about an hour and this is on the world's first transcontinental railroad.

The train is an excellent way to cross the Isthmus is an hour and fifteen minutes. However, it makes only two scheduled trips, one in the morning for business travelers to cross the Isthmus and another in the evening for their return to Panama City. Cruise ships often charter it for a special trip from Colon on the Atlantic side to Balboa on the Pacific side. There is a special dome car which special views but it has limited capacity. However, you can view the Canal and scenery from the regular seats. A good way to cross the Isthmus if you are on a cruise.

While there is no denying that water way locks are an engineers solution to dealing with mutli levels but $15 seems a lot of money. Considering time spent getting there, tickets $30 for two of us and the travel expense to get to this tourist site, I must simply say that it is a canal that large ships go through. Save your $50 and have a feast at the Fish Market, hike through the National Park, walk along the Amador Causeway path (although don't bother going to the south end of it). Panama is not cheap, food and drink are at par with most American cities. Spend your money doing something more fun and interesting.

This was a perfect treat. Only 60 minute ride, talkes you to Colon, but stay away from Colon. Go see the Gatun locks, much less crowded.

In terms of scenic, gorgeous RR trips, this is rather underwhelming, although to watch from a distance, it's really interesting to see how the container cars follow the canal to help expedite the transfer of cargo through the canal. Unless you love to get up VERY early in the AM, not really a tragedy to skip.

When I first went to Panama 16 years ago the train was in ruins. It seemed to be such a shame. Since then teh train and the tracks have been restored and you can take the scenic run from Panama City to Colon and back all in the same day.

I would describe this as a pleasant trip - nothing special. We didn't see many ships in the canal nor did we see anything that we would not have seen while driving. I nice way to get to Colon. Our guide picked us up at the Colon station and then we went to San Lorenzo and Portobello, went to the new lock doors and the Gatun locks. The train wasn't the high point of the day.