New Delhi, Sept. 26 -- In 2010, British journalist Monisha Rajesh embarked on a daredevil journey across India, which resulted in her acclaimed book, Around India In 80 Trains (2012). Since then, she's written three more books about travelling by train, most recently Moonlight Express: Around the World By Night Train, a delightful account of slow and long journeys by sleeper trains in this fast-paced age. "Before I started taking trains more regularly, I didn't mind air travel, though I never enjoyed it much," Rajesh says on a video call from London. "When I am on a train my enjoyment is immediate. There's an element of learning from the moment it starts moving."

Being more environment-friendly, train travel offers a unique gift in the f...