Imagine Traveling the Americas Like Europe

Traveling opens your mind to the world. Truly, there are unmatched experiences than those encountered while exploring new places and meeting new people. The more you travel, the more you understand the similarities that really root us as a human species across the globe.

Some continental regions are united by language or race, others by religion or governing style. And some are easier to traverse than others—for citizens and foreigners alike.

Europe’s extensive railway system runs across borders historically drawn by ethnic identity, language, and cultural pride. Despite each European nation’s differences, despite thousands of years of war, these international tracks (paired with shared currency and similar governing ideologies) make traveling the continent relatively safe and easy.

Imagine a network of Pan-American railways that link the many nations of North and South America. All aboard El Tren Americana!

For the ultimate New World adventure, board in the Alaskan Arctic and descend across the Canadian Rockies, explore the national parks and coastal cities of the United States, experience cosmopolitan Mexico City, stop in preserved Mayan towns in Guatemala and El Salvador, enjoy the tropical beaches of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and train into the elaborate public transit system of Panama City. From there, you might explore the Caribbean coast of Venezuela, ride through a string of bustling Colombian and Ecuadorian cities, retrace the steps of the Incas in Peru, hike the salt flats of Bolivia, speed toward Rio through the lush Brazilian landscape, travel down the Atlantic coastline, admire architectural wonders in Buenos Aires, and—finally—venture south into Chile to trek picturesque Patagonia.

In the Americas, where only a handful of languages are spoken, where war is absent between nations, international travel is not easy. Unlike in Europe, the best way to travel between American nations is by plane. Once you arrive at your destination, the best way to get around is by car. As a result, travel in the region is typically confined to a single destination.

But! What if crossing borders on this side of the world was made simpler? What if the intergovernmental infrastructure was put in place to unify the Anglo parts, the Latin parts, and the Caribbean parts? The Americas are knitted together by a shared history of Native empires, European colonization, and global immigration. Multinational railway travel would champion the diversity that has flourished here for centuries and cultivate a Pan-American pride. Plus, traveling across all of America would be incredible.

It’s not a brand-new idea.

At the first Pan-American Conference in 1889, an inter-American railway was proposed to link the nations of both continents. Construction never started and the idea fizzled out altogether when work on the Panama Canal commenced in 1903.

Twenty years later—upon the popularization of the automobile—the concept of building a highway was greenlit instead, and the Pan-American Highway (PAH) was born. Apart from 66 miles between Panama and Colombia (the Darién Gap), this network of roadways links nearly all of America still today.

“The original and only official section of highway runs from Laredo in northern Mexico to the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, but there are many branches that allow you to cover the full Arctic to almost Antarctic distance,” says Lonely Planet’s Clifton Wilkinson.

Sounds like the ultimate road trip, right?

Countries across the region have varied visa requirements, different forms of currency, and unique policies for tourists depending on the passport they’re carrying. So international road travel, especially at borders, can get thorny.

Establishing an intergovernmental organization in the Americas modeled after the European Union could alleviate these complications. What if there was a single passport? One or two currencies? Though Latin America is largely united by language and ethnic composition, political and economic disagreements among nations have made any kind of international union a challenge. Besides, intense border control policies and anti-Latino sentiment in the United States does nothing to cultivate Pan-American unity.

“Creating the PAH was a slow process, with war, money, and lack of governmental cooperation providing constant issues, but it’s now possible to travel the length of the Americas (more or less) by car,” Wilkinson goes on to say.

The same can probably be said about the hypothetical Tren Pan-Americana. Its construction would take time and require overcoming societal obstacles—internal political conflict, inflation, drug trafficking, gang violence, financial instability, xenophobia, and inequity.

After thousands of years of war and bloodshed, Europe unified. The Americas, with its own history of conquest and corruption, will hopefully follow suit.

Regional blocs like the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) are currently working to uphold a system of international provisions across both continents that foster peace and community.

If these organizations say nothing else, it’s that Pan-American unity is not some pipe dream. It’s been in the works. The question is: what can Pan-American unity look like?

While the Pan-American Highway was a step in the right direction, traveling it requires the independent use of a car or vehicle. Looking ahead, railway travel is more reliable, less affected by weather conditions, and more environmentally sound—both personally and commercially. With higher load capacity and better fuel efficiency, El Tren Pan-Americana would also offer companies a more sustainable way of transporting goods intercontinentally.

“When it comes to spectacular views, there’s a lot to see from train windows,” says Business Insider’s Amanda Adler. “I savor the ability to sit back and take in the stunning scenery without the fear of taking my eyes off the road for too long.”

Without your hand on the wheel, your travel experience is more observational, more in touch with your surroundings. Letting someone else drive, especially when you’re a foreigner, gives you the freedom to be inspired by the people and their cultures that pass you by.

Besides, who knows who you might meet on board?