During the pandemic, trains got weird for a while. We weren’t quite sure whether it was safe to travel collectively, and the impacts of that difficult time continue to shape our railway network to this day. Meanwhile, many of us were exploring our own, hyperlocal neighbourhoods on foot with obsessive levels of depth that we never otherwise would have got around to. (Was I the only one who highlighted every street I walked in a London A-Z to see if I could get complete coverage?!) In 2021, I did a design-based MA all about railways, railway infrastructure, and what it means to travel and live communally. To do this, I walked all the way from London to Brighton (in sections), following the railway line as closely as possible. This is a talk about what I saw and what I thought about, and will hopefully be enjoyed by fans of trains, hiking, community and travel. (And anyone else who fancies a sit down, I’ll try and make it interesting, I promise)