Synopsis

Kraftwerk turn a routine rail journey into a sleek piece of retro-futurist cinema. Shown in black and white, the band members travel in long coats through stations and railway carriages, appearing more like detached passengers than performers. The footage is intercut with still photographs and images of a futuristic Schienenzeppelin train speeding through miniature landscapes and cityscapes. The contrast between real travel and model-world imagery gives the video a cool, dreamlike sense of European movement, technology, and modern life.

Factoids & Trivia

• The promotional video was made in 1977 to accompany the title track from Kraftwerk's sixth studio album, released that same year.

• Although the song evokes an international rail journey, the band footage was shot during a much shorter trip from Dusseldorf to nearby Duisburg.

• Kraftwerk appear in coordinated long coats, reinforcing the group's carefully controlled image of anonymous, modern European travelers.

• The futuristic train seen in the film is the Schienenzeppelin, an experimental German railcar designed in the late 1920s and powered by a rear propeller.

• The video combines footage of the real Schienenzeppelin with shots of a model train moving through miniature environments. The model-city sequences add a distinctly cinematic, science-fiction quality.

• Still photographs taken during the production were later used for promotional purposes, including the sleeve of Kraftwerk's "Showroom Dummies" single.

• The video's black-and-white photography connects the group with interwar European design, Art Deco, and early modernist film imagery while maintaining their futuristic electronic identity.

• The track later became a major source for hip-hop and electro. Afrika Bambaataa used elements from "Trans-Europe Express" and "Numbers" on "Planet Rock," helping bring Kraftwerk's sound into the emerging early-1980s electro scene.