A high-speed Capitol train is used to transport the tributes that are reaped for the Hunger Games to the Capitol. This is a luxury train that contains several compartments, dressing rooms, bathrooms, and a dining hall. This train is also used to transport victors from one district to another during the Victory Tour.
Transportation of Goods
Railways are the primary means of transport between the districts and the capital of the nation. There is at least one train station in each of the districts and the Capitol. However, the people within the districts are not allowed to use the train as inter-district travel is strictly forbidden by the Capitol. This is a part of their agenda to keep the districts divided by forbidding Panem’s citizens from using any means of transport.
Thus, the trains that run from the districts to the Capitol are mainly freight trains that carry the goods that are produced within the districts to satisfy the greed of the Capitol citizens. Districts provide goods to each other on a much smaller scale. However, only officials are likely allowed to intercept the goods from these trains.
Officials from the Capitol also travel to the districts via train. Higher officials likely travel through a high-speed Capitol train, while lower officials might travel through regular passenger trains.
The Capitol Train
The train that the people of the Capitol use is a high-speed luxury train that runs at 250 miles per hour. This train is also a luxury train that contains a separate compartment for each of the tributes, several dressing rooms, bathrooms, and a dining area.
“The train begins to move at once. The speed initially takes my breath away. Of course, I’ve never been on a train, as travel between the districts is forbidden except for officially sanctioned duties. For us, that’s mainly transporting coal. But this is no ordinary coal train. It’s one of the high-speed Capitol models that average 250 miles per hour. Our journey to the Capitol will take less than a day.”
‘The Hunger Games’
The interiors of the train are decorated in a flush and luxurious style, with swanky furniture and high-tech equipment. The bathroom provides both hot and cold water which the tributes could use to have luxurious baths.
“The tribute train is fancier than even the room in the Justice Building. We are each given our own chambers that have a bedroom, a dressing area, and a private bathroom with hot and cold running water.”
‘The Hunger Games’
The Capitol train also consists of several attendants in the form of Avoxes. Avoxes are appointed to wait on the tributes both on the Capitol train and at the Capitol after the tributes have arrived.
The Capitol train offers the most sumptuous meals that tributes have ever seen in their lives. This includes hot chocolate, fruits and vegetables, rolls, chocolate cake, stews, thick carrot soup, rice, coffee, lamb chops, green salad, potatoes, cheese, orange juice, and so on.
Uses of the Capitol Train
The Capitol train plays a significant role in transporting tributes from the districts to the Capitol after the reaping of the Hunger Games. This is called the tribute train. The train is so fast that it is capable of transporting the tributes to the Capitol within a single day. This is the train that transports Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark after they have been reaped for the 74th Hunger Games. There are probably 12 such tribute trains that carry the tributes from each of the 12 districts to the Capitol.
The Capitol train is also used to transport the victors of each Hunger Games to the various districts of the nation as well as the Capitol during the Victory Tour. Thus, Katniss and Peeta travel on the train during the Victory Tour as well. A single train is used for the Victory Tour and as such, the train is scheduled several times for refilling the fuel on the way.
The train for the Victory Tour travels from District 12 to the other districts in descending order, skipping the district from which the tribute is, to save their home district for a final celebration. The train finally ends at the Capitol for a big celebration of the victors. The train during the Victory Tour also contains a separate compartment to house the talent of the victors. Thus, the Capitol train which was used for the Victory Tour of Katniss and Peeta had separate compartments for Katniss’ fashion designs (that were secretly designed by Cinna) and Peeta’s paintings.
From the East, the Capitol train travels through a tunnel that is carved into the mountains. This is the only point of access to the Capitol from the districts in the East.
“The tunnel goes on and on and I think of the tons of rock separating me from the sky, and my chest tightens. I hate being encased in stone this way. It reminds me of the mines and my father, trapped, unable to reach sunlight, buried forever in the darkness. The train finally begins to slow and suddenly bright light floods the compartment.”
‘The Hunger Games’
The tribute trains are also completely under the surveillance of the Capitol. Thus, to escape their words from being recorded, Katniss and her mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, step out of the train to talk to each other.
The Train during the Second Rebellion
After the uprising of the districts by the rebels during the Second Rebellion, the rebels also took control of the cargo trains that operated between the districts and the Capitol. The rebels stopped the movement of the cargo trains, thereby cutting off the Capitol’s supply of goods. This considerably weakened the state of the Capitol which was highly dependent on the districts for imported goods.
The rebels also began using cargo trains to move from one district to another. For instance, Katniss Everdeen and Squad 451 head to the border of the Capitol via a freight train, along with other rebel soldiers from District 13 who have been assigned to invade the Capitol.
FAQs
What is the train in ‘The Hunger Games’?
The train that carries the tributes from the districts to the Capitol in ‘The Hunger Games’ is a high-speed Capitol train that travels 250 miles per hour. This train is also known as a tribute train and is extremely luxurious on the inside. It consists of a plush compartment for each of the tributes, several private bathrooms, dressing rooms, and a dining area.
Why can’t Katniss let herself cry?
Katniss cannot let herself cry either during the Reaping Ceremony of the 74th Hunger Games or before she boards the train that carries her to the Capitol, because she does not want to appear weak in front of the cameras. She knows that her reactions are being recorded for the entire nation to see and she wishes to appear as if she is a strong contender to win the Games.
Where does the train take Katniss?
The tribute train in ‘The Hunger Games’ takes Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark from their homes in District 12 to the Capitol where they will prepare for the Hunger Games. The same train also transports them back home after they have won the Hunger Games. However, the tribute train does not exist in the 10th Hunger Games when Lucy Gray Baird is reaped from as the female tribute from District 12.
