The mythical train that saw the light of day at the end of the 19th century will soon be back: it will indeed run again from 2024 under the impetus of Accor.
A mythical train
If at Travelguys we have a clear preference for air travel, it is also because the train has largely lost its magic, especially in France where the experience offered by our national carrier is light years away from what can be found in Japan or, closer to us, in some 1st classes in Italy or Spain.
But the absolute reference in terms of railway experience is and will always remain the mythical Orient Express.
This train, the most luxurious in the world, linked Paris to Istanbul from 1883 to 1977 in 76 hours.
Later, passionate entrepreneurs revived the legend with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express and the Nostalgie-Istanbul-Orient-Express, which linked Zurich to the Turkish capital in the 1980s. An experience that will end in the 90s.
The unexpected discovery of a legend
In 2015, while doing historical research on the Orient Express, a researcher commissioned by the SNCF discovered that there was still a sample of the Nostalgie-Istanbul-Orient-Express, abandoned on the border between Poland and Belarus.
After long negotiations their owner agrees to give the last copy of the Orient Express to the Orient Express airline. The 17 cars (12 sleeping cars, 1 restaurant, 3 lounges and 1 van) will be brought back to France by truck in 2018.
Surprisingly, its decoration in the purest Art-Deco style (Lalique panels, Morrison and Nelson inlays) were in an excellent state of preservation.
The rebirth of the Orient Express
Under the direction of the architect Maxime d’Angeac, this mythical train is finding an heir. He is working on reinterpreting the spirit of the Orient Express and inventing a new vision of luxury and comfort that will take place from 2024 in the cars of the original train on the occasion of the Paris Olympics.
The return of a mythical train travel experience? Yes, and not only: this experience will also be offered in hotels under the Orient Express brand, under the aegis of Accor.
Orient Express hotels?
Orient Express is not or no longer just a train concept but a more global travel experience, also embodied by hotels, under an umbrella brand and under the leadership of Accor.
What does Accor have to do with it?
The Orient Express brand is historically the property of the SNCF, which owned 100% of the Orient Express company. But in 2014 Accor partnered with the rail carrier to revive the myth and took a 50%+1 share of Orient Express’ capital. The hotelier then partnered with Italy’s Arsenale to launch Orient Express Dolce Vita, luxury tourist trains in Italy in cooperation with Trenitalia, which are scheduled to launch in 2023.
The goal is to open 10 Orient Express hotels worldwide by 2030. Luxury properties that will bring back to life these codes from another era and which a certain clientele is crazy about.
Bottom line
As much as we are often critical of Accor, we must recognize that they had a brilliant idea. A unique brand, with a history, a global concept that can be applied to both the hotel and rail industries… There is tremendous potential behind this project and we only hope that the execution is up to par.
If there are things that make a traveler dream, the name Orient Express is necessarily at the top of the list.
We will follow the file with attention because a certain number of things remain at this stage a little vague in the various announcements.
Image : orient express by Thomas Barrat via shutterstock
