What better way to see a country than by train?
August 08, 2005 Edition 1
For a stress-free, eco-friendly voyage, train travel is the way to go. From India to the Australian Outback, Anthony Lambert makes tracks for the trips in the most stylish of settings
Travelling by train, you can relax, read and eat in much greater comfort than flying while enjoying the passing landscape. It's a much more sociable way to travel, and you're reducing the environmental impact of your holiday.
The enduring appeal of competently organised rail travel in elegant carriages has fostered a demand for special trains designed to put the pleasure back into a journey. There is something special about a good meal on a train with proper napery and silver.
Trains de luxe in Europe were the creation of George Nagelmackers, the son of a Belgian banker, who died a century ago this summer at his chateau outside Paris. It was while in the United States, getting over a broken love affair, that he came across the railway carriages operated by George Mortimer Pullman.
Though Pullman's cars were not especially luxurious, they had a major advantage: they ran across the boundaries between railway companies to provide a seamless journey and obviate the need to change trains.
Nagelmackers took the concept of "through running" and extended it to the entire train so that only the locomotive - not the carriages - had to be changed at railway and national borders. He ordered five genuinely luxurious carriages from a Viennese builder with a view to starting Europe's first luxury train service, between Paris and Berlin. But the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 scotched the plan.
It took another 13 years of vicissitudes before Nagelmackers struck gold with his most famous train, the Orient Express. It was inaugurated in October, 1883, by his now importantly titled company, La Compagnie Internationale des Wagon-Lits et Grands Express Europeens - a name that would become world famous, to be seen on carriages as far afield as China.
Thanks to the patronage of royalty and Nagelmackers' genius for gaining publicity, the Orient Express soon became a byword for the best in rail travel. Its success encouraged more railways to grant concessionary rights for the operation of Wagon-Lits' sleeping and dining cars or complete trains. None eclipsed the Trans-Siberian International Express of 1900, which had a drawing- and smoking-room in each carriage of eight people, a library, a music room with grand piano, a hair salon in white sycamore, a gym with weights, rowing machine and exercise bicycle, and a chapel car.
By the outbreak of the First World War, Wagon Lits had 32 luxury trains in service covering more than 56 000km of track. But the war curtailed most services, and many carriages were destroyed or had their beautiful interiors ruined. As trains were reinstated after 1918, many had to be rerouted following the redrawing of borders.
When the Second World War ended in 1945, the growth of air services began to erode the viability of overnight trains. Those who could afford the Wagon-Lits premiums tended to fly, so occupancy rates fell.
The Blue Train between Cape Town and Pretoria (one day/one night) or Cape Town and Port Elizabeth (two nights, one day) celebrates 60 years of operation this year. It was for many years the only luxury train in the world. Its colour derives from the sapphire carriages of South Africa's luxury "Union Trains" of the 1920s, and crystal still holds the Stellenbosch Riesling. A locomotive-mounted camera shows the driver's-eye view on a giant screen in the Club Car, and some suites have baths as well as showers. The two purpose-built sets carry 74 and 82 passengers, and fares start at R12 075, inclusive of drinks.
A rival to the Blue Train was set up by Rohan Voss in 1989. Rovos Rail uses remodelled, air-conditioned historic vehicles - half dating from the 1920s - in two dark green and ivory trains of 20 vehicles accommodating up to 72 passengers and a third train of 13 coaches with 42 berths for private charter.
Two open verandas allow uninterrupted views, and all suites have a private shower or bath.
Rovos Rail's varied itineraries take in countries neighbouring South Africa. They last from 24 hours to a fortnight, with one of its five working steam locomotives taking turns with diesel and electric traction. Prices start at R7 380.
The air-conditioned calm of the Desert Express in Namibia is the perfect way to appreciate the landscapes of this astonishingly arid country that has you wondering how they found enough water for thirsty steam locomotives. The nine-coach modern train made its first run in 1998.
Its customary route is an 18-hour journey between the capital Windhoek and the attractive coastal town of Swakopmund, still redolent of the brief German colonisation. It pauses for a visit to a game lodge and a feeding of lions, with a walk among coastal dunes after breakfast the following morning. Longer journeys to the Etosha Pan and to Luderitz and the ghost town of Kohlmanskop are offered..
The 14 air-conditioned saloon carriages of India's Palace on Wheels are named after Rajput states. Each has four twin-bedded rooms with ensuite lavatory and shower. Decor is designed to evoke the regal past.
The week-long tour begins in Delhi and visits the Rajasthan cities of Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Bharatpur and Agra, Ranthambhor and Keoladeo Ghana national parks and Chittaurgarh Fort for a series of excursions by coach, elephant and camel with meals taken in the train, hotels and royal palaces.
Besides the Orient Express, there has been a steady stream of emulators. Closest in Europe is Spain's Al Andalus Express. It is named after a Wagon Lits train, and has 14 carriages, some dating from the 1920s. They have been renovated to incorporate air-conditioning and ensuite showers and toilets in the sleeping cars. The train operates a four-day itinerary for up to 74 passengers through Andalucia from Seville, stopping at Cordoba, Bobadilla and Granada.
In Hungary, a spin-off from the state rail system operates a historic nine-coach train known as the Royal Hungarian Express, composed of a Wagon Lits car of 1926 and carriages used by Hungarian heads of state. Hungarian specialities and wines are served in the mahogany-panelled dining car, and there are two presidential suites with private shower; other compartments have use of showers at the end of the carriages.
Orient Express operates three trains in Britain. The British Pullman is composed largely of Pullman cars from the 1920s and 1930s and operates day and weekend excursions from London Victoria.
Destinations include cities such as York and Winchester, Cowes for the regatta, Blenheim and Leeds Castle, and Cornish gardens.
Its counterpart, the Northern Belle, operates tours from 32 stations throughout Britain to a similar range of places and events. A recent addition to the Orient Express portfolio is the Royal Scotsman, which eclipses all other luxury trains for the opulence of its carriages - and the cost. The specially converted train carries just 36 guests for anything from a one-night "Wee Dram" to a seven-night "Grand North Western", which takes in the best of Scotland's railway lines and sights.
Rocky Mountaineer Railtours runs over the Canadian Pacific route through the Rockies. Overnight stops are always in hotels. Its GoldLeaf cars offer better facilities and service than RedLeaf and have the advantage of being double decker, with panoramic windows on the upper level and dining facilities below. Prices in GoldLeaf start at C$1 099.
In Australia, the civilised way to cross the Nullarbor Plain is by the Indian Pacific, which covers the 4 352km between Sydney and Perth in 64 hours.
The Ghan runs on a line fully opened only last year from Adelaide via Alice Springs and Katherine to the coast at Darwin, a 2 979km north-south crossing of the continent.
From May, 2006, passenger trains will be revived over the fantastically scenic line between North Vancouver and Prince George by Rocky Mountaineer. - The Independent
