by The heavyweights of luxury rail – the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, the Ghan, the Rocky Mountaineer – need no introduction. Their names alone conjure up images of luxurious accommodations, gourmet food and classic cocktails enjoyed against a backdrop of splendid landscapes, passing through huge windows.
And lately, more than ever we’re succumbing to the charms of high-priced train travel, says Eleanor Flagler Hardy, co-owner and president of the Society of International Rail Travelers, who has seen a huge increase in the number of passengers requesting rides. super luxury. Suite options.
But if you thought this was the peak of the luxury rail market, you’d be wrong. For the elite, there is an entire upper echelon of train travel that makes these prices seem like spare change. From the hottest new rides from world-renowned companies to buying your own private train, here are eight ways the super-rich are leaving the station.
Royal Suite on the Copper Road, Rovos Rail
With its glamorous voyages across southern Africa, Rovos is already known as one of the world’s leading rail companies, but in 2022 it upped the ante by introducing its new Copper Trail route, a 14-night, 3,100 km (1,900 mile) extravaganza of duration that passes through Zimbabwe, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola.
The trip includes several excursions, including a visit to an elephant sanctuary, a copper mine (hence the name), and Victoria Falls. The most expensive sleeping option, the Royal Suite, is a luxurious 16 square meters of wood-panelled space, a private bathroom (with a Victorian-style bathtub, no less) and a living room with huge windows.
From £18,000 per person
La Dolce Vita, Orient Express
Orient Express La Dolce Vita plans to launch in late 2024, but there is so much fanfare preceding its arrival that several high-net-worth travelers have already shelled out €500 (£430) simply for the privilege of pre-registering for the opportunity. reserve.
The train will offer six different itineraries covering northern and southern Italy and lasting between one and two nights. The interiors are designed as an homage to Italy in the 1960s, when the likes of Federico Fellini and Sophia Loren made moviegoers long to flee to Rome. While details are still scarce, the route’s website promises a surprise ballet, a play area in the bar car and Le Grand Soir, the train’s signature evening event. Suffice it to say that the tickets will not be cheap.
Price: Unknown
Imperial Suite in the Caspian Odyssey, Golden Eagle
Luxury rail service Golden Eagle focuses primarily on Central and Eastern Europe and parts of Asia, and all of its trips come with a hefty price tag. However, the longest, the 16-day Caspian Odyssey, takes the cake. The route begins in Armenia before passing through Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan (you don’t have to worry about running out of glamorous clothes, laundry service is included).
Choosing the Imperial Suite, with prices starting at £46,000 per person, means you’ll be welcomed on board with a bottle of Dom Perignon, as well as having your own private car and excursion guide. With the border still closed between Azerbaijan and Georgia due to Covid restrictions, travelers are transported from Yerevan to Baku by chauffeur-driven car and private jet, and then accommodated in five-star hotels.
From £46,000 per person
Presidential Suite at Indian Panorama, Maharajas’ Express
When a train company’s name means “king” in Sanskrit, you know there’s a certain level of luxury at play. The Maharajas’ Express Indian Panorama is a seven-day journey that starts and ends in Delhi, with stops in Jaipur and Agra, among others.
Measuring 41 square meters, the Presidential Suite (of which there is only one) has two bedrooms, a separate living room, and a personal valet to cater to your every whim. It will cost you around £20,000 per person.
Approximately £20,000 per person
Deluxe Suite at Seven Stars, Kyushu Railway Company
There are exclusive places and then there is Siete Estrellas. You can’t just reserve a room on this train: all potential passengers must apply during an open application period, and winners are decided by lottery. They will then need to complete a questionnaire, after which they will receive a personalized itinerary, which includes details about the train’s dress code.
If you’re lucky enough to climb aboard, you’ll stay in a wood-paneled suite with East-meets-West interiors (including woodwork, mugs and ceramics) and enjoy gourmet Japanese cuisine, all while taking in the stunning countryside of Kyushu. run by.
From £9,000 per person
Freight the Royal Canadian Pacific
With its restored 100-year-old carriages and space for just 36 passengers, this is what Simon Pielow, co-founder of the Luxury Train Club, calls “the holy grail of luxury train travel.” Mere mortals must join a long and competitive waiting list to get a chance to hop aboard one of their three luxury excursions, which range from three to five nights and start at almost £7,000 per person.
But if waiting isn’t your style (for the super-rich, it rarely is) and you’ve got £20,000 to spare, you can hire the entire train. But be careful, that will only get you dinner. Day trips start at £36,400 and if you want to stay overnight it will cost around £44,000 per day.
£44,000 per day
Rent your own train…
Ah yes, the private charter. The super-rich don’t like to share with the riff-raff, so when it comes to train travel, those in a certain tax bracket prefer to simply rent the entire train. Pielow has arranged private charter flights of several luxury trains, from the aforementioned (and infamously difficult to book) Seven Stars, to the Royal Scotsman and the British Pullman, the latter of which can accommodate around 200 of the closest and loved ones of a billionaire.
From £35,000
…Or buy one
There are rich people, and then there are the rich people who “own a train that is used one week a year.” The cost of buying one depends on its condition at the time of purchase and the amount of work that needs to be done (whether engine overhaul or interior decoration), but it is likely to set you back at least a few million pounds. .
And, just like owning a yacht or a private jet, that’s just the beginning. Once it’s ready to go, it needs staff (the British Butler Institute runs an excellent luxury railway hostess and hostess school, if you’re looking), plus you’ll need somewhere to store it when not in use. If you don’t have space at home, you’ll have to pay to keep it on a private rail line or build your own.
Price: Several million
