Accor lifts a first veil on the third generation of the Orient Express, before its launch on the rails in 2025.
The Accor Group, owner of the Orient-Express brand, is reinventing the mythical train, which it plans to put back on European rails in early 2025.
The first images of the train evoke a real luxurious cocoon on rails, in which a maximum of 64 people can travel. It will feature marble, rosewood, mother-of-pearl and bronze beads, designer seats and an art deco style dining car.
Orient Express, the subsidiary in charge of promoting the heritage of the famous train, wants to “become one with the myth” and “reinvent” it as a luxury hotel that will move from one capital to another, explains to AFP its vice-president Guillaume de Saint Lager.
The new train will follow the historic route of the Orient-Express, linking Paris to Constantinople/Istanbul from 1883 to 1977. But this will not be its only route, according to its vice-president, who nevertheless remains mysterious about the other future routes. Fares have not yet been revealed, but the trips are estimated to cost several tens of thousands of euros.
The first three refurbished cars, including the bar and restaurant, will be on display in Paris during the 2024 Olympic Games. In total, the train will be composed of 17 vintage cars of the “real” Orient-Express of the 1920s, 13 of which were found, abandoned, at the Belarusian border.
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They were in good enough condition to excite railroad enthusiasts, but “unable to withstand any technical inspection,” notes Maxime d’Angeac, the architect in charge of the project. While their bodies were being refurbished, Maxime d’Angeac turned his nose to the original plans of the venerable International Sleeping Car Company for inspiration. “This is the third version of the Orient-Express, after the first generation – fin de siècle – of 1880 and the second – art deco – of 1920,” he explains. “Lalique flowers, Lalique glass plates, marquetry… Everything we could keep, we reused!”
As for the small private room in the dining car, it is original. All the work of restoration and fitting out of the train will be entrusted to French luxury houses and craftsmen, Guillaume de Saint Lager assures.
Read also > A BRIEF HISTORY OF LUXURY : THE ORIENT EXPRESS
Featured photo : © Orient Express/ Accor
