Late on Tuesday night, the Orient Express arrived in the Netherlands for the first time. As one of the world’s most luxurious trains, hitching a ride on this beauty is quite a costly feat — this shows in the number of passengers that were on board.
The Venice Simplon Orient Express is one of the most luxurious trains in the world. According to Treinreiziger.nl, this posh beauty will be passing through the Netherlands once a year from 2021 onwards.
Not something for normal people
The Orient Express is all about the experience. With cabins costing anywhere from €3,000 per person, to €25,000 for a cabin, one thing’s for sure — this is way too expensive for normal people like us. Unless of course you win the lottery or mortgage your house.
The train has a rich and vivid history
If you do have €25,000 to drop, there’s a strong chance that you end up in the almost one hundred-year-old sleeper car 3309. Built in 1926, over the years this carriage has set the scene for many dramatic events.
In February 1929, the train got stuck in an avalanche 60 miles from Istanbul for 10 days. This incident was the inspiration for Agatha Christie’s most famous novel, “Murder on the Orient Express.”
Meanwhile, in 1940, King Carol of Romania used the train to flee the country with his mistress — saucy!
All about luxury
As we know already, the train is very exclusive. Its 17 carriages usually only accommodate 156 passengers. However, due to coronavirus that number is currently limited to 92 passengers, explains Pascal Deyrolle the General Manager.
The train also has 45 permanent employees. According to Deyrolle, this “is no different during COVID-19.” He says, “We all need them” as each carriage has its own steward, and the trains needs technicians and cooks.
The Venice Simplon also has three dining carriages and a bar car — that really puts the frikandelbroodje we bought for our train ride to shame.
It’s all about being the biggest and best
Thanks to its 17 carriages, the Venice Simplon Orient Express is also one of the longest trains in Europe. At more than 400 metres long, it’s longer than the Eurostar! The train is the longest length that can possibly be allowed according to European regulations.
All this hype and only ten passengers
There were only ten passengers aboard when the train arrived in the Netherlands late on Tuesday night.
Initially there had been more passengers on board but many got off in Brussels as the train was delayed by five and a half hours due to bad weather conditions in the Alps — the horror of an extra few hours in such a luxurious setting!
The train departed the Netherlands this morning at 9:27 AM. Currently the luxury train’s main route is London-Paris-Venice, but the train also visits Budapest, Prague, and Istanbul from time to time. The operators also say that they are open to expanding the number of destinations “if there is demand for it” explains Deyrolle.
We’ll be drooling as we read this news from our second class NS carriage — oh to be rich and famous.
Would you save up for a trip on the Orient Express? Tell us in the comments below!
Feature Image: Roberto_Sorin/Depositphotos
If it’s not full to capacity (whatever that is) the price is clearly to high.