Who doesn't love a train? Since the invention of the first steam-powered locomotive in the UK in 1804, this powerful mode of transport has helped keep human progress on track. If they weren't hauling freight in cars, they'd be pulling passengers in carriages. In the modern era, the iron horse is still chugging along under its own steam. And these days, many are attracted to it for its comfort, style and luxury.

 

In the UK, a new £150m fleet of Caledonian Sleepers² has just been unveiled. These overnight trains provide an experience that will 'transform travel between London and Scotland,' says Ryan Flaherty of Serco, the company operating the rail service, in a BBC article. Indeed, the fleet features 40 sleeper¹ carriages fitted with showers, a club car for dining and new engineering in the couplers to prevent shunting from waking resting passengers.

 

But it doesn't stop there. All over the globe, luxury trains deliver comfort and opulence³ on rails to passengers looking to let off steam. Why not try a whistle-stop tour of India on The Maharajas' Express? Taking 88 guests at a time on a four or eight-night trip, the train boasts restaurant cars, a bar and a lounge. If South Africa is more to your taste, you can travel for over 31 hours from Cape⁴ Town to Pretoria in a spacious⁵ cabin boasting five-star service on The Blue Train. Fancy South America? The Belmond Andean Explorer is its first sleeper train. They boast it is one of the highest train routes in the world. It can whisk you across Peru from Cusco, the Incan capital, to Arequipa, 'the White City'. And of course, no mention of locomotive luxury would be complete without the famous Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the well-known setting of a popular murder mystery novel. Travelling across Europe to various destinations such as London, Paris and Venice, its art deco cabins are manned by stewards⁶ and feature a resident pianist.

 

Trains are old. And it is perhaps this age that appeals to many people. Stepping on board a luxury train to travel as we used to long ago evokes⁷ romantic memories of grand journeys at a more measured pace. If this appeals to you, why not consider one for your next holiday? I'm sure your experience will be anything but a train wreck⁸.

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