Orient Express is set to come back to life
The most famous locomotive in the world is being revamped with Art Deco-style interiors ahead of its return to the tracks in 2024.
The Orient Express made its first journey from Paris to Istanbul in 1883. Since then, it has captured the imagination of travellers across the world. Almost a century and a half later, an incarnation of the train synonymous with old-world grandeur and the golden age of rail transportation is set to return to the tracks in 2024, operated by French hospitality group Accor.
In 2015, a chance sighting on YouTube led historian Arthur Mettetal to find 17 carriages from the original train. Although they lay abandoned near the border of Belarus and Poland they were remarkably well preserved, with many of the original marquetry and lighting installations still in place. Two years later, Accor acquired a 50 per cent stake in the Orient Express brand and set out to bring the historic train back to life.
The new train is not to be confused with the Belmond-owned Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, revived in 1982 to travel between London and Venice, although the two experiences both seek to amplify the romance and luxury of train travel.
The first renders of Accor project, unveiled this week in the Orient Express Revelation exhibition in Paris, reveal carriages inspired by glamorous 1920s design. French architect Maxime D’Angeac, known for his collaborations with luxury brands such as Hermes and his fit-out of Maison Guerlain on the Champs-Elysees, was tapped to lead the project.
The train will offer three suite categories, each fitted with a private bathroom, sofa and settee. Elsewhere, bold geometric carpets play alongside wood-panelled doors and vivid, jewel-toned plush furnishings. Original details such as wooden art by Morrison and Nelson and floral lamps have been retained in the new fit-out.
But the new Orient Express is not just an ode to the past – it reimagines historical design codes and brings them into the present. The dining car is a particularly striking example of this fusion: a mirrored ceiling sits above ornate dining settings, which feature rail motifs from the original carriages that have been reinterpreted by d’Angeac. The most useful feature? Each table will include a Champagne call button, allowing for a top-up at every guest’s whim.
“The work is meticulous just like it was in the past,” D’Angeac said in a statement. “By slipping into the shoes of its creators, from Rene Prou to Suzanne Lalique, I tried to reinterpret the history of this legendary train, not only with nostalgia, but with a desire to extend its history, to transport us to another place. As if it was all a dream.”
A new exhibition reveals more about the historic train and delves deep into its past and its design elements. It will be on display during Contemporary Art Week in Paris from October 17-21 and at Design Miami in Florida from November 30 to December 5, 2022.