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About Orient Express Luxury Train TicketsContents About Orient Express Luxury Train TicketsThe name Orient Express is heavy with symbolism. Any product or service that identifies itself with 'Orient Express' borrows from the real and imagined history of a rail service that still thrills. For context, it is over 130 years since a steam locomotive and a short train of carriages braved the Balkans to link two very different cultures; Constantinople (now Istanbul), capital of the Ottoman Empire and Paris in the Belle Époque. It is no wonder that Orient Express is beloved of marketers, authors, movie-makers, and designers. Who Owns The Orient Express?The Société nationale des chemins de fer français, SNCF, is France's national state-owned railway company owns the right to the name Orient Express. SNCF has a number of original Wagon-Lits carriages constructed for historic Orient Express trains in the 1920s / 1930s. SNCF has partnered with French-owned Accor Hotels to develop a new brand with SNCF's Orient Express property, Orient Express, featuring hotels, the train and lifestyle complements. There will be 10 Orient Express hotels by 2030. The Orient Express train is available for private or corporate charter or for movie / photo locations. SNCF zealously guards its right to use Orient Express for products and services, particular regarding train operations. Belmond has the contractual duty to ensure none of its partners or contractors abuse SNCF's Orient Express trademark. Venice Simplon-Orient-ExpressAlthough popularly known as the 'Orient Express', the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express luxury train owned and operated by Belmond can only use these iconic words as part of the full train name. Belmond was called Orient-Express Hotels until 2014, when a new licensing contract with SNCF forced the re-branding. In 2018, Belmond was bought by LVMH, the French luxury goods conglomerate. What Was The Original Orient Express Like?On 5 June 1883, the first Express d'Orient left Paris for Vienna, which was the terminus until 4 October 1883. The train became the Orient Express in 1891. These early Orient-Express journeys were a triumph, taking into account the challenges of providing good service to a varied clientele while operating complex machinery over new infrastructure through the turbulent Balkans . The author travelled on a 1970s Orient Express Paris to Belgrade service - six passengers in the compartment & food bought through the window from a station platform vendor; a far cry from previous and present journeys. The purchase of carriages by the late James Sherwood saved the name, reinventing it as the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (Orient-Express A Personal Journey). Go here for an interesting article about what it was like to ride the original Orient Express. Contact UsAbout Orient Express or to book luxury train tickets or ask any questions about luxury train travel.
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