Orient Express train from Paris to Istanbul to be relaunched by French rail firm SNCF



It is a name that has been associated with both stylish adventures and the golden age of travel for almost a century and a half. And, as of April, the Orient Express will be rebooted for the 21st century, when French rail operator SNCF restores it to the timetable.

These two fabled words are most commonly associated with the train that ran from Paris to Istanbul between 1883 and 1977. It was launched by the hotel group Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, and, at its height, offered travellers the chance to journey across Europe and into Turkey’s most famous city in a rolling realm of style and comfort.

A stylish rail icon: The original Orient Express train - seen here (left) making a stop in Bulgaria - ran from Paris to Istanbul between 1883 and 1977. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (right) is a luxury rail journey operator



However, with the growth of the European road network and the introduction of other fast passenger trains, the service gradually became a thing of the past.

The main route from the French capital to Istanbul was curtailed in 1977, and a shorter trip – from Paris to Vienna – was introduced. This ran until 2007, when the service was cut again, now starting out for Vienna from the north-easterly French city of Strasbourg.

The end finally came on 14 December 2009, when the last of these trains departed.

However, SNCF, which has owned the brand since 1977, has ambitious plans for the Orient Express name – not least of which is the return of trains to Istanbul.

A new Orient Express company will be launched in April, which will emphasise the high-end side of the trademark with a range of haute-couture luggage.

Initially, the new train service will retrace the abridged route from Paris to Vienna, but will eventually cover the full odyssey down through the Balkans to Istanbul.

Travellers should not confuse the resurrected train with the existing Venice Simplon-Orient-Express – a separate, private service specialising in luxury rail journeys.

Bringing it up to speed: The new Orient Express service will be run by SNCF, which owns the brand name

The brainchild of the British hotel group Orient Express Hotels, this uses the Orient Express name under licence from SNCF – and primarily operates from London to Venice, with the UK leg of the journey being referred to as ‘British Pullman.’

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express uses antique carriages from the Twenties and Thirties to recreate the classic era of rail travel – when the Orient Express was so famous that it was the setting for Agatha Christie’s 1934 mystery Murder On The Orient Express.

Along with Venice, it runs to destinations including Vienna, Prague and Budapest – as well, crucially, as Istanbul, meaning that, somewhat confusingly, two versions of the Orient Express could compete to take passengers to Turkey when the SNCF train appears.