"Orient Express" returned to Bucharest after two years of pandemic

The "Orient Express" train returned to Bucharest after two years in which luxury travel was suspended due to the pandemic. The train runs on the Paris-Istanbul route, and in Romania passengers get off only at the stations of Sinaia and Bucharest, in order to visit tourist attractions. Alex Lancuzov comes with details.

Alex Lancuzov: 86 travelers who could afford to pay more than £17.000 for a ticket got a truly exclusive journey: a luxury train, high quality service and visits to some of the most famous tourist sights on the route. In Romania, the train stopped at Sinaia for a visit to the Peles Castle, and in Bucharest, leaving for Giurgiu customs this morning. It is an imposing train composed of 15 wagons, and in Romania it must be pulled by two locomotives from CFR Calatori in order to have the traction power and voltage necessary for air conditioning and other equipment in the wagons. Of the more than 3.000 kilometers on the Paris-Istanbul route, the only segment still not electrified is the one in southern Romania, with an important detour between Bucharest and Giurgiu, because since 2005 the train line has been closed after the collapse of a bridge over the Arges River. The famous "Orient Express" train, the first in continental Europe with a dining car, has been running from Paris to Istanbul since 1883, the maiden journey, 139 years ago, being with a steam locomotive.

Translated by: Radu Matei