Extra red tape at borders caused by Brexit means the UK part of the Orient Express experience will shortly be axed.
Europe’s most notable train departed from Paris for the first time on 4 October 1883. Its destination was the city of Giurgiu on the Romanian side of the Danube, just across the river from Bulgaria.
Since then the route has changed many times as frontiers and alliances in Europe have shifted. But the core service, which began in 1889, linked Paris with Istanbul.
The journey began at Gare de l’Est, still the most atmospheric terminus in the French capital. It raced through the Champagne region, then Lorraine and Alsace. The express reached the Rhine at Strasbourg.
Shortly afterwards, the line of the Orient Express crossed Europe’s main north-south rail link – from Hamburg and Cologne to Switzerland and Italy – at the the village of Appenweier in western Germany (here, a self-aggrandising plaque beside the platform still announces this little halt to be the rail crossroads of Europe).
The Orient Express thundered east to Munich and then ticked off central European and Balkan capitals – Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia – before brushing against the Bosphorus and arriving at Sirkeci station in Istanbul.
After 41 years of successfully running a service from London to Venice, these are the key questions and answers.
I’d love to travel on the Orient Express
Sadly, you are many years too late. The Paris-Istanbul service suffered death by 1,000 cuts before finally being put out of its misery in December 2009. By that stage the Orient Express was simply a nondescript overnight train from Strasbourg to Vienna.
But you know the one I mean?
Yes, the Venice-Simplon-Orient Express (VSOE), offering “a world of timeless glamour”.
The publicity promises: “Your voyage begins on the platform of a famed European city, where historic carriages await your arrival. Meet the conductor, check your bags with our porters, and feel the excitement build.”
For four decades (except for the difficult months during the Covid pandemic), passengers have been able to board a luxury train at London Victoria and travel through the beautiful Kent countryside while eating and drinking in style. The present arrangement is that they transfer at Folkestone to a coach that goes through the Channel Tunnel aboard a Eurotunnel shuttle.
On arrival in Calais they are delivered to the “real” Venice-Simplon-Orient Express, for a journey via Paris, the Alps and Verona to Venice Santa Lucia.
On board, you will have “a private cabin or suite, each lovingly restored to full 1920s grandeur” and be able to enjoy “a sumptuous dinner in one of the magnificent dining cars”. The journey ends with passengers “admiring the Venetian Lagoon with aperitifs in hand”. You don’t get that on most journeys that begin at London Victoria.
What has happened?
Belmond, the company which runs the Venice-Simplon-Orient Express, cannot afford to have any uncertainty about how long it will take for British passengers to join the train in France.
The problem is Brexit. After the vote to leave the European Union, the UK government asked for British travellers to be treated as “third country nationals” – making them subject to passport examination and stamping.
Folkestone, and the nearby Port of Dover, are now hard EU borders with full passport checks administered by French frontier officials.
Recent weeks have seen extremely long waits at Dover for some unfortunate coach passengers – notably over the weekend of 31 March to 2 April, when queues extended to 12 hours or more. They were blamed on new post-Brexit passport arrangements.
No 10 has admitted that “new processes” brought in after Brexit have contributed to travel chaos at the Port of Dover – and it is contamination along the Kent coast at Folkestone that Belmond is keen to avoid.
In the near future, as ministers know, the Brexit treaty requires British passport holders to be fingerprinted and have a facial biometric taken. The “Entry Exit System” is due to take effect in November 2023, and there is no clarity about how coach (and car) passengers will be processed at the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone – or the Port of Dover. Bluntly, nobody knows how bad the border hold-ups will be.
Can’t they hope for the best?
Belmond cannot run the risk that their schedules will be upset as a consequence of Brexit. On a luxury rail excursion using antique rolling stock but running on normal lines, there is precious little wriggle room.
The VSOE slots into tautly compiled regular schedules of ordinary trains carrying ordinary people who paid ordinary fares. If a train is late departing, the repercussions are very substantial – extending the journey time and potentially jeopardising onward connections by air or sea in Venice.
A spokesperson for Belmond told The Independent: “The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express has always been about providing exceptional guest journeys and has always successfully crossed Europe, visiting several European countries with standard gauge railway.
“This means careful coordination of our timetable with National Railways, and this requires almost 24 months’ of advance planning.
“We are worried that the enhanced checks of all passports will introduce risks to our guest’s journeys.”
What’s the alternative?
“Depart London aboard Eurostar for Paris and join theVenice Simplon-Orient-Express on an overnight journey to Venice. Travel in style across the European landscape before arriving in the City of Water.”
Arguably the scheduled service from London St Pancras to the French capital is more civilised (particularly in Business Premier class) and seamless than having the awkward manouvre of leaving a luxury train and boarding a bus.
But when choosing what to wear, be warned: “Jeans are not acceptable at any time.”
Is Brexit responsible for the murder of the Orient Express, in Britain at least?
Not according to the Belmond spokesperson, who says: “We hope to return to running the British Pullman leg as soon as possible.”
