The Eastern & Oriental Express is heading back to the tracks.
Services for the train service are restarting in February 2024, in response to an announcement today by the train’s owner, the posh travel company Belmond.
The passenger train, long considered one of the crucial luxurious rail rides in Asia, began operating in 1993, connecting Bangkok to Singapore. It stopped running in 2020 on the outset of the pandemic.
The Eastern & Oriental is returning with 15 carriages, including two restaurant cars, one piano bar automobile and an open-air remark automobile. It’s eight sleeping cars may have three cabin categories — Pullman, State and Presidential — all with air-conditioning and personal bathrooms.
Bookings for 2024 opened today with rates from $3,410 per person for a three-day journey, which incorporates all meals, beverages and scheduled activities.
Two journeys
The brand new service is about to run two seasonal journeys, each departing from Singapore and traveling to Malaysia.
The “Essence of Malaysia,” will run from November to February. It’s going to go through Kuala Lumpur, with views of the Petronas Twin Towers — once the tallest buildings on this planet — before departing for the favored islands of Langkawi and Penang along western Malaysia.
The Eastern & Oriental Express is outfitted with ornate silks, cherry wood paneling and carpets made with Malay batik.
Source: Belmond
Guests can snorkel in Palau Payar Marine Park, take a Peranakan cooking class and experience the “UNESCO World Heritage sites, vigorous street art, and an exhilarating food scene” in the town of George Town, in response to the announcement.
From March to October, passengers can embark on the train’s “Wild Malaysia” route. It stops along the eastern side of Malaysia to explore the rainforests of the Taman Negara National Park, before venturing to Penang.
Trains of comparable names
The Eastern & Oriental Express has been colloquially known as Southeast Asia’s “Orient Express,” harkening to the historic train that linked Paris and Istanbul starting within the late nineteenth century.
Costs start at $3,410 per person for a three-day journey on the Eastern & Oriental Express.
Source: Belmond
Nevertheless, other train services use the moniker, including one run by Belmond.
That train — the “Venice Simplon-Orient-Express” — operates under a one-off licensing deal and has been running since 1982.
The French hospitality company Accor has broader rights to the name through a deal inked with the French rail company SNCF in 2017. The corporate is about to launch a luxury passenger service in 2025, in response to its website.
Accor can also be preparing to launch six “Orient Express La Dolce Vita” trains in 2024 that can run across Italy, with trips to Paris, Istanbul and Split, Croatia, in response to its website.
Pre-booking for that service opened in December 2022, with prices ranging from 2,000 euros ($2,192) per person per night, in response to Accor.
— Lucy Handley contributed to this report.
