Orient Express Presents First Look Inside Its Revived, Modern-Classic Train
Image via Orient Express
It’s the Roaring 20s V2.0, and the Orient Express is back. A little ways ahead of a grand opening in 2025, the train’s owners have peeled back the curtain on the luxury convoy. As a sign of the times, the preview was held at a virtual-reality exhibition at Paris art week called the Orient Express Revelation.
Accor Group, which now holds a 50% stake in the Orient Express franchise, spent the better part of the last five years reviving the train to its former glory, and then some. French architect Maxime d’Angeac was the conductor of the redesign, which now marries art deco and contemporary elements so as to welcome passengers of today.
To start off, D’Angeac turned to the former two Orient Express designs—one from 1883 and another from 1924 (made famous by the Bond films)—as reference. The modernized car borrows original motifs like Lalique flower lamps; rosewood panels; and Morrison and Nelson marquetry, the latter of which was unearthed by history researcher Arthur Mettetal from the border between Belarus and Poland in 2015 after it remained hidden for a decade.
Meanwhile, modern artwork lines the cabins, and bold hues of green and purple dot the interior to update the train for guests of the future.
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Domed skylights hover over the Bar Car, which also features an all-glass bar counter as a nod to the classic glasswork done by French jeweler René Lalique in the original train.
The Dining Car, on the other hand, is lit by lamp shades drawn from the classic train lights.
Sébastien Bazin, chairman and CEO of Accor, believes it’s crucial for the reborn train to embody both old and new elements, instead of just faithfully honoring past designs, to not only celebrate its legacy but also “create something timeless,” quotes Condé Nast Traveler.
After Paris, the Orient Express Revelation virtual-reality display will stop over at Design Miami, where it will stay put from November 30 to December 4.
A video tour of the new carriage can also be viewed below.
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[via Apartment Therapy and Condé Nast Traveler, images via various sources]
