Train Chartering's Orient Express for two A-list Celebrities

Train Chartering provided an Orient Express private Train on a 660-mile journey through Europe for just two A-class celebrities.

Train Chartering sourced and managed the private use of a 6-carriage Orient Express Train on a tailored journey from Geneva to Hamburg.

For reasons of privacy, the two guests chose a secluded station just outside Geneva as the departure point. They wished to arrive at a central Hamburg station due to its proximity to their hotel.

The Train comprised carriages that had been chosen from a selection for the purposes of this particular journey. They included a Pullman car frequently used by Grace Kelly en route for Monaco, an Austrian Presidential sleeping car and the Piano Bar car, with piano, music system and cocktails.

A steward rolls out the red carpet on the platforms. In a formal morning suit and top hat, the Chef de Service greets guests - a well-accustomed rôle, rehearsed with presidents, kings and queens over the years.

Vintage Krug champagne was ready for our guests in the Piano Bar, which, like every other carriage, was festooned with massed bunches of spring flowers from the gardens and Alpine meadows of central Europe.

Dining included a luncheon of salmon, breast of duck & chicken, fresh fruit, cheeses and chef-baked petit fours, served with Château La Conseillante 1996. The menu for a candle-lit dinner in an intimate compartment was melon, fillet of beef & lamb forestière, followed by Sachertorte and served with Château Latour 1998.

Simon Pielow from Train Chartering said: "Luxury trains have always been recognised as the ultimate way in land travel. Virtually every president or monarch since the dawn of rail has preferred rail travel to roads. Aristocrats, industrialists and movie stars have enjoyed being able to call up a private train. 250 yards of opulent carriages for a tailored journey is the ultimate fusion of privacy, luxury, wealth and power. Train Chartering makes it happen."

Karin Fleischhacker, CEO of Nostalgie Istanbul Orient Express added: "We have enjoyed close collaboration with Train Chartering, whose innovative approach to the use of our beautiful train merges classic style with the exacting requirements of today's upscale patrons."