Take a trip on the Orient Express which offers a luxurious 19th century journey — minus the murders
TO board the Orient Express is to be transported to a time when train journeys were romantic, luxurious . . . and occasionally murderous.
Now the only thrill is if your train turns up on time.
The service, first run in 1883, is synonymous with the golden age of travel but is best known for the violent works of fiction set in its ornate carriages.
James Bond bested a Soviet hitman while travelling from Istanbul to London in From Russia With Love, while Hercule Poirot cracked his biggest case in Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express.
The latter has been adapted many times for the big and small screen, including a star-studded offering last year from director Kenneth Branagh, who also played Poirot.
As I board the train at Paris Gare de L’Est, where it first set off all those years ago, some of the film’s contributors embark with me — James Pritchard, the author’s great-grandson, and Oscar-winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne.
It is a great place to mingle with other passengers.
Before long, it is back to a second dining cart for afternoon tea — and more champagne.
Tiny finger sandwiches are served alongside cakes and pastries, as the French countryside whizzes past.
It is amazing to think all this food has been made in the tiny galley kitchen.
Caught up in the majesty of the experience, it has been nice to forget the strains of modern life for a while.
My daily commute with Greater Anglia will never be the same.
Still, at least there is little chance of getting caught up in a gruesome murder mystery.
Murder On The Delayed 9:24 to Liverpool Street” doesn’t quite have the same ring.
- Murder On The Orient Express is out now on digital download and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on Monday.