豪华列车：未来的奢侈旅行方式

In the 1970s, American travel writer Paul Theroux set himself an impressive goal: to travel from England to Asia entirely by rail. He catalogued his experience in the book “The Great Travel Bazaar,” which is regarded as one of the most romantic pieces of writing about train travel.

1970年代，美国旅行作家保罗·特鲁（Paul Theroux）为自己设定了一个令人印象深刻的目标：完全通过铁路从英格兰到亚洲旅行。 他将自己的经历写入“The Great Travel Bazaar”一书，该书被认为是有关火车旅行的最浪漫的作品之一。

“If a train is large and comfortable you don’t even need a destination,” Theroux wrote. “A corner seat is enough, and you can be one of those travelers who stay in motion, straddling the tracks, and never arrive or feel they ought to.”

“如果火车既宽敞又舒适，那么您甚至都不需要目的地，”特鲁写道，“转角座位就足够了，您可以成为那些保持着在铁轨上前行，永远不会到达甚至不去思考目的地的旅客之一。”

In this article, we will talk about luxury trains, take you to a virtual journey on the Orient-Express and explain why and how luxury trains could be the future of luxury travel.

在本文中，我们将讨论豪华列车，带您进入东方快车的虚拟旅程，并解析豪华列车将如何成为为奢侈旅行的未来趋势之一。

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History of Luxury Trains

豪华列车的历史

Trains were invented in England in the 18th century, but were very only used to transport merchandise, coal and iron. The first passenger’s trains appeared in Europe and US in 1830. Railways’ construction and big stream trains grew between 1850 and 1900 with the development of international trade & tourism. In 1883 in America, the Southern Pacific Railroad linked New Orleans Louisiana with LA California creating the 3rd U.S. transcontinental railroad and contributing to the famous “conquest of the West”.

火车在18世纪的英国被发明，当时仅用于运输商品，煤炭和铁。 1830年，第一列旅客列车出现在欧洲和美国。随着国际贸易和旅游业的发展，铁路的建设和大型火车在1850年至1900年之间增长。 1883年，美国南太平洋铁路公司将路易斯安那州的新奥尔良市与加利福尼亚州的洛杉矶市连接起来，创建了美国第三条横贯大陆的铁路，并为著名的“西部征服”做出了贡献。

In China, trains to transport merchandise were tested as early as 1876 in Shanghai but Qing dynasty Empress Cixi opposed their constructions, concerned that the noise would disturb Fengshui. But after 1905, several railways were built in China and connected the famous Trans-Siberian coming from Moscow with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and HK. It was possible for Europeans to access Beijing and HK by train through Moscow and Siberia.

在中国，早在1876年的上海就有人对用于运输商品的火车进行了测试，但清朝慈禧太后反对建造这种火车，担心这种噪音会干扰风水。 但是，在1905年之后，中国修建了几条铁路，将著名的从莫斯科来的西伯利亚人与北京，上海，广州和香港连接起来。 欧洲人因此可以通过莫斯科和西伯利亚乘火车到达北京和香港。

The history of trains is also linked with the development of luxury hotels, which were built near the train stations, sometimes financed by the railway’s companies, for the convenience of rich travelers. This is why in Hong Kong the Peninsula hotel was built on Kowloon near the Trans-Siberian railway station. In Beijing, the French railways opened in 1905 the Grand Hôtel des Wagons-Lits to accommodate travelers from Europe on the Trans-Siberian Express. It was rebuilt and renamed Palace Hotel; it is now the Peninsula hotel in Beijing.

火车的历史还与豪华酒店的发展联系在一起。多数豪华酒店建造在火车站附近，一部分是由铁路公司资助的，目的是为有钱人提供便利。 这就是为什么在香港半岛酒店在跨西伯利亚火车站附近的九龙建造的原因。 在北京，法国铁路于1905年开放了瓦格纳兹豪华酒店，以方便跨西伯利亚快车运送欧洲旅客。随后，瓦格纳兹豪华酒店已经重建并更名为皇宫酒店，如今成为了北京半岛酒店。

Luxury trains appeared in the US in 1864 with George Pullman, the inventor of the Pullman Sleeping Car, the 1st railway carriage with stylish sleeping cars and dining cars operated by the best chefs in America. This was the 19th century’s definition of luxury.

1864年， Pullman Sleeping Car的发明者乔治·普尔曼在美国首次推出了豪华车厢，一节由美国最好的厨师经营的带有时尚的卧车和餐车的铁路车厢，也符合当时19世纪对奢侈品的定义。

The 1st legendary luxury train was created in Europe in 1883 and called the Orient Express, connecting Paris to Constantinople.

第一辆传奇的豪华列车于1883年在欧洲创建，被称为东方快车，将巴黎与君士坦丁堡相连。

The Orient-Express

东方快车

The Orient-Express was a myth, a legend, associated forever with the history of luxury trains and with luxury lifestyle. To be successful luxury brands must create strong dream factors and become a legend. Let’s see here the legend of the Orient-Express.

东方快车是一个神话，一个传奇，与豪华火车的历史和奢华的生活方式永远息息相关。 要获得成功，奢侈品牌必须创造强大的梦想因素并成为传奇。 让我们在这里看到东方快车的传奇。

The story begins in 1876 when Georges Nagelmackers, a rich Belgian investor, influenced by the Pullman luxury trains in the US, created La Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, to operate luxury sleeping cars and dining cars all over Europe. The Orient-Express started in 1883 and its ambition was to let travelers easily cross Europe, from Paris to Constantinople, now called Istanbul. This was a dream at the time. But initially passengers had to disembark several times to cross the Danube on a ferry in Bulgaria, later take a steamer on the black sea. In 1889, it became finally possible to join directly Paris to Constantinople, 3000 kilometers, in about 3 days.

故事始于1876年，当时富有的比利时投资者Georges Nagelmackers受美国铂尔曼豪华列车的影响，创立了La Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits，在欧洲经营豪华卧铺车和餐车。 东方快车（Orient-Express）始发于1883年，其目的是让旅客轻松穿越欧洲，从巴黎到君士坦丁堡（现称为伊斯坦布尔），在当时这是一个巨大的梦想。 但是起初，乘客不得不下船几次才能在保加利亚的渡轮上越过多瑙河，后在黑海乘坐轮船。 1889年，铁路终于直接将巴黎连接到3000公里的君士坦丁堡，缩短旅程至3天之内。

The Orient-Express was like a luxury hotel and its sleeping cars & restaurants offered the highest level of luxury service, contrasting with the hard conditions of travel at the time. The sleeping cars were showcased at the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris and the elites could even purchase their own carriage and hire designers to transform them into opulent spaces personalized to their taste.

东方快车就像一家豪华酒店，其卧铺车厢和餐厅提供了最高水平的豪华服务，与当时艰苦的旅行条件形成鲜明对比。 卧铺车厢在1900年巴黎世界博览会上进行了展示，当时的社会精英们甚至可以购买自己的马车，并聘请设计师将它们转变成个性化的奢华空间。

Its Golden age was the Belle Époque (1st Gilded Age) between 1890 and 1914, a period of happiness and optimism for the European elites, with scientific progress and development of luxury tourism, symbolized by the trunks of Louis Vuitton. Maybe you understand now why Louis Vuitton re-created in Shanghai for its fashion show in 2010 a train station where a Louis Vuitton steam train arrived with the models as passengers as if it had come from Paris to Shanghai.

它的黄金时代是1890年至1914年之间的第一镀金时代，对欧洲精英们来说是幸福与乐观的时期。科学与豪华旅游业蓬勃发展，衍生出一系列以路易威登的行李箱为代表的品牌产品。 也许您现在已经了解了为什么路易威登在2010年的上海时装秀上重新创建了一个火车站，在那里蒸汽火车带着模特作为乘客到达，就好像它是从巴黎到上海一样。

Constantinople was another dream factor, it was the door to the Orient (hence the name of the train “Orient-Express), an exotic & cosmopolitan destination where Turks, Greeks, Armenians and Jews lived together. The company built in Istanbul beautiful Pera hotel where rich travelers could sleep upon arrival.

君士坦丁堡对于当时的精英们而言是另一个梦寐以求的地方，它是通往东方的大门（因此，火车的名称为“东方快车”），这是一个充满异国风情和国际化的目的地，土耳其人，希腊人，亚美尼亚人和犹太人共同生活。 该公司在伊斯坦布尔建造了美丽的Pera酒店，富裕的旅客可在抵达时就入住。

A 2nd golden age was the French “années folles”, roaring 20’s, between WW1 and WW2. The Orient-Express was linked with scandals, spies, love affairs but also murders. The trip was not without dangers and in 1929 the train was snowed in for five days at a small station in Turkey. This incident inspired Agatha Christie, although she chose Yugoslavia as the location for her 1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express. More than 10 travelers were suspect of the murder. Do you remember which one was the murderer? Detective Hercule Poirot found out that they all participated in the murder for one good reason, the victim was in fact a criminal himself and they all wanted to take revenge for his past criminal activities

第二次黄金时代是法国的“anées时期”，在第一次世界大战和第二次世界大战之间，咆哮了20年代。 东方快车不仅与丑闻，间谍，爱情有关，而且与谋杀有关。 这次旅行并非没有危险，1929年，火车因大雪在土耳其的一个小车站停留了五天。 尽管阿加莎·克里斯蒂（Agatha Christie）选择了南斯拉夫作为她1934年的小说《东方快车》上的谋杀案的发源地，但其实是这一事件激发了她的灵感。小说中十多名旅客被指控为嫌疑犯。 您还记得凶手是谁吗？书中的侦探赫尔克里·波洛特（Hercule Poirot）发现，他们有充分动机，而受害者本身实际上就是一名罪犯，他们都想向他过去犯下的罪行复仇。

Luxury Trains becoming Fashionable Again

豪华列车的再度流行

They are popular because rich travelers are looking for new ways to enjoy unique travel experiences. This is why LVMH, the leading luxury group, acquired Belmond, previously called Orient-Express which owns 35 top luxury hotels in the world like the Cipriani in Venice, the Copacabana Palace in Rio, Villa San Michele in Florence, but also owns some of the most luxurious trains still in operation, like the Venice Simplon Orient Express, the reincarnation of the legendary Orient-Express which takes passengers from London and Paris to Venice and Verona in Italy.

豪华列车之所以受欢迎，是因为有钱的旅行者正在寻找新的方式来享受独特的旅行体验。 这就是为什么领先的奢侈品集团LVMH收购Belmond（东方快车的公司）的原因，该公司拥有世界上35家顶级豪华酒店，例如威尼斯的Cipriani，里约的科帕卡巴纳宫，佛罗伦萨的圣米歇尔别墅，而且还拥有其中的一些仍在运营的最豪华的火车，例如威尼斯辛普隆东方快车，这是传说中的东方快车的转世，它将乘客从伦敦和巴黎带到意大利的威尼斯和维罗纳。

With LVMH support, the Venice Simplon Orient Express is re-creating the opulence of the past and invested recently in 3 new suites, designed to reflect the spirit of the city they are named after: Paris, Venice and Istanbul. On a train renowned for timeless art deco details, black tie dinners and cocktails by the piano, the Grand Suites offer a whole new level of luxury with plush double beds, marble en-suite showers, heavy silver, heavy crystal glasses, created by the best French craftsmen and of course private dining, flowing champagne.

在LVMH的支持下，Venice Simplon Orient Express重新创造了过去的富裕程度，并最近投资了3套新套房，以体现其所取名的城市精神：巴黎，威尼斯和伊斯坦布尔。 在以艺术细节装饰，黑色领带晚餐和钢琴鸡尾酒而闻名的火车上，豪华套房提供豪华的全新境界，包括豪华双人床，大理石套间淋浴，沉重的银，沉重的水晶玻璃，这些都是由 法国最好的工匠，当然还有流淌着香槟的私人进餐。

Belmond also runs the Oriental & Eastern Express that will take you from Singapore to Bangkok and whose interiors were inspired by the 1932 Marlene Dietrich film “Shanghai Express,” and offer Jim Thompson Thai silk, Malaysian embroidery and Cherrywood paneling. Evening wear is required for dinner. Belmond runs other luxury trains like the British Pullman, The Royal Scotsman, ideal to visit the Scottish highlands, The Andean Explorer and the Heram Binghamin in Peru or the Grand Hiberian in Ireland.

贝尔蒙德还经营东亚快车，它将带您从新加坡到达曼谷，其内饰灵感来自1932年玛琳·迪特里希（Marlene Dietrich）的电影“上海快车”，并提供吉姆·汤普森泰丝，马来西亚刺绣和樱桃木镶板。 晚餐需要穿晚礼服。其他豪华火车包括英国普尔曼（Bullman）和皇家苏格兰人（Royal Scotsman），非常适合参观苏格兰高地，探索秘鲁的安第斯和爱尔兰的巨人之路。

Other legendary trains exist like the Golden-Eagle Trans-Siberian Express, now over 100 years old from Moscow to Vladivostok. Or the Maharajas Express in India where each car has private butler, fresh flowers garlands and a welcome ceremony. The eight-day “Heritage of India” tour includes stops in Mumbai, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi.

除此之外，还有其他传奇列车，例如从莫斯科到符拉迪沃斯托克（Vladivostok）已有100多年历史的Golden-Eagle Trans-Siberian Express。 或印度的Maharajas Express，每辆车都有私人管家，鲜花花环和欢迎仪式。为期八天的“印度遗产”之旅包括在孟买，乌代浦，焦特布尔，斋浦尔，阿格拉和德里的停留。

Conclusion

结语

Luxury trains have a bright future because they convey a modern vision of luxury, the 21st century definition of luxury travel. Beyond their opulent decorations, fantastic gastronomy and personalized luxury service, they offer a spiritual enjoyment where passengers take the time to travel in a sustainable way that respects the environment. Traveling on these luxury trains, obviously slower than the modern fast trains, is like an invitation to reconnect with yourself, enjoy each moment, slow down, meditate on your life or take the time to talk to your friends or even make encounters, but in a luxury environment. These trains can suspend the time, make you feel you can stop the time, even go back to the past time.

豪华火车具有光明的前途，因为它们传达了现代的豪华视野，即21世纪豪华旅行的定义。 除了华丽的装饰，精美的美食和个性化的豪华服务，他们还提供精神享受，让乘客以尊重环境的可持续方式出行。 乘坐这些显然比现代快火车慢的豪华火车，就像是邀请自己与自己重新连接，享受每一刻，放慢脚步，沉思自己的生活，或者花时间与朋友交谈甚至相遇，这都是一个邀请。 豪华的环境。 这些火车可以暂停时间，使您感到可以停止时间，甚至可以回到过去的时间。

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