Orient Express

Orient Express

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Orient Express

(English: Orient Express) is a long-distance train in Europe. It mainly runs from Paris to Istanbul to cross the European continent. It was initially operated by international sleeper companies. In history, the Orient Express had different routes, but it was not far from the beginning and end of the east-west direction. Although the Orient Express originally refers to the international train to the East (Near East, Turkey), it has been used to refer to passionate foreign travel or luxury travel in various popular literature, such as Agatha Kristi's murder of the Orient Express and adapted films.

brief introduction

Orient Express

(English: Orient Express) is a long-distance train in Europe. It mainly runs from Paris to Istanbul to cross the European continent. It was initially operated by international sleeper companies. In history, the Orient Express had different routes, but it was not far from the beginning and end of the east-west direction. Although the Orient Express originally refers to the international train to the East (Near East, Turkey), it has been used to refer to passionate foreign travel or luxury travel in various popular literature, such as Agatha Kristi's murder of the Orient Express and adapted films.

Origin

In 1876, George nagimac founded the international sleeper train company and began to realize his dream of luxury train service from Paris to Istanbul, following the example of George Pullman's luxury sleeper train in the United States. on October 4, 1883, the first Oriental Express named Express d'Orient left Paris east station, passed Munich and Vienna, and arrived in Romania for a long time. Here, the passengers cross the Danube by boat, then transfer to another train in Rousse, Bulgaria, to Varna, and then transfer to Istanbul. At the beginning of operation, there are two trains a week. Passengers need to pay for the tickets of the railway company and the additional tickets of the international sleeper company, so that the international sleeper company can earn the return of providing luxury train services. In 1885, another route began to pass through Vienna, Belgrade in Serbia, and then from provdiv in Bulgaria to Istanbul. in June 1889, the railway through Istanbul was completed. During this period, the train goes from Paris to Vienna and Budapest at 6:25 every night. It leaves for Bucharest on Mondays and Fridays, and leaves for Belgrade and Istanbul on Sundays and Wednesdays. It arrives in Istanbul at 4:00 p.m. three days later. In 1891, express d'Orient officially changed its name to orient express. in 1909, the bed card was redecorated to use more comfortable and soft beds and allow the beds to be folded more neatly during the day to vacate the activity space during the day.

the First World War

Due to the outbreak of the first World War, the Orient Express stopped operation in July 1914 and resumed operation in 1918. At the end of the World War II, at the request of the French government, car 2419 was converted into the office of general Fu Xu (later became Marshal). On November 11, 1918, the famous armistice agreement of World War I was signed in this car. in 1919, the Simpson tunnel was opened, allowing trains to use southbound routes to pass through Milan, Venice and even Trieste, known as

Simpson Orient Express

(simple Orient Express) and became an important route since then. At that time, the first-class fare was US $171, the second-class fare was US $121, and there was no third-class seat; the train speed was about 30 miles per hour, and it took about 2.5 days from Paris to Istanbul.

Heyday

In the 1930s, there were Orient Express, Simpson Orient Express, and

Aalborg Orient Express

Operating at the same time is for the heyday. The Arlberg Orient Express runs from Zurich, Innsbruck to Budapest; there are sleeper trains to Bucharest and Athens. During this period, Orient Express provided sleeping cars and dining cars, enjoying a high reputation for its comfortable and luxurious services; royalty, nobles, diplomats and businessmen from all over the world came in an endless stream. The western end of the railway is also extended to Calais to facilitate passengers from the UK.

the Second World War

Since the Second World War in 1939, the service of Orient Express was interrupted again. During this period, mitropa company of Germany provided the service to the Balkans. However, the service had to be suspended because the Communist resistance movement of Yugoslavia destroyed the railway many times. in November 1945, after the end of the war, due to the closure of the border between Yugoslavia and Greece, except for the branch line to Athens, the Eastern Express resumed operation. In 1951, Yugoslavia reopened its border with Greece, but the border between Bulgaria and Turkey was closed the following year. Before 1952, the Orient Express could not reach Istanbul directly. In the Cold War era, Orient Express maintained service, but Warsaw Convention countries tried to use their own trains.

Direct Orient Express

In 1962, the original Orient Express and Aalborg Orient Express stopped operation, leaving Simpson Orient Express. 1962, slower

Direct Orient Express

(direct Orient Express) replaces the Simpson Orient Express service, which runs daily from Paris to Belgrade and twice a week to Istanbul and Athens. in 1971, as the income from the additional tickets of sleeping cards failed to pay for the maintenance and renovation of old trains, wagon lit sold or rented sleeping trucks to several European railway companies to maintain the service of operators only. In 1976, the service from Paris to Athens was suspended; on May 19, 1977, after the last Paris to Istanbul train arrived at the station, the direct East Express service was completely suspended.

Current situation

Many people think that the end of Orient Express will come when the business of through Orient Express stops. But in fact, there are still trains of the same name arriving in Bucharest from Paris via Strasbourg, Munich and Budapest as before. In 2001, the service was reduced to Vienna only. on June 10, 2007, due to the opening of the French high-speed train from Paris to Strasbourg, the Orient Express was further shortened to maintain only Strasbourg to Vienna, leaving Strasbourg at 10:20 every night. in 2009, the financial tsunami swept the world, and the luxury train Orient Express became the victim of the financial tsunami and retired on December 12. it is worth noting that due to the history of Orient Express, the train connects the carriages of France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania and other countries, and the old wagons lits company's sleeping card and meal card may also be included. in 2005, wagons lits was renovated and launched

Pullman Orient Express

(Pullman Orient Express), a total of 7 carriages with different themes, boasting luxury, noble, spacious and comfortable. At present, the routes are short and medium distance, generally starting in the evening and returning in the early morning. The journey is about one hour. Service is now suspended. although the service of today's Orient Express has been suspended, passengers can still take the Paris Strasbourg, Strasbourg Vienna, Vienna Belgrade, and Belgrade Istanbul trains by themselves to follow the routes of the Orient Express in the past; other variations such as Paris Zurich Belgrade Istanbul are also feasible, and the whole journey is complete About 60 hours.

Venice Simpson Orient Express

In 1982, the Orient express once again ran between London and Venice. The revived Orient Express belonged to James Sherwood, the owner of Venice Simplon Orient Express. He is also a fan of old trains and is keen on buying old train carriages. In the autumn of 1977, Sherwood won two Oriental Express carriages at the autumn auction held in Monte Carlo, starting his ambitious "Resurrection" plan. As a matter of fact, these two carriages also have a long history. The 1974 movie murder of Orient Express was shot in these two carriages. Sherwood is constantly looking for retired old cars, most of which have been completely abandoned, scattered around the world, on the docks, in the corners of warehouses, in garbage dumps, and in the private storerooms of European collectors. Sherwood pursued them persistently and carried out the restoration work carefully. He restored the original beautiful appearance of Orient Express; held talks with eight different countries to discuss the issues of crossing countries; publicized a lot The Oriental Express was finally put into operation. The rebirth Oriental Express has 12 sleeping cars, 2 staff cars, 3 dining cars and 1 bar car - known as the 1.5 km long "mobile antique". at present,

Venice Simpson Orient Express

(Venice implon Orient Express) runs from London to Paris to Zurich to Innsbruck to Venice every week from March to November. Now?

Venice Simpson Orient Express

It's the only Eastern express that has survived.

Other Orient Express

Japan national railway ef651136 locomotive hauls "Dongfang Express' 88" (photo taken on November 1, 1988)

american orient express

（AmericanOrientExpr

Chinese PinYin : Dong Fang Kuai Che