“I’m on holiday! I can allow myself to waste 53 hours, and there will be some lovely countryside,” said one passenger aboard a new luxury train on its maiden voyage from Moscow to the French Riviera.
Embarking on the two-day journey to Nice, Rafael Kazansky joked: “I’ll spend 40 hours out of 53 sleeping. The other 13, I’ll spend talking to you, then going to the restaurant and having some coffees.”
The 48-year-old businessman, equipped with an iPad, said he was more used to air travel than the slower pace of the train, which pulled in to Nice.
The red-and-grey striped train owned by Russian Railways is largely aimed at passengers with a taste for luxury.
Only one of the 12 carriages is second class, while six are reserved for first class and three are defined as “luxury class.” The train also boasts two dining cars.
They are furnished with plush carpets and reproductions of paintings by the French master Matisse. Individual compartments have private showers, toilets and televisions, to ensure passenger comfort over the 3,300-kilometre journey.
The train stops at 22 stations, cutting across Europe via Minsk, Warsaw, the Czech Republic, Vienna and Milan, before reaching its final destination in France’s Cote D’Azur, a sunny clime that has drawn wealthy Russian tourists for centuries.
The rail route ran from the late 19th century until the outbreak of World War II, often catering to members of the Russian imperial family during the Tsarist era.
A Russian Orthodox cathedral that stands proudly in the centre of Nice, built in the early 20th century, is the largest outside Russia.
Making no secret of the train’s target clientele, a representative of the French railway company SNCF hailed the route as a return to the splendour of an earlier century.
Fares start at €306 for second- class travel and range to €1,200 for travel in the most luxurious compartments.
The rail voyage is aimed at people who enjoy the experience of travelling rather than hurrying to their destination.
The train is currently scheduled to run only once a week, but the Russian and French railways hope to add more trains in the near future.