site.btaUPDATED Orient Express with 84 Passengers From Three Continents Arrives in Ruse

The famous Orient Express arrived in Ruse en route from Paris to Istanbul with 84 passengers from three continents on Tuesday, August 27, said Trainmaster Bruno Janssens.

The 84 passengers are accommodated in eight of the 15 carriages, with some travelling in ordinary compartments and others in luxurious historic suites with ensuite bathrooms. Depending on the type of compartment, the price a passenger can pay to travel the entire route with all amenities can reach EUR 75,000. The remaining seven carriages are the restaurants and their kitchen, the bar, as well as the cabins for the staff. 

After the brief stopover in Ruse, the legendary train left for Varna with a Bulgarian locomotive and is expected to arrive in the Turkish megalopolis on Wednesday.

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The Orient Express is a luxury train that used to connect Paris with Vienna and Istanbul as from 1883. It was called the "train of kings" or "king of trains" because of its interior splendour and the many royals who rode on it.

The Orient Express was founded by Belgian civil engineer and businessman Georges Nagelmackers and was operated by his Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et des Grands Express Europeens (CIWL). The train had its first trial run on June 5, 1883. The passengers were all men (journalists, artists and politicians) and carried pistols on the recommendation of the authorities.

The regular service began on October 4, 1883 with 24 passengers, including only two women. The express travelled twice a week between Paris and Istanbul, passing through Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest. Initially, the train only reached Giurgiu, from where the passengers were ferried across the Danube to Ruse and then boarded another train to Varna, where an Austrian Lloyd steamer took them to Istanbul. The first journey without change of trains started on June 1, 1889, running via Belgrade, Nis and Sofia. By 1902, the entire route was finally covered by rail.

The three-times-a-week service was suspended in 1914 and resumed in 1919 between Paris and Istanbul via Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Nis, Sofia, Plovdiv and Edirne.

The daily Simplon Orient Express, Paris - Milan - Venice - Trieste - Zagreb - Belgrade - Nis - Sofia - Plovdiv - Edirne - Istanbul/Athens, was also introduced in 1919.

After World War II, the Orient Express divided at Stuttgart, with one portion running to Prague and Warsaw. The Simplon Orient was revived in 1945, three times per week, from Calais to Istanbul via Paris, Milan, Venice, Belgrade and Sofia. The portion to Athens was added from 1951. In 1952, the luxury train was rerouted from Belgrade via Thessaloniki. The service was discontinued east of Vienna and beyond Prague in 1961 and finally withdrawn on May 27, 1962. The Direct Orient Express, Calais - Paris - Milan - Venice - Trieste - Belgrade, originally introduced in 1921 and reintroduced in 1950, was extended to Sofia and Istanbul twice a week between 1962 and 1967 but ceased to run beyond Venice in 1977, and with it all direct service from Paris to Istanbul.

On December 14, 2009, the scheduled Orient Express definitively ceased operations and disappeared from European rail timetables, being unable to compete with high-speed trains and aircraft.