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For other uses, see Orient Express (disambiguation). Orient Express Poster advertising the Winter 1888–1889 timetable for the Orient Express Info Locale Europe Transit type inter-city rail Number of lines 5 Number of stations 18 Operation Began operation 1883 Operator(s) Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits Technical The Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. Its route has changed many times, and several routes have in the past concurrently used the name (or slight variants thereof). Although the original Orient Express was simply a normal international railway service, the name has become synonymous with intrigue and luxury travel. The two city names most intimately associated with the Orient Express are Paris and Istanbul, the original endpoints of the service. The current Orient Express does not serve Paris or Istanbul. Its immediate predecessor, a through overnight service from Paris to Vienna ran for the very last time from Paris on Friday, June 8, 2007. Since then, the route, still called the "Orient Express", has been shortened to start from Strasbourg instead,[1] occasioned by the inauguration of the LGV Est which affords much faster travel times from Paris to Strasbourg. The new curtailed service leaves Strasbourg at 22.20 daily, shortly after the arrival of a TGV from Paris, and is attached at Karlsruhe to the overnight sleeper service from Amsterdam to Vienna. Contents [hide] 1 Train Eclair Train Eclair de luxe (the 'test' train) Georges Nagelmackers invited guests to a railway trip of 2000 kilometres on his 'Train Eclair de luxe' (lightning luxury train). The train left Paris (Gare de Strasbourg) on Tuesday, October 10, 1882, just after 18:30 and arrived in Vienna the next day at 23:20. The return trip left Vienna on Friday, October 13, 1882, at 16:40 and as planned entered Paris (Gare de Strasbourg) at 20:00 on Saturday October 14, 1882. The train was composed of: 1. Baggage car, 2. Sleeping coach with 16 beds (with bogies), 3. Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axes), 4. Restaurant coach (nr. 107), 5. Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axes), 6. Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axes), 7. Baggage car (complete 101 ton). The first menu on board (October 10, 1882): oysters, soup with Italian pasta, turbot with green sauce, chicken ‘à la chasseur’, fillet of beef with 'château' potatoes, 'chaud-froid' of Game animals, lettuce, chocolate pudding, buffet of desserts. Original train Historic routes of Orient Express On June 5, 1883 the first 'Express d'Orient' left Paris for Vienna. Vienna remained the terminus until | ||||
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