Get carried away by the romance of the railway

The new Danube Express has the romance of old-time rail travel with contemporary levels of comfort.

With more people turning to train travel it's green and it isn't nearly as trying as air travel several splendid new train services have recently opened up. But of all of them, "the most eagerly anticipated has been the Danube Express", says Susan d'Arcy in The Sunday Times. Its operators, Danube Express Limited, describe it as the luxury train of the 21st century and have made it clear that while their route isn't quite the same as that of the Orient Express (the Danube takes you to cities as diverse as Brussels, Istanbul and Brasov), they are after the latter's customers.

Will they get them? They may. The Danube Express contains 15 brand-new luxury bedrooms (built at a cost of £115,000 each) plus several revamped bedrooms in a series of older carriages. You might think that wouldn't be enough to differentiate it from the Orient Express a service most of us think of as offering the height of luxury. Not so. Many Orient Express travellers are shocked to discover they have to share a toilet with their neighbours and that there are no showers. The Danube, on the other hand, offers en suites that "leave the competition lagging", says d'Arcy. The rooms are also two and a half times bigger than the average European sleeper (guests on the Orient Express often find themselves having to lurk in the corridor so their partner has enough room to get changed in their tiny room).

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Ruth Jackson-Kirby

Ruth Jackson-Kirby is a freelance personal finance journalist with 17 years’ experience, writing about everything from savings accounts and credit cards to pensions, property and pet insurance.

Ruth started her career at MoneyWeek after graduating with an MA from the University of St Andrews, and she continues to contribute regular articles to our personal finance section. After leaving MoneyWeek she went on to become deputy editor of Moneywise before becoming a freelance journalist.

Ruth writes regularly for national publications including The Sunday Times, The Times, The Mail on Sunday and Good Housekeeping, among many other titles both online and offline.