Many of these Asian trains pattern themselves after cruise ships and include amenities far beyond traditional railroads. The Deccan includes a spa room, where you can sample local ayurvedic massage and steam baths as the train rolls on. Other new trains include boutiques and Internet access.
European and African nations also have recognized the demand for luxury rail trips. Competing with South Africa's long-running Blue Train between Cape Town and Pretoria, a formal experience where men don jackets for dinner in the train restaurant, the South African businessman Rohan Vos began Rovos Rail. Using restored carriages from as far back as 1911, Rovos offers itineraries across southern Africa. Even small, isolated Eritrea has revamped its narrow-gauge railway, dating from the Italian colonial era, so it can run charters. It ascends through impossibly steep passes rising from Asmara, the capital.
As in Asia, Orient-Express helped rebuild the European luxury rail market by restoring 1920s coaches and trying to re-create the most famous train in history, the Orient Express route to Istanbul, which inspired mystery novels and films. The new-old train comes complete with afternoon tea and snaking curves through Austrian mountain passes. No microwaved burgers or other typical train fare here: At meals on Orient-Express' trains, guests can dig into beluga caviar, white truffle risotto and roasted Alaskan white king salmon.
GW Travel, a British travel company, this year began a luxury trans-Siberian service from Moscow to Vladivostok. The service barely resembles the trip I once took on an old Siberian spur route, where cabin attendants screamed at passengers in the middle of night and, during an hours-long train stop, we waited outside in a dark, decrepit border town as traders tried to sell us ratty Mongolian cashmere sweaters and moldering fruit. Instead, GW's train features cabins with flat-screen TVs and DVD players.
Even long-maligned Amtrak is getting into the act, and plans to introduce restored vintage cars on several long cross-country and Eastern Seaboard routes.
Working with Grand Luxe Rail Journeys, Amtrak is equipping the cars with lounges that feature live piano music and upscale dining cabins with uniformed waiters. The restored cars will be connected to regular Amtrak trains, but passengers from other cars will not be able to enter the upscale section.
Some things, apparently, never change.
ROLLING ALONG IN A GRAND STYLE
The most comprehensive Web site about international train travel is www.seat61.com. It's run by a former employee of British train companies and offers route details, extensive information about how to book in many nations and detailed histories of some of the world's most famous trains.
For organized all-inclusive luxury rail trips through Europe, try the tour operator Great Rail Journeys (www.greatrail.com). These trips normally include train tickets, guides and accommodations for wherever you stop, though this can vary. A 10-day tour of the Tyrol starts at about US$1,645.
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