The Rails Less Traveled.(luxury rail travel)

Byline: Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop

JOURNEYS

In this age of harrowing airport check-ins and unpredictable flights, some travelers are returning to a slower, more comfortable and far more romantic way to see the world: by luxury train. The grande dame of such trains, the Venice Simplon-Orient Express, sparked a resurgence in luxury rail travel in the 1980s, carrying passengers between Paris and Venice in wood-paneled cars replete with polished brass and dining cars decked out with starched white linen, French silver and heavy crystal. Since then, the destinations have expanded to include cities like Istanbul, Budapest and Warsaw.

Over the years, other railways have sought to emulate the opulent comfort of the Orient Express. South Africa's Blue Train transports passengers between Pretoria and Cape Town in high style (www. bluetrain.co.za), the elegant Royal Scotsman weaves among Scotland's lochs and highlands (royal scotsman.com) and Russia's first private train, the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express, takes passengers from Moscow to Vladivostok via the Siberian plains (from $12,795 for 14 days; www.gwtravel.co.uk). A new crop of luxury railways can also be found in Asia, where travelers can ride beautifully restored historic trains from the deserts of India to the tropical Malaysian jungles.

No country has climbed aboard more enthusiastically than India. The Deccan Odyssey features cars resembling a maharajah's palace, with overstuffed sofas and wood-paneled carriages. They journey from Mumbai to the old Portuguese port of Goa and the hilly city of Pune on the Deccan Plateau (from $390 nightly per person; deccan-odyssey.com). The Golden Chariot covers the main tourist sights of Bangalore state, including the palace of Mysore and the World Heritage Site of Hampi (from $287 nightly per ...