The Orient Express' new look platforms the finest French artisans

Perhaps one of the best-known means of transportation on the planet, the Orient Express has plied its way between various European destinations since its inaugural journey in June 1883. Whilst the original service was ultimately whittled down to a shadow of its former self, before closing in 2009, the storied name is being revived by the genre-spanning French hospitality giant Accor, with the first train departing in 2027.

It's not to be confused with Belmond’s Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, with its partnerships with Veuve-Clicquot and Wallpaper*-award-winning L’Observatoire suite by JR. Accor’s involvement with the Orient Express name will ultimately extend to hotels and yachts – the Corinthian launches in June 2026 - whilst also collaborating with LVMH (Belmond’s parent company) on retaining the lustre of the brand.

Accor has a portfolio full of iconic and evocative names, including Raffles and Fairmont, Pullman, and Mercure, alongside large hotel chains like Swissôtel, Novotel and Sofitel. The company knows a thing or two about luxury presentation, realising that the success of the Orient Express revival would depend on creating an exceptional on-board ambience.

Now the first images of Accor’s reborn train have been revealed, debuting at the monumental 1925–2025: One Hundred Years of Art Deco exhibition running at Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs. It’s an apposite pairing, given the train’s historical association with contemporary opulence and craft, and the reputation of the chosen architect, Maxime d’Angeac as a contemporary exponent of the Art Deco legacy.

As these initial images show, the Orient Express has been reborn as modern-day manifestation of this exotic, extravagant and highly craft-dependent movement. No fewer than thirty artisans have been approached to contribute their skills to the new carriages, all guided by d’Angeac in his role as the Artistic Director of Orient Express. The ultimate aim is to create a ‘showcase for French craftsmanship… in the spirit of the great Art Deco ensembliers.’

The end result is akin to a distillation of the essence of the grandest Deco palaces into optically overstuffed compartments, corridors, dining cars and couchettes, with the involvement of ‘embroiderers, sculptors, watchmakers, metalworkers, glassmakers, cabinetmakers, lighting experts, engineers... Every piece has its function; every gesture has its meaning,’ according to dAngeac.

The new train will be a panoply of creative stories that will add to the lustre of elegance, romance and, yes, mystery, that continue to be associated with the Orient Express name. Even the origin story of the revival is worthy of this image, with a ten-year search for a set of 17 original 1920s carriages culminating in their discovery on a railway siding near the border of Poland and Belarus.

The restoration of these carriages, with the help of Orient Express’s in-house historian, Arthur Mettetal, and the involvement of artisans like furniture makers Rinck and Paul Champs, upholstery specialist Ateliers Jouffre, paper workshop Ateliers d’Offard, lighting studio Atelier Moderne Pulsatil, and many more, is the cornerstone of the revived brand. Along the way, the assembled team has had to preserve original marquetry and lamps and glasswork by Lalique glasswork, along with fresh work from the assembled team.

The end result will take to the rails in 2027, following this year’s launch of La Dolce Vita Orient Express train service in Italy and the opening of the Orient Express La Minerva hotel in Rome. 2026 will bring a new Orient Express hotel in Venice, alongside the launch of what’s set to be the world’s largest sailing yacht, Orient Express Corinthian, currently under construction at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St Nazaire.

Well-heeled lovers of immersive transport experience will have to wait a little longer before getting on board.

Orient-Express.com, @OrientExpress, MaximedAngeac.com