The Eastern & Oriental Express carries passengers in luxury between Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, Malaysia and Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

. The train travels through dense rainforests and towering mountains past golden temples; rubber plantations and fields of frangiapani, tapioca, sunflowers and mango orchards; and remote towns and villages. It has been awarded a place on the World's Top 25 Trains list by The Society of International Railway Travelers for its exceptional beauty, service, dining and off-train experiences.

It runs between Singapore's Woodlands Train Checkpoint and Hua Lamphong, Bangkok

Hua Lamphong

Hua Lamphong Railway Station , officially known as the Bangkok Railway Station, is the main railway station in Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the center of the city in Pathum Wan District, and is operated by the State Railway of Thailand....

, stopping at Kuala Lumpur Sentral, Butterworth

Butterworth, Penang

Butterworth is the principal town of Seberang Perai in the state of Penang in Malaysia. Named after William John Butterworth, Governor of the Straits Settlements , Butterworth was established in the mid-19th century as a landing place across the channel from the capital of Penang, George Town...

 and Kanchanaburi

Kanchanaburi

Kanchanaburi ) is a town in the west of Thailand and the capital of Kanchanaburi province. In 2006 it had a population of 31,327...

, taking three days (two nights). Since 2007 the train has also travelled between Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

 and Vientiane

Vientiane

-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...

, the capital city of Laos

Laos

Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

.

Rolling stock

This luxury train

Luxury trains

Luxury trains are special trains designed specifically to offer a sumptuous yet elegant train ride, and evoke a strong sense of association as in history, heritage and decadence of a leisure ride. Luxury trains operate in several countries and offer a luxurious and comfortable traveling option to...

 was built in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in 1972 and operated as the Silver Star in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. 24 of the 31 carriages were later sold to Orient-Express Hotels

Orient-Express Hotels

Orient-Express Hotels Ltd is a hotel and leisure company that operates high end hotels, cruise and train services around the world. As of 2008 it owns or partly owns more than 40 individual deluxe hotels, three restaurants, six tourist trains and two river cruise businesses in more than 25...

, and regauged from New Zealand's 1067 mm gauge to 1000 mm gauge for Thai and Malaysian railway lines by A & G Price

A & G Price

A & G Price Limited is an engineering firm and locomotive manufacturer in Thames, New Zealand, established in 1868. In 2004 a precision formed yacht keel division was formed to make the Maximus canting keel...

 of Thames. An extensive internal rebuild and fit-out plus exterior painting and badging was undertaken by the new owners at their (then) newly-constructed maintenance depot on KTMB

Keretapi Tanah Melayu

Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad or Malayan Railways Limited is the main rail operator in Peninsular Malaysia. The railway system dates back to the British colonial era, when it was first built to transport tin...

 land in Singapore's Keppel Road rail yards. The design of the remodelling was by Gérard Gallet, the man behind much of the design and refurbishment of other Orient-Express products such as the British Pullman and the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

Venice-Simplon Orient Express

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is a private luxury train service that travels from London to Venice that is popularly referred to as the Orient Express....

.

The train has two dining cars with tables that seat two or four; it has two bar cars, one of which has a large open-air observation deck. It also has a library car and a saloon car for overflow dining. The train is fully air-conditioned, and has two Presidential sleeping cabins, state compartments (four to a carriage) and Pullman compartments. The smaller Pullman compartments are not offered on the six-night program.

Train schedule

The Eastern and Oriental Express operates nine routes. In 2010 it began new all-inclusive tour programs of six nights. For example, Epic Thailand starts and ends in Bangkok, and visits a number of villages, temples and Chiang Mai before returning to Bangkok.

The busiest route is Singapore - Bangkok:

Day	Location	Arrive	Depart
Thursday	Singapore Woodlands Train Checkpoint Woodlands train Checkpoint Woodlands Train Checkpoint is a train checkpoint in Woodlands, Singapore co-owned by Keretapi Tanah Melayu, the Malaysian rail operator, and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore...	-	11:20
Thursday	Kuala Lumpur Sentral Kuala Lumpur Sentral Kuala Lumpur Sentral or Sentral Kuala Lumpur is a transit-oriented development that houses the main railway station of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Opened on 16 April 2001, despite its name it is actually even less central than the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, a colonial-era...	19:45	20:30
Friday	Butterworth (for Penang Penang Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...  - guided tour of George Town George Town, Penang George Town was voted as one of the best cities in Asia by Asiaweek, ranked 6th in 1998 and 9th in 2000. More recently, George Town has improved a notch to rank as the 9th most liveable city in Asia in a survey of 254 cities worldwide according to an international location ratings survey by , an... )	08:30	11:00
Saturday	Kanchanaburi Kanchanaburi Kanchanaburi ) is a town in the west of Thailand and the capital of Kanchanaburi province. In 2006 it had a population of 31,327...  (Guided tour of River Kwai Khwae Yai River The Khwae Yai River , also known as the Si Sawat , is a river in western Thailand. It flows for about 380 kilometres through Sangkhla Buri, Si Sawat, and Mueang Districts of Kanchanaburi Province, where it merges with the Khwae Noi to form the Mae Klong River at Pak Phraek subdistrict.The famous... )	08:45	11:25
Saturday	Bangkok Hua Lamphong Hua Lamphong Hua Lamphong Railway Station , officially known as the Bangkok Railway Station, is the main railway station in Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the center of the city in Pathum Wan District, and is operated by the State Railway of Thailand....	14:45	-

External links

• Eastern & Oriental Express Luxury Train - Official Website