Original subtitles

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

On behalf of the crew, welcome on board.

The Venice-Simplon Orient Express is marketed

as the world's most luxurious rail journeys.

I'm obsessed with the Titanic,

and this is the closest thing to like that sort of...yeah, luxury.

With 18 carriages from the 1920s

and its very own champagne bar...

the train is a historic hotel on wheels.

It's amazing.

In today's world it is very easy to do fake luxury.

It's very difficult to do real luxury.

The most popular route is from London to Venice.

Across a nine-month season, the train travels through some

of Europe's most spectacular scenery.

Have to keep pinching myself. It's...it's like a dream come true.

I can't believe I'm here.

From alpine lakes to steep mountain passes.

Loving the champagne...on the most romantic train in the world.

But in an age of budget airlines and high-speed travel,

who are the passengers that spend thousands

to board this unique train?

Put it this way, unless I win the Lottery,

I don't think we'll be doing it again soon.

With only bunk beds to sleep in...

We've booked the brothel car, we're made up about that!

..and no Wi-Fi or ensuite toilets.

It needs some showers.

Tomorrow morning I'll be getting a bit fruity.

And what are the challenges for the staff

trying to provide the height of luxury

on a train travelling at 100mph?

Go, go, go, go!

Like Mission: Impossible on the train.

8am in London's Victoria Station,

and whilst most travellers

rush to work,

for those who are willing to pay over £2,000

for a one-way ticket to Venice,

a very different trip awaits.

We actually got engaged 30 years ago next weekend.

And we're on the same carriage this time, as well.

So what was the name of it? Perseus.

Perseus.

This trip is on my bucket list,

and pretty soon I'll be able to check it off.

This is very much a romantic weekend for us, my wife and I.

The only fly in the ointment, though, is it's a bunk bed, so I

think there are certain limitations

on how romantic this is going to get.

For these passengers, the first leg of their extraordinary journey

is on a connecting train known as the Belmond British Pullman.

It will transport them to Folkestone,

where they will cross the Channel

to Calais and join the Venice-Simplon Orient Express,

which will take them the 1,100 miles

and 36-hour trip to Venice.

It's going to be my first time, yes, but not for David, though,

David's been once before.

I did come ten years ago with my previous wife.

But thought I would bring my new wife along on this special journey.

THEY LAUGH

The Venice-Simplon Orient Express harks back to the 1920s and '30s.

A golden age of rail travel

when luxurious trains offered the height of sophistication

to an exclusive passenger list.

But by the 1960s, cheaper air travel had made these trains obsolete

and many of the old carriages had been consigned to the scrapyard.

However, in 1982, after an £11 million restoration project,

a recreation of the famous trains of the 1920s was born.

Built from 18 historic carriages, including some

from the original Orient Express service.

Today, the London to Venice route

is part of a multi-million pound business

that has attracted some of history's most iconic figures.

We had Nelson Mandela. We put Nelson Mandela in this carriage.

He was actually sitting number 18, just at the top corner there.

This was the Queen Mother's favourite carriage.

She didn't really like the sound of chinking ice in her glass

when she had a gin and tonic.

So we used to make round ice cubes, they didn't chink so much.

Many of the onboard staff have put in years of service.

Would you mind working for me, just to put the table up, if you please?

We are selling joy here,

we are selling happiness, so I mean, if I come on a...

on a bad mood with a, you know,

bad facial expression, I guess

I can't really help the happiness in my carriage - definitely not.

I'm in costume all day, I'm on stage.

I'm just doing my show.

Every passenger is different and as soon as you walk up to them

and present yourself, you have to synchronise...

You have to immediately, in those few minutes, you have to understand

their emotion and try to synchronise your emotion with theirs,

so you can actually treat them the way they want to be treated.

But trying to provide five-star service

on a train travelling at 100mph

takes a bit of practice.

I find if we focus too much on standing upright

you fall over or you forget.

My tip to passengers is usually just walk a bit like a duck.

You sort of have to spread your feet apart

and not to focus on it too much.

So I say think like a duck and sort of waddle from side to side.

The train has been running for 33 years.

But this season, its fortunes are in new hands.

Pascal Deyrolle first stepped on board over two decades ago.

It started 23 years ago. I got a job as a cabin steward.

I was really scared. I didn't know how to do a gin and tonic.

I knew nothing about hospitality, so I was scared.

Now he's back as the new general manager

with grand plans to develop the business.

You have millions of general managers in hotels,

you only have one general manager of the train.

Every month, Venice-based Pascal joins the train to meet with staff

and make a thorough inspection of the carriages.

Need to redo the brass.

When you start looking, you start seeing little things.

A former sergeant in the Air Force, he prides himself

on his meticulous eye for detail.

See, they're going to look at these tomorrow.

It's a military atmosphere. We all live in very confined space.

So it can get a little bit tense.

The seasoned staff know there's no slacking when Pascal is around.

The management is, you know, is always on us because they want good

for the customer, but, well, we are working well to get there.

I am looking to see if the logo on the bottom sheet is...

facing upwards and not inside out.

It's just the way it should be done.

That's it.

And a little bit of pride.

OK, so we're going to the champagne bar right now.

Pascal's biggest change so far has been to restore

an original champagne bar as a new source of revenue.

I'm Pascal. I'm the general manager. Calvin.

Very nice to meet you. Neely, pleased to meet you.

Despite costing up to £288 a bottle,

every season around 1,700 are consumed.

Following the Great Gatsby movie that I had seen,

I wanted to recreate the scene of the 1920s, 1930s era

when you have big parties, everybody is dressed up.

People have the headbands, the feathers, charleston dresses,

and you could only do it with champagne.

The train is made up of a collection of unique carriages,

including two from the historic Orient Express service -

featured in the film of Agatha Christie's

Murder On The Orient Express.

At two o'clock...

..the murder was afoot.

The original service became synonymous with the romance

of the 1920s and '30s,

transporting the rich and royal across Europe.

Today's train is sold as the train of love.

We're on our honeymoon, so it's... very special.

And despite a healthy price tag, having to share a toilet

along the corridor and no showers...

This is the bathroom and sink area, which is here, which is really nice.

It's adequate.

..couples find good reason to celebrate.

Beautiful number. Can't wait to wear it.

Lovely. Can't wait to see it. SHE LAUGHS

We sat down, obviously, before the wedding and thought

where shall we go on our honeymoon? And you wanted to go to Dubai.

And I wanted to go to Venice. So obviously I won.

HE LAUGHS Yeah.

I'm obsessed with the Titanic.

So it just reminds me of it, so he was like this is the closest

you're going to get to, like, that sort of, yeah...luxury.

I play football for Millwall. Yeah.

I wasn't going to mention that, though.

I was going to say I hope the boys don't see this.

Each season there are around 30 proposals on board.

And today, there's about to be another.

This is the train of love. Everything can happen.

There is a gentleman is going to ask,

propose to his fiancee to marry.

And he's very worried about it.

Let's see what is going on.

It's not just an important moment for the couple - maitre 'd Paolo

has the responsibility of delivering the ring.

Please. I think there is something special.

Ohhhh!

You make me the happiest man in the world.

Oh, my goodness. I don't know what to say. I mean, yes.

THEY LAUGH

Originally, we just planned it as my...

a 50th celebration, because I've just turned 50. Yes.

The more I thought about it, the more it sort of struck me

as just the right place to do it.

Oh. So beautiful. I wanted it to be really special

and I thought, it doesn't get much more romantic than this, really. Oh, gosh, no.

Congratulations. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Paolo's mission is accomplished.

Very nice. She say yes.

HE CHUCKLES

But standards can never drop,

especially when your boss has his own cabin.

The train is my life. It's part of me.

Everything I do relates to the train and vice versa,

so...

And I just saw that the cleaning team

forgot to clean the outside of my washing cabinet properly.

You should never have a cabin steward as a general manager.

The Venice-Simplon-Orient Express

markets itself as one of the luxurious rail routes in the world.

Travellers pay nearly £3,500

for a return ticket from London to the romantic destination of Venice.

It's the ultimate railway journey in the world.

And for their money, they get a chance to step back in time,

which includes the authentic experience

of no access to a shower,

and a long walk to a shared toilet at the end of a corridor.

In the Jazz Age of the 1920s, luxury trains opened Europe

to tourism before reliable air travel was established.

During the Second World War, some of the original carriages were seized

by the Nazis, and one was even used as a brothel.

By the 1960s,

a rapidly modernising world deemed luxury travel slow and over-priced.

Some of the trains were reduced to day coaches,

carrying impoverished Turkish workers and backpackers.

But in the late 1970s, the original carriages were rescued

from private collectors and even a back garden.

Over a six-year period, the carriages were brought back to life

and now 11,000 people a year spend thousands of pounds

to travel on the vintage train.

Here's to checking off... The bucket list. Yay!

This season, the fortunes of the train are in new hands.

General manager Pascal Deyrolle first stepped on the train

23 years ago, as a cabin steward.

Now he has taken over,

he has brought with him a fresh business strategy.

Every hotel experience around the world brings you something new,

something additional.

And things you would take for granted 20 years ago

suddenly you start thinking, well, what if we did it differently?

With a ticket costing the price of a second-hand family car, the staff

are under pressure from Pascal to deliver the best possible service.

Lobster soup with caviar toast, enjoy.

Thank you very much.

Everything is on the dot, on the time, on the space,

and there is no other way for the train.

It's 7.30am in Paris, and already Pascal's military precision

is not going to plan.

Just a little stressed, you know.

Head chef Christian has just 45 minutes

to load the day's fresh ingredients onto the train.

But half the order hasn't arrived.

Over a season, he passes four tonnes of food through this little window.

Any delay with these deliveries and the train has to set off

with 180 hungry passengers,

something Pascal won't put up with.

It's now 8am.

The train is about to leave, but something important

is still missing.

Go, go, go, go, go!

The kitchens work throughout the day to prepare the meals.

Head chef Christian owns and runs a hotel in the South of France,

but has been working on the train every season for the last 31 years.

The cuisine is critical to the train's reputation,

but there are limitations to what can be served in the historic carriages.

Food is included in the ticket price, but drinks are extra.

And passengers can often spend hundreds of pounds at the bar.

In charge is 44-year-old Walter,

an Italian who has worked on the train for eight years.

The bar is open since eight o'clock in the morning

until late at night.

He's learnt how to handle the guests...

As a barman, you need to avoid, in a conversation,

politics, religion, sex, sport,

if you are in Italy ...

..and how to handle the drinks.

Remember, the train is always moving, so...

to get the right measure is not very easy.

Sometimes can you pour too much?

Over-pouring sometimes happen, but...

guests never complain about that.

They are more happy.

7.30 pm and the journey has reached its high point

with a formal evening dinner.

The dress code is strict.

Guests are asked not to wear jeans T-shirts and trainers

at any time.

The dinner is black tie, which is the climax of the trip.

So obviously the food you're going to have during that dinner element

has to be perfect, has to be surprising, has to be innovative,

even though we are a train.

In the kitchen, Christian and his team are under pressure to

get the four-course dinner out to 180 guests.

Like Mission: Impossible... on the train.

And all this is a kitchen the size of a small corridor.

Mind, the plate is hot. Thank you.

Braised lamb with vegetables.

It's perfect.

Enjoy. Salt and pepper is in the middle.

Once the first sitting is done, they need to do it all over again.

It's time to go now. The second battle.

Yes. The second battle. The war is not finished.

We are at war and the war is not finished.

While the guests are eating, stewards like Thibault must

transform the cabins from day to night.

It's an unrelenting job and it's against the clock.

The bed-making, the tidying up and the cleaning, it's around...

let's say 10 to 12 minutes per cabin.

Over the season, they will spend up to 4,080 hours on this task alone.

In the beginning it's always a bit rough.

It's part of the fun, I guess.

With a staff-to-passenger ratio of four to one,

getting the right team in place

is paramount to making the train run smoothly.

It's 28-year-old Pierre's first time on the train

and he is shadowing Thibault.

So the crown has to face the window...

It's the first time I am doing it. It's really intense.

Under pressure, of course,

and, yeah, I have to work hard.

I have to work hard to be part of this family.

Training a new recruit takes around six weeks

and Pascal has very high standards.

One of my first boss used to say, "It's very...easy to fire somebody.

"It's very difficult to recruit the right person."

So we give them the opportunity to try it out.

And then, after that, they can make a proper decision

if they're going to be able to join us for the next season.

Pierre's ability is about to be tested.

But he's in for a shock.

He's been given the boss's cabin.

WHISPERS: Not bad.

Obviously a little stressed.

And not knowing he was going to do a single bed versus two.

And doing it for me is even more pressure.

As long as he's got the logo the right way and the good lines...

we will make a steward out of him.

OK, sir. So I think I'm finished.

Your bed is ready.

Let's have a look.

This...and this...

I get two inches here, I get nothing here.

Your logo should be positioned in the middle.

This, I've too much.

Let's see if the logo is the right way. Ah.

Yeah. You got your logo the right way. Yes? Yes!

Now it's time for Pascal's verdict.

Six-and-a-half is the best I can give on this bed. Six-and-a-half?

Even for a first bed. He's the boss.

It's a surprise to do Mr Deyrolle's cabin.

Bit under pressure of course, and I feel a bit tired, a bit sweating.

That was a bit stressful to do

because you're running after time.

It's midnight, and after dinner the guests move to the cocktail bar,

where Walter is hoping for a roaring trade.

He usually serves around 300 drinks per trip.

We have a special cocktail that we do on board our train.

His signature cocktail, The Guilty 12, is named after the plot

of Agatha Christie's Murder On The Orient Express.

It costs £16, and the ingredients are a closely guarded secret.

We have here...what I call the elixir of the ingredients

that I pick up from Paris to Istanbul.

And there is no one ingredient green in colour.

This green is a combination of colours. Another mystery.

That's lovely. Thank you very much.

Amazing. Thank you, Walter. My pleasure.

Cheers! Thank you, Walter, thank you.

Delicious. Thank you.

It's 2am, and while the guests are revelling,

the stewards are busy attending the cabins.

With no modern heating, they must stoke the fires to heat

the carriages and supply hot water.

The reserve I have behind me of coal,

I would have maybe...I think on the carriage I have 100kg.

Maybe I use a 100kg on a three-day trip.

I hated this boiler when I first started,

and afterwards, you know, the more you're used to it,

the more you know how everything works, it's just getting routine.

Do you think the stewards ever go to bed?

That's a good question. We actually rest.

Going to bed depends on trips.

When he does finally get to sleep, his rest is short-lived.

INSISTENT BEEPING

Thibault gets to know these corridors well.

Between London and Venice, he'll average 11 miles

of walking along the carriages.

Well, you know,

the digestif cup just before going to sleep.

It's a long season and an all-consuming job.

Having relationships outside work can be difficult for some.

How do you say, married and divorced.

People which are here are really passionate about their position.

Either, you know, they fit your job

or they don't fit the job.

But this commitment is not enough for task master Pascal,

who wants to make the company even more efficient.

Any dream to be kept alive has a financial side to it.

Of course we have to make our numbers.

Of course there is an un-pretty side, if I may say.

But overall it is a business and we do run it as a business.

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is constantly cashing in on nostalgia,

transporting people back to a golden age of travel.

Some guests even dress up for the occasion.

It's a museum come to life. Yeah.

The magic hasn't changed since I was a cabin steward

25 years ago.

It's still the same mystique around the train.

It's always exciting.

Everything has been restored identically to what it was

back in the 1920s.

More and more people want to find that experience

which, for a time, will take them away from every day.

However, the history of this travel icon

could have been very different.

In the late 1960s, luxury train travel had gone into decline,

and the once-luxurious carriages fell into disrepair.

But in the 1970s,

American shipping magnate James B Sherwood made it his mission

to restore the carriages, creating the Venice Simplon-Orient Express.

It's been a grand effort.

It cost £11 million to restore,

and I hope you will agree we've had a grand result.

I now declare the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express resumed.

The train was launched in 1982,

but the restoration of the travel icon is an ongoing process.

Today, some guests are prepared to pay

nearly £3,500 for a return ticket.

But in a fiercely competitive market,

the company must constantly invest if it's to remain unique.

Engineering manager Jean Marie Moreau

is responsible for maintaining the train's enduring character.

Now we're going to the workshop of the ACC,

where I have the car 3473 in heavy maintenance.

Constant challenge is to keep the train as it is.

I have the responsibility of the maintenance of 18 cars.

I don't have the right to change anything on the train.

I have to preserve the authenticity of the cars,

to take the car out of the commercial activity

and put them back in March.

Bonjour.

Each year, one of the train's 18 carriages comes off tracks

and goes into the restoration workshop.

This is a good time for me.

I start to feel a little bit of pressure but still relaxed.

HE LAUGHS

The company only has this one vintage carriage in reserve,

and failure to meet its completion deadline could result in

millions of lost revenue.

When the car arrives in the middle of November,

we take everything out, and for the end of February,

we have to put back everything in the car with a better state.

This is the challenge we have to do.

It costs up to £2.5 million per year to maintain the train's authenticity.

Jean Marie has spent over half a million on this carriage alone.

I have 60 people who are working constantly with me,

and we have to do this challenge in only three months.

Voila.

We talk a lot about details and there is a big...

a huge detail in this car.

You can see all the heads of the screws there, aligned.

Here, you can see they are all verticals

because we have the wood in vertical,

and on that panel, all the wood is horizontal,

and you can see all the screws, they are aligned horizontally.

And this is done by hand.

And this is the final touch of the car.

With this kind of detail that you can put, let's say,

the essence of the car.

An essential element of the train's authenticity

is it's original heating system.

Now we check the boiler and then we get here

a temperature of 60 degrees, which is quite good.

That means it's not too high, otherwise we will get boiling water.

This is good for the tea but not for the heating of the car.

The boiler uses almost 40,000kg of coal each year.

OK, it's warm here. This is perfect.

It's warm.

That means all the water is going around in the car,

till the end, and come back to the boiler.

This is the technology from the year 1930

and this is still working,

and we are keeping this system because it's excellent.

I think the passengers, when they go on the train,

when they see the beauty of the train,

they have the feeling that the train is perfect.

And I think that they feel this.

You can feel the life of the car.

And you really feel something in this train.

You feel the history.

I'm touching everything because you can feel the quality of the finish.

It's not just seeing it.

You have to touch it, because here we have 15 coats of varnish.

INTERVIEWER: 15?

15. 15 coats of varnish, yes.

And this is the level we need.

THEY SPEAK IN FRENCH

When I see that now they are fixing, let's say, the last letter,

I can breathe and say, "Oh, my God, the work is almost finished."

And now I will go, so close the door of the train, lock them

and the train can leave.

The carriages are restored with 500 litres of varnish,

two tons of polished brass and bespoke upholstery,

all crafted using original materials.

C'est bon.

On y va.

After 6,500 hours of skilled craftsmanship,

the carriage is now ready to return to service.

But first, it must pass general manager Pascal's rigorous inspection.

Except, we are missing a screw over here.

This is the new system.

We don't see... No, we don't see anything.

Wow, it's perfect.

You can see the screws are all horizontal and all vertical.

It's nice. It's very nice.

So are we going to do it like this for all the cabins?

Yes. OK. Good.

All the new improvement we've made,

especially on the chrome and in the marquetry,

has never looked as good,

since 1982, when the car was put back on the track.

He can relax until next winter.

Couple of... couple of more weeks,

and then we'll have more carriages back in the workshop

and then we'll do it again.

For many passengers travelling on these vintage carriages,

it's seen a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I've always wanted to travel on a train like this.

I feel like I'm on a movie set.

But for some, the journey has much more significance.

Two years ago, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

And of course, it was a big shock.

I was still working at the time.

It's pretty much terminal,

but right now, they have extended my life

with this particular chemo treatment that I'm responding to.

The doctor told me

that I could take off the entire month of October for just fun.

So I was really looking forward to that

and I decided this is my big chance.

And I am going to go to places I've always wanted to.

Book the trip.

Certainly have always wanted to forever, just about. Since my 20s.

This has just been so worth it.

It's been just the experience of a lifetime. I've loved it.

Every bit of the experience has been phenomenal.

For those looking for a memento of their trip,

guests can visit the onboard gift shop.

The company is always looking to push its profits

with souvenirs costing up to £5,000.

The boutique has become a key revenue stream

and is vital for driving the business forward.

It's probably the most profitable boutique in the world

per square foot.

We transport 11,000 passengers every year, from different backgrounds,

different nationalities.

Everybody wants a little piece of the train,

so since you can't physically take a piece of the train,

then you'll go to the boutique and take a piece of the boutique.

It is a business.

Because it's a tiny space, that generates a lot of revenue.

We have something for everybody.

For the last two decades,

the boutique has been managed by Massimo.

He first came to work for the train in 1993, when he was just 28.

This is the gift shop.

We have things used on board, like our glasses,

dishes, we have the bathrobes.

You can buy the things that you use.

First of all, the things I sell the most -

the Agatha Christie book.

For those wanting to take home a piece of history,

Massimo has a gift for all budgets, from the smallest to the largest.

Eight euros for this pen.

Diamond bracelet, 7,700 euros.

Now I show you the most wanted thing.

Him.

Our teddy bear...

..that you can name after your cabin steward.

I call him Wolfie, just like our head cabin steward.

Then you can give the name of yours.

So this is what everybody wants.

So I have one square metre to move

and to make the most profitable shop in the world.

But it works. It works.

There is a great competition between me and Walter,

because I want to make some more revenue than Walter.

If he works more than me, I'm not happy at all.

I get quite angry and I won't say goodbye to him.

Last year, Massimo's boutique brought in profits of £120,000,

and for him, the job inspires devotion.

I don't really have a family life. This is my family now.

Yeah, of course I have my family, I have my mother and my friends,

but I see them from time to time.

I would say my family is the train.

This is not just a job. It's my life.

Returning passengers are important to the future of the company.

I think it might become a theme for...

Once a year, I think we need to do this.

But for some guests, the train becomes an obsession.

It's our 22nd year now.

Super fans Jurge and Sandra from Lichtenstein

began their love affair with the train

on their honeymoon 22 years ago,

and they've returned every year since.

She loves this train too, I think.

Yes, it's true.

If you once have experienced it, you always want to do it again.

We have a favourite restaurant car. It's the Lalique Pullman, 4141.

Each year we come, we meet a lot of familiar faces.

I have great passion for railways since my childhood.

Jurge and Sandra's addiction has cost them over £50,000

the equivalent of nearly 1,000 budget airline tickets.

When I tell about our holidays, my friend often smiles

and he might think that we'll be a little bit crazy.

Yes. It's true!

That's... That might be true, yes.

As the season enters its final quarter,

the 42 staff on board must try to maximise

every money-making opportunity,

but to stand out in an industry full of choice,

the train must do more than just revive history,

it must also look to the future.

It doesn't matter that it's not a hotel,

or that it's not a boat, or a private villa.

It has to be perfect. It has to be surprising.

It has to be innovative, even though we are a train.

In some ways, the work never stops.

Sea bass?

After a nine-month-long season, the Venice-Simplon Orient Express

is on its final journey to Venice.

The snow is always the end of the season.

Now that we can see on the top of the...

on the top of the mountain, you know it's the end of the season.

Although the journeys are coming to an end, general manager, Pascal,

is constantly looking for new innovations

to bolster business and increase profits.

I was on board 25 years ago.

We're not the same people in some ways, we don't have the same habits.

We need to make sure we keep incorporating into the train

all those different way or life, or new way of life.

One of Pascal's latest ideas is the celebration breakfast

for which willing couples can shell out an additional £140 for two

on top of the cost of the already pricey journey.

Guests have the possibility

to come and have breakfast in the dining car,

passing by the most beautiful scenery of the trip from London to Venice.

You have the mountain in the background, snow on top,

and the train track just follows all the Swiss lakes.

Rick and Annabelle have come from north London

and have saved up all year for their honeymoon on the train.

This morning, they're sampling the new celebration breakfast...

Cheers. Cheers. ..whilst travelling through breathtaking scenery.

Continue the drinking.

This is nice.

Whereabouts are we? Do you know where we are right now?

Yeah, now is the start of the first part of the lakes.

That's the weirdest thing - not knowing where you are,

like, all the time. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Shall we take them home, love?

We've not sort of stopped working all year, so...

Yeah, so now that we're here,

it's just really want to appreciate it and take it all in.

You know it's going to be over in a flash as well, so... Yeah.

Try and embrace everything.

What's the difference between white truffle and black truffle? I'm not sure, actually.

I don't even like lobster,

but I might have to get it because it was so good last night.

Yeah, I woke up quite a lot with the old creaking and...

Yeah, I got a top bunk. There's a technique to that, to use like...

folding my pillow half way up the wall to give me that extra inch.

Despite the promise of picturesque views...

Looks amazing.

..they've ended up eating lobster in a rural train station.

It's really good. I don't normally like it.

It's so good. So fresh.

Rick's going to make it for me when we get home.

Every Monday morning she's going to have lobster from now on

for breakfast. Get used to this.

I don't want it to end.

This is perfect.

Today's customers aren't just interested in champagne and lobsters.

And on a train with no Wi-Fi and only shared toilets,

Pascal is already thinking of the next season to maximise revenue.

We're the curators of the train for the next generation.

So people want to travel with us and find the golden era of travel,

but at the same time we need to innovate,

we need to come up with new ideas,

we need to come up with new things, but it's a big debate.

Some of the guests told us, "Don't put air conditioning.

"We would rather suffer in the middle of the summer."

However, we do have to be realistic with the modern world

and the way we all live today versus the way our great-grandparents lived

and what they would accept, and what we will accept.

With hundreds of thousands of calories consumed every journey

throughout the season, and with rich food readily available,

a fitness instructor has been drafted in

to put willing passengers through their paces

in the three-square-metre cabin.

We're spending our children's inheritance, which is, you know,

one of the best things to do. Famous ski trips.

THEY LAUGH

Really simple exercise called marching in place

and you can use it to get your 10,000 steps in. All right.

Three, two, one, and go.

OK. That's it. Fall out of the window!

This definitely wasn't in the brochure!

Keep picking it up. You've got 30 more seconds to go,

so let's really pick that pace up.

Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon.

Excellent.

Jean, get those knees higher, I want it right in line with your hips,

then you get worked in your butt more.

A selection of the cakes for you.

Think I'm like a Ninja.

You look like you're using that chair as a trampoline to me.

Lovely job. You want to get that intensity up to a nice six.

You are super light and fit.

Lobster. Tomato sauce...

I think we've earned lobster for lunch, is it?

I believe so. Yeah. Absolutely.

Different carriages of this train have lived through two world wars

and the rise of commercial air travel.

But in an era of austerity, low-cost flights and time-efficient transport,

the future can be uncertain for this type of luxury tourism.

Like any rail company, it remains to be seen

if this train can stay competitive.

30 marriage proposals and 150,000 kilometres later,

the journey is finishing for a whole season's worth of passengers

and Pascal will have some time off to see his family.

Right now, priority is my little girl.

It's not always easy to have the balance.

My ten-year-old daughter hasn't been on the train yet,

but I'm waiting for the right time,

so she can remember it for the rest of her life.

OK. I'm ready.

This is the Freedom Bridge here that we are crossing now.

It's the only bridge that connects Venice to the mainland

and it's actually the...

the dictator Mussolini, he is the one who built this bridge.

It has been a hectic season.

Looking forward for the season to be over, so I can spend some time

with the family and have some... some good rest.

The train is bringing this atmosphere.

Every time I see the train arrive in Venice,

I fell in love every time again and again and again.

Congratulations.

For passengers across the season,

journey's end is a return to all mod cons.

A fantastic journey, but it's nothing like home

and your own bed, and a shower.

LAUGHTER

Watch your step.

OK. Mind the gap, you mean? Yeah.

We just had great, great fun.

Thank you very much, madam. The birthday girl. You take care, yeah?

It's a love-hate relationship.

After many, many hours, you can't wait to get off the train.

Thank you. Bye. Bye.

Et voila! This is the last trip of the season.

2015 is finished for us now.

Now everybody goes back to a different life

and then the train is going to go away for its beauty sleep.

Subtitles by Ericsson