Channel 4 - The Worlds Most Favourite Train (2015)

The World’s Most Favourite Train

Why would you spend £2,000 on a train journey that takes 36 hours and boasts neither wi-fi nor showers, when a £30 Easyjet flight could get you there in less than two hours? This jaunty documentary climbs aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to try to fathom its perennial allure.

As in Agatha Christie’s time, there are plenty of characters to liven up the journey a fastidious new manager, American passengers who look like they’ve stepped out of Downton Abbey, and a head chef who reveals he’s only deigned to do chips once – for John Travolta’s son. During its nine-month-long season, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express makes over 60 journeys, covering 150,000 kilometres, with the majority of trips between London and Venice. The train is comprised of 17 unique 1920s carriages that have transported a host of elite individuals across Italy, Switzerland, and Turkey for more than a century. This documentary follows the stories of the staff and passengers as the train makes its way across Europe, with some customers having paid more than £2,000 for the privilege.

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