Why Luxury Rail Touring Is Appealing
The appeal of a luxury train travel may be ancient or modern. In China, train travel is more common than road travel, but air travel between Beijing and Shanghai particularly has challenged the luxury share of the market. In response high speed trains have been instigated. They travel at speeds in excess of three hundred kilometers an hour on cushions of air so that they really do rival flight
There are various classes on high speed trains with aviation class seats at the luxury end. As always, comfort and space are the hallmarks of luxury but engineers have to be careful that not too much of the train is empty due to the cost of luxury relative to the number of people wanting to travel by train.
Whilst flight might vie with rail in modern terms there is no contest when it comes to the interest in period rail travel. In this case the speed with which one is conveyed between two points is not of major concern. The focus is on a sense of history. The aim is to travel in comfort and see a country at a leisurely pace.
Railways date back to the sixteenth century when horses drew carriages over wooden rails. However, it was in the nineteenth century that the age of steam began moving. It was part of the political process of colonization. Trains were used to transport people from ports to the frontiers of industry and also for military purposes.
In a strange quirk of history small European countries at this time achieved such predominance over the world due to the technology of the time that they were briefly able to take over vast countries like India and rule them from a small island half a world away. The situation was too absurd to last long but for the period that it did last the superiority of the colonial powers had to be maintained by pretense. Traveling about in stylish superiority was one way of keeping up appearances.
A train would consist of a number of different carriages in those days. Some were luxurious and others definitely not. The English thought that they should travel in first class carriages When Mahatma Ghandi, a British educated lawyer, tried to board a first class carriage he was ejected on account of being Indian.
Had Ghandi been allowed to board the first class carriage in Durban he would have experienced space and attentive service. Without experiencing the humiliation of being ejected on racial grounds he might not have been inspired to embark on his campaign of passive resistance which led to the British withdrawal from India. History might have been different. A journey that emulates the sort of luxury that the privileged enjoyed whilst others clung to the outsides of carriages can help people to imagine the past more accurately.
Now passengers may enjoy luxury train travel and follow along the routes followed by their forebears. An observation car will replace the third class carriages that used to be attached to the rear. As they experience the sights, sounds, touches and tastes that made up the lives of people in the past tourists may enjoy a sense of history from the perspective of the privileged.
You can find a brief summary of the reasons why you should book a luxury train travel vacation and download the latest Rovos brochures from our website, right now.
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