How Brexit Murdered The Orient Express In The U.K.

The iconic European luxury train that British mystery novelist Agatha Christie made world famous is losing its tie to England — at least temporarily.

After 41 years, the Venice Simplon-Orient Express is going to drop the United Kingdom leg of the iconic European route because Brexit has made crossing the border to France too slow.

Belmond, the company that runs the modern-day Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE), has announced it is axing the London-to-Folkestone leg of the route beginning in March 2024, explaining that long delays to cross the Channel have made it too difficult to keep English leg of the journey.

“This measure has been taken to minimize risks of travel disruption and continue to provide our guests with the highest level of service,” said Alexa Withers, a spokesperson for Belmond. “We hope to be able to reintroduce the London-Folkestone leg of the journey on board our British Pullman in the future.”

“The Belmond British Pullman has been, for decades, the perfect ‘appetizer’ to an overnight journey on the VSOE,” said Rachel Hardy, vice president of sales and marketing for International Railway Travelers, a Virtuoso agency. “Cutting the U.K. portion is an unfortunate but necessary decision to avoid delays for guests.”

Earlier this month, the BBC reported that wait times to cross the border often exceed 12 hours. Prior to Brexit, Orient Express passengers were able to cross the border without a lengthy passport check at the border.

The E.U. is preparing to introduce the new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES), an automated IT system that will register the traveler’s name, type of the travel document, biometric data — both fingerprints and facial images — as well as the date and place of entry and exit. The system is expected to save time in processing border crossings.

“Ahead of the introduction of enhanced biometric passport controls between the U.K. and Europe, Belmond has decided to operate its Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train from and to Paris, and to provide complimentary Eurostar tickets to its U.K.-based guests using this service in 2024,” said Withers. Eurostar is a modern high-speed train that travels from London to Paris via the Channel Tunnel.

The original Orient Express was Europe’s first transcontinental express. It ran for more than eight decades, from 1883 to 1977, running more than 1,700 miles from Paris to Istanbul, with brief stopovers in Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest. After a brief suspension during World War I, service resumed in 1919, with a new route running from Calais and Paris to Lausanne, then through the Simplon Pass to Milan, Venice, Zagreb, Belgrade, and Sofia. Service was again interrupted during World War II and resumed in 1947.

Agatha Christie was inspired to write her 1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express after learning that the train had become stuck in snow for five days.

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express was revived when Kentucky-born James Sherwood, the founder of Sea Containers, bought some of the 1929 sleeping cars at auction in 1977. He first began running the service from London in 1982.

Since then, travelers have boarded British Pullman art deco carriages at Victoria station in London for the trip to Folkestone in Kent, where they then boarded coaches to cross the English Channel by ferry to Calais, France — the same boat-and-train journey that Orient Express passengers would have experienced in the 1930s. Once in France, passengers would board Belmond’s vintage midnight-blue continental train in time to dress for dinner.

Beginning in spring 2024, passengers will board the glamorous train in Paris before traveling to Venice, Florence and Vienna in 17 original 1920s and 1930s carriages, each of them unique. This summer, the train will add eight new suites with marble bathrooms to the two other cabin categories.

While the change will surely disappoint some travelers, experts stress that the trip will still offer plenty of extravagance. “The biggest star on this route is and will continue to be the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express itself,” said Hardy. “An overnight journey on this historic train, no matter the departure city, will continue to be a must-do experience for luxury travelers.”