Life seems to be in a hurry; from horses and camels, we have moved on to jet planes, bullet trains, cruise ships and speedy cars – all rushing from one destination to another. What we still need from time to time is that link with the past which has gone missing in our day to day routines.

Luxury train travel could have been the bullet trains of our day, so adapt at taking passengers from one underground to another that its is mere routine to board one and catch a nap till you have to get off. When it comes to luxury train tours though, the slow paced trains of the early nineteen hundreds have been preferred and restored to their former glory, and more, even adding the modern plumbing mechanisms to them so the time spent aboard these trains is just that, luxurious with no downsides.

The best feature of these luxury train rides though is the serenity and contact with nature and culture of the areas visited. All the top train tours will take you through the wilderness, mountains and over rivers. While the interior of the train will be the world of luxury and opulence, beyond the window will be the scenes you would not see in a city; of stags and wild flowers…the life we have shut out in the cities.

Contact with nature is possible otherwise too, a camping trip would be a more immediate contact, this however is for those of a refined taste with a mere matter of personal suites in the train for the duration of the trip. Lavishly opulent dinning halls with a waiter in a tux at your call, cuisines from around the world served for to spoil your taste buds, bars, and luxury lounges are just the beginning of the facilities available in these trains, literally making them cruises over the train tracks but then again, no cruise could take to sites these trains do.

In India the rail network is an important part of daily life. It is ranked second in the world for the sheer size of it. Usually the 14 million people who travel by train are squashed into carriages with bars at the windows or they travel on the roof. This train opens up a whole new world. This train is where the passengers are pampered whilst feasting their eyes on the changing scenery. The train totally cocoons its travellers from the outside world.

This is a journey to recapture the travel of the maharajahs. By taking this train tour you follow the epic journey of the Viceroy of India. You will travel 2,300km from Mumbai through Jaipur, Agra, Delhi, Bharatpur, and Varanasi to Siliguri in the far east. From here you travel by steam train to Darjeeling and on to Kolkata This route has opened thanks to the hard work of GW Travel, the rail journey experts behind the Trans-Siberian Express, negotiating terms with Indian diplomats.

The train has two dining carriages, business centre, seating area with televisions, sleeping carriages with en-suite cabins and a spa car which includes a steam room and gym. There are also thirty eight staff who are there to ensure you have everything you desire.

The journey begins in the Victorian Mumbai Terminus that is over 150 years old. The train staff are dressed in traditional Maharashtran peshwar tunics and the greeting you receive from them gives you a brief glimpse of the service you will receive on the journey. Scarlet mats are placed at your feet whilst garlands are hung around your neck. A fantastic start to an unforgettable journey.