What is Luxrail?

Information about Luxrail

Enlarge picture
Interior of the dining car of the Blue Train
The Blue Train travels an approximately 1,600 kilometer (1,000 mile) journey in South Africa between Pretoria and Cape Town. It is one of the most luxurious train journeys in the world. It boasts butler service, two lounge cars (smoking and non-smoking), an observation car, and carriages with gold-tinted picture windows, in soundproofed, fully carpeted compartments, each featuring its own en-suite (many of which are equipped with a full-sized bathtub).[1] The service is promoted as a "magnificent moving five-star hotel" by its operators, who note that kings and presidents have travelled on it.[2]

History

The Blue Train's origins date back to the Union Limited and Union Express trains which began in 1923, taking passengers from Johannesburg to the ships departing from Cape Town to England. The Union Express introduced luxury features such as a dining saloon in 1933 and air-conditioned carriages in 1939.[3]

After a break in service in World War II the service returned in 1946. With the reintroduction of the train, the colloquial "blue train" moniker, a reference to the blue-painted steel carriages introduced in 1937,[1] was formally adopted as the new name.

In 1997, three years after the end of apartheid, it was refurbished and relaunched.

Route

Prior to 2002, the Blue Train operated on four distinct routes: By 2004 last two routes have since been suspended, the former due to lack of patronage, the latter due to erratic rail rates being charged for access to the network of financially strapped Zimbabwe.[3] As of 2007, the only regular route in operation was Pretoria-Cape Town, however special package tours were offered to Durban or the Bakubung Game Lodge.[6]

Current Operations

Blue Train is operated by Luxrail, a division of Spoornet.

References

1. ^ Train travel in South Africa. www.seat61.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
2. ^ The Blue Train. www.bluetrain.co.za. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
3. ^ Love on the tracks for the diehard train buff. The Sun Herald (2004-12-12). Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
4. ^
5. ^
6. ^ The Blue Train - Routes. www.bluetrain.co.za. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.

External links

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Pretoria
The central area of Pretoria viewed from the Union Buildings.

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Motto: Praestantia Praevaleat Pretoria (May Pretoria Be Pre-eminent In Excellence)
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Cape Town
Kaapstad, iKapa
Panorama of the Cape Town city bowl from the Waterfront to Table Mountain

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Nickname: The mother city, or The Tavern of the Seas
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The butler is a senior servant in a large household.

In the great houses of the past, the household was sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room (including the wine cellar) and pantry, and sometimes the entire parlour floor, and a
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observation car (often abbreviated to simply observation) is a type of railroad passenger car. It is almost always operated as the last car in a passenger train. The cars were almost universally removed from service on American railroads in the mid-1950s as a cost-cutting
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Soundproofing is any means of reducing the intensity of sound with respect to a specified source and receptor. There are several basic approaches to reducing sound: increasing the distance between source and receiver, using noise barriers to block or absorb the energy of the sound
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A bathroom is a room that may have different functions depending on the cultural context. In the most literal sense, the word bathroom means "a room with a bath". Because the traditional bathtubs have partly made way for modern showers, including steam showers, the more general
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Dieu et mon droit   (French)
"God and my right"
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No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen".
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Apartheid (meaning separate-ness in Afrikaans, cognate to English apart and -hood ) was a system of racial segregation in South Africa from 1948, and was dismantled in a series of negotiations from 1990 to 1993, culminating in democratic elections in
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Port Elizabeth
Ibhayi Xhosa

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Nickname: The Friendly City
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (blue) within the Eastern Cape (dark grey) within South Africa
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Location Mpumalanga, South Africa
Nearest city Nelspruit, South Africa
Coordinates
Area 18,989 km²
Established January 1, 1926
Total visitation 1,336,981 (in 2004)
Governing body
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Motto
"Unity, Freedom, Work"
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Simudzai Mureza wedu WeZimbabwe   (Shona)
Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe   (Ndebele)
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Victoria Falls / Mosi-oa-Tunya

Main falls of Mosi-oa-Tunya or Victoria Falls
Location Livingstone, Zambia
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Total height 108 m (360 ft)
Number of drops 1
Average flow rate 1088 m³/s (38,430 cu ft/s)
The Victoria Falls
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Durban
eThekwini

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TRANSNET FREIGHT RAIL

Founded
Headquarters Johannesburg

Key people Mr Siyabonga Gama, CEO
Mr Peter Fearnhead, Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Nick Thomson, Chief Financial Officer, Mr Percival Mosweu, General Manager - Technical Department
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