OREANDA-NEWS. November 17, 2008. Russian Railways (RZD) has taken part in the annual global tourist exhibition "World Travel Market – 2008" (WTM – 2008), which took place in the ExCeL exhibition centre in London, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.

Russian Railways actively develops tourist travel on the rail network in Russia. On requests by tour operators the Company is willing to develop individual rail routes, run additional trains on existing routes, form special trains which would include club cars, dining cars, comfortable salon cars and luxury sleepers with all facilities conducive to long journeys along Russian railways and abroad in the utmost comfort.

The CEO of RZD-Tour Company (Russian Railways Tourism Division), Mr. Dmitry Gorin sees great future potential in attracting foreign tourists for holiday journeys through Russia on luxury-class trains.

"One of our most successful projects – The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express – is popular with foreign tourists. We’ve found that foreign tour companies and tourists have expressed the greatest interest in it and are continually seeking further information on the service" said Dmitry Gorin.

The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express is a joint project of Russian Railways, British company GW Travel Limited and the Trans-Siberian Express Group of companies. The train runs on the world's longest railway line, from Moscow to Vladivostok as well as other specially developed routes.

This luxury train service consists of 19 new, state-of-the art carriages. There are 12 new sleeping cars, which are divided into Gold and Silver classes. The six Gold class carriages are among the best available in rail travel today and feature modern en-suite amenities such as power showers and under floor heating.

The cabins are equipped with quality DVD/CD players, LCD TV screens, a full audio system, individual air conditioning, and extensive wardrobe space. The six Silver carriages also boast modern en-suite facilities, but are equipped with smaller shower areas.
The service aims to attract tourists who wish to see Russia by rail from the comfort of a luxury-class train. "Such has been the success of the service that demand for it has risen by 30% so far during 2008", said Mr Gorin.

At World Travel Market – 2008, RZD-Tour met with tourism counterparts from Britain. Mr Gorin, who is attending the event in London, said that he expected a 15% increase in demand for travel on Russian railways by British tourists, despite the global economic downturn.

The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express is just one of the routes offered by RZD-Tour. The company also cites keen interest from tourists in other parts of the country. As a result, RZD-Tour has developed a new class of a luxury train: Alexander Nevksy. Like the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express, this is a luxury hotel on rails. The Alexander Nevksy trains offer travel to Russia’s Golden Ring towns, as well as luxury journeys from Moscow and St. Petersburg to other destinations.

Another highly popular service by RZD-Tour is historical tours on retro steam trains. These trips offer passengers the opportunity to visit Russia’s mediaeval towns with their historical fortresses, churches, and traditional wooden houses, or see Siberia’s endless forests and carpets of snow. Another popular route takes tourists along the pure and beautiful Lake Baikal. All this beautiful scenery from the comfort of a retro steam train.