acquiring and restoring enough carriages to form the "Venice Simplon-Orient-Express," now owned by Belmond.
And next June, new suites are opening on the train, which come with private bathrooms, a steward, kimonos and slippers. "We had a beautiful brand, but no cars," Guillaume de Saint Lager, now vice president of Orient Express at Accor, told CNBC. "We knew there was this complete train, but we didn't know where it was."
A detailed restoration is now underway, with architect Maxime d'Angeac hired to design the interiors. His brief was to "have a kind of fantasy of what could be Art Deco," d'Angeac told CNBC by phone. He said he had a significant collection of the train's original drawings and models. Sleeping suites will feature leather walls, embroidered headboards and en suite marble bathrooms. De Saint Lager described it as a "cruise train," where guests can alight at lesser-known places .