Belmond Britannic Explorer
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The Belmond Britannic Explorer is a luxury sleeper train, launched in the United Kingdom in July 2025. It is owned and operated by the Belmond hospitality and leisure company, although haulage is sub-contracted to GB Railfreight (GBRf).
Since 2019, Belmond has been owned by LVMH, the luxury goods conglemorate that also owns, amongst many other companies, Moët & Chandon, Hennessy and Louis Vuitton. Belmond also runs a number of similar luxury sleeper trains, including the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the Royal Scotsman, the Eastern & Oriental Express and the Andean Explorer.
The Britannic Explorer uses the rolling stock of the former Grand Hibernian luxury train, which ran in Ireland and Northern Ireland between 2016 and 2019. This rolling stock was in turn rebuilt from carriages that were used on inter-city trains in Ireland between 1984 and 2009.
History
[edit]The coaches that make up the Britannic Explorer are Irish Mark 3 carriages, a variant of the British Rail Mark 3 carriage design. These were originally built by British Rail Engineering Limited, at Litchurch Lane Works in Derby, for Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), between 1980 and 1989. They principally differed from their British equivalents in that they were built to Ireland's 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge. They were used by CIÉ on inter-city trains in Ireland until they were withdrawn in 2009.[1]
Eleven of these coaches were subsequently acquired by Belmond and ten of them were rebuilt to form the new Grand Hibernian train, whilst the eleventh was broken up for parts. The carriages underwent extensive engineering redesign and overhaul by Assenta Rail and were refurbished by the company in 2015 at a cost of £7 million. Internal fitting was carried out in Antrim, by Mivan. The Grand Hibernian was officially launched on 30 August 2016.[2][3]
On 18 February 2021, it was announced that the operation of the Grand Hibernian would be permanently ended, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The train had last run on 14 October 2019 and was suspended for all of 2020 owing to the pandemic. The carriages left Ireland in 2022, and were stored in Great Britain until refurbishment started for use on the Brittanic Explorer.[4][5]
The layout of the carriages were mainly kept during this second refit for this train. However, one sleeping car was remodeled with Grand Suite compartments - a comfort class featured also in Belmond's other overnight luxury trains - and in another one a compartment for spa treatments of the British wellbeing brand Wildsmith. The new interior design was created by Albion Nord. In order to run on the British standard gauge rail network, the trains were regauged using second hand bogies sourced from scrapped Greater Anglia Mark 3 carriages.[6][7]
Itineraries
[edit]Three different four day and three night itineraries are currently operated, with the possibility of combining two of them into six-night journeys. All of the itineraries start from and end at London Victoria station, leaving in the afternoon of the first day and returning in the morning of the fourth day. The train does not travel at night, but rather stables overnight at a quiet location, in some cases on preserved railways. Most catering is on board the train, but each itinerary features a formal meal at a nearby restaurant on its final evening.[8][9]
The three itineraries travel from London to, respectively, Cornwall, Wales and the Lake District. A fourth route was originally scheduled for 2026, but has not yet transpired.[10]
Rolling stock
[edit]Locomotives
[edit]
The Britannic Express is hauled by locomotives of GB Railfreight, who have hauled Belmond trains in the UK, including the Royal Scotsman, since 2015. GB Railfreight's Class 66 No. 66748 St Michael's Mount was repainted into the train's livery for this purpose, but the train is often hauled by other locomotives of the same class.[10][11]
As part of Belmond’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint, in July 2025 Belmond and GBRf agreed that from 2027 the Britannic Explorer would use the new Stadler-manufactured Class 99 locomotives, which can run on both electricity and renewable fuel.[10][12]
Carriages
[edit]The train consists of ten carriages:
| Image | Carriage number | Former CIÉ number, Grand Hibernian number and name | Layout |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
99110 | 7104 55 60 89-87 103-7 Kildare |
Observation and bar car |
| 99109 | 7169 55 60 88-87 102-0 Wexford |
24-seat dining car | |
 |
99108 | 7171 55 60 88-87 101-2 Sligo |
20-seat dining car. |
| 99107 | 7137 55 60 76-87 005-2 Kerry |
A spa room, and three cabins in double and twin layouts, one of them PRM-accessible | |
| 99106 | 7149 55 60 76-87 004-4 Down |
Four cabins in double and twin layouts | |
 |
99105 | 7129 55 60 76-87 003-8 Waterford |
Four cabins in double and twin layouts |
| 99104 | 7158 55 60 76-87 002-6 Leitrim |
Four cabins in double and twin layouts | |
 |
99103 | 7116 55 60 76-87 001-8 Fermanagh |
Three grand suites |
 |
99102 | 7130 55 60 89-87 110-2 Donegal |
Staff sleeping car |
 |
99101 | 7601 55 60 99-87 104-3 Carlow |
Generator car |
References
[edit]- ↑ Andrew Marshall, Peter Jones: Irish Locomotives & Rolling Stock. First Edition, Metro Enterprises Ltd on behalf of the Irish Traction Group 1997, ISBN 978-0-947773-59-5
- ↑ Sweeney, Joanne (24 April 2015). "All aboard the 5-star Portrush express, luxury 'hotel on wheels' will bring tourists to north coast for £1,000 a night". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
Eleven Irish Rail carriages have been transformed into a top-quality hotel on wheels at a cost of £6.5m
- ↑ Barrow, Keith (6 November 2014). "Belmond to launch Irish luxury train". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "Ireland's only luxury sleeper train derailed by Covid-19". Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ↑ "Inside the first luxury sleeper train in England and Wales". The Independent. 14 November 2024. Archived from the original on 15 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ↑ "New Belmond Train Will Include First-of-Its-Kind Wellness Suite". Hospitality Design. 10 March 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ↑ "In conversation with: Albion Nord on the Britannic Explorer". Hotel Designs. 10 March 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
- ↑ "Inside the Britannic Explorer: New luxury sleeper train coming to England and Wales in July". The Independent. 4 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ↑ Lawrence, India (9 July 2025). "A new £16,000 train trip will soon launch from London to Wales". TimeOut.
- 1 2 3 "Britannic Explorer to be hauled by GB Railfreight Class 99s". International Railway Gazette. 14 July 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
- ↑ "Railway Herald". Railway Herald. 4 August 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
- ↑ Batey, Sam (4 July 2025). "GB Railfreight to haul Britain's newest luxury sleeper train – The Britannic Explorer". GB Railfreight. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
External links
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