Ireland’s new luxury train will have fiddling, flutes and fairy tales …

Travelling in style around Ireland is going to cost from €3,160 to €7, 722 for 2-6 days on the country’s first luxury sleeper train which starts rolling in August. Six hundred guests have already booked for this year and the train is will only operate from August to October

The former Irish Rail carriages are being brought to a new luxurious life by interior specialist contractors Mivan Marine Ltd., in Co Antrim. Mivan Marine has also done work on the world’s largest cruise ship Harmony of the Seas which launches on Friday May 20 from Southampton.

The 10 rail carriages first went to Scotland for mechanical engineering work at Brodie’s of Kilmarnock. The carriages were also painted in Belmond midnight blue. After careful transportation back across the Irish Sea, the carriages are undergoing 35,000 man hours to transform them into five-star luxury on rails.

The massive factory in Antrim can scarcely contain the 23-metre carriages as craftsmen work to exacting standards to have them ready for the first guests on August 9. Complying with the Railway Procurement Agency regulations, building standards requirements and Health and Safety guidelines is vital for the contractors.

The train will comprise of five sleeping carriages, each with four en suite cabins, two dining cars, one observation car, two service cars for kitchens, storage and staff quarters. Each car will be called after a county in Ireland.

The observation car is the first carriage to be almost complete. It will also double as the cocktail lounge, entertainment space and meeting place. It will be called Kildare and reflect the colours of the county, not the Lillywhites, but the earthy tones from the county tartan.

The designers, James Parks Associates have also drawn on Dublin’s Georgian heritage. There are striking reminders of Eileen Gray’s chrome work in the furniture and a Celtic knot motif will be reflected in details in the carpeting, marquetry, soft furnishings and panelling.

Virtually all of the material and furniture for the interiors will be sourced on the island of Ireland and the project is being managed by railway specialist Nigel Woolford of Assenta Ltd. The Belmond Grand Hibernian theme is modern with understated luxury, quite different to the other trains that Belmond operate, where the theme draws from the past.

The train will function as a five-star hotel on rails and most meals will be catered on board. Dubliner J P Kavanagh formerly of Starwood Hotels and the Doyle Collection has been appointed the General Manager.

Organising a hotel that travel on rails brings great challenges - like how many glasses do you really need, and what height glasses. “Fashionable tall stemmed glasses are not ideal on a table that might lurch or sway suddenly” he said.

The hiring of the chef is also a vital role and he hopes to have an appointment made shortly. The cuisine will focus on local produce and visits to suppliers and markets are likely to be some of the experiences.

The train will be followed by a coach and every day there will excursions and events. Private visits to Blarney Castle, trips to the Middleton Distillery, activities at Ashford Castle as well as lunches in various venues are all in the planning.

Every night after dinner there will be entertainment in the Kildare carriage, and it could be fiddles and flutes or fairy tales. Guests will sleep at night in various sidings around the country.

Belmond have been delighted with the interest in the Irish project, the train will only operate for around nine weeks this year and already is 80 percent sold out. Guests are mostly previous Belmond customers and coming from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia.

There will be three types of trips around Ireland. The four-day trip will begin and end in Dublin, travelling to Cork, Kerry, Galway and Mayo. The two-day will be to Belfast, Portrush and back. The six-day trip will be both itineraries, beginning on Tuesday and back on Monday.

Hotel partners in Dublin are the Westbury and Merrion Hotels and guests will check in at one of the hotels before transferring to Heuston or Connolly stations. In future, it is hoped to have a dedicated check in at one of the stations. Next year the season will begin in March and run until the end of October.

Two days all inclusive will cost €3,160, four days, €5,420 and six days €7,722, there is no single supplement.

belmond.com/grand-hibernian-train/