Belmond's Orient Express to axe UK leg after 41 years

Belmond has confirmed the UK leg of the famous Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) train is to be scrapped after 41 years due to post-Brexit border controls.

Passengers currently ride in art deco carriages from London Victoria to Folkestone, where they are served brunch and a Bellini while travelling through the Kent countryside.

They then board coaches to cross the Channel to Calais and meet the continental train in Paris.

But Belmond said the London-Folkestone leg of the route would be dropped in 2024 as new biometric border checks would make it more difficult to cross the Channel.

There are fears passengers, who pay from £4,500 per person to travel on the famous train from London, could face long delays to their journeys.

Coach parties had to wait up to 14 hours at Dover at the beginning of the Easter holidays earlier this month.

The EU is introducing new border checks which will mean most people travelling across the Channel who do not have EU residency will need to provide fingerprints and facial recognition data.

Orient Express passengers from London will instead travel on the Eurostar to Paris to catch the famous train from next year.

A Belmond spokesperson said: “Ahead of the introduction of enhanced biometric passport controls between the UK and Europe, Belmond has decided to operate its Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train from and to Paris in 2024.

“This temporary measure is meant to minimise risks of travel disruption and continue to provide our guests with the highest level of service.

“We hope to be able to reintroduce the London-Folkestone leg of the journey on board our British Pullman in the future.”

The original Orient Express launched in 1883 and was made famous by Agatha Christie’s 1934 mystery novel Murder on the Orient Express.

Belmond launched the VSOE as a private venture in 1982. The group also operates the two-Michelin-starred Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons hotel restaurant in Oxfordshire and the Cadogan hotel in London.