Great Rail Journeys

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Great Rail Journeys Ltd. is a British company specialising in escorted holidays by rail. The company is ABTA bonded and a member of AITO, the association of Independent Tour Operators.

[edit] History

British Rail employees Ian Macbeth and Howard Trinder began the company in the mid-1980s as "Mac's Tours", organising tours on a semi-formal basis in Europe and beyond for fellow employees - British Rail staff at the time were entitled to many discounts on foreign rail travel.

On leaving British Rail, Macbeth and Trinder decided to launch the company as a tour operator, keeping the name "Mac's Tours" but producing more professional brochures and organising more purely tourist itineraries than ones aimed at rail enthusiasts. Since then, the company's product has moved steadily more upmarket and

The name "Great Rail Journeys" was adopted in 1994.

In 2004 Great Rail Journeys was a founder member with fellow independent tour operator Inntravel of the Amber Travel Partnership. Greece specialists Filoxenia joined the groups shortly afterwards. York Press article.

In 2005, private equity firm Primary Capital bought the Amber Travel Partnership and new directors Steve Kimber and David Gaster were appointed to run Great Rail Journeys.

In 2006, Great Rail Journeys launched a new subsidiary website, railselect.com, which will organise individual tours rather than the group travel that forms the main part of Great Rail Journeys' product.

[edit] Tours

The company currently organises around 1000 departures a year on around 70 different itineraries. The majority of these itineraries are within Europe, though every year the range of tours increases and now includes tours all over the world including Asia, Australasia, and the Americas.

The product offered varies in its detail from one itinerary to another, but the following elements are common to all:

Group travel, accompanied by a professional freelance Tour Manager to ensure smooth running of the tour. Group size varies but typically between 35 and 45.
Rail travel where possible, except where the needs of the group would better be served by using an alternative method of transport - for instance, using a coach instead to allow more stops en route or a more scenic route where the railway line does not run.
Inclusive arrangements - hotel accommodation is generally on a dinner, bed & breakfast basis, and numerous excursions and tours are also included in the price.