Royal train
A royal train is a set of carriages dedicated for the use of the monarch or other members of that particular royal family. Most monarchies with a railway system employ a set of royal carriages.
Australia
The various government railway operators of Australia have operated a number of royal trains for members of the Australian Royal Family on their numerous tours of the country.
Belgium
Belgium no longer has a royal train. There are still historic royal coaches preserved, though they are rarely shown to the public. From the royal coaches that served for King Leopold II and King Albert I are preserved the three most important royal coaches. From the royal coaches that served for King Leopold III and King Baudouin are preserved: the drawing room coach (with private rest compartment for the king), the dining coach (with big and private dining compartment and kitchen) and the sleeping coach for the king and queen (with small drawing room, sleeping compartments, bathing compartments with bathtub and compartments for the staff).
For rail transport during visits of heads of state to Belgium, there is a possibility of using a first-class SNCB I11 coach with seats partially removed and a set of armchairs put in the middle of the coach. This arrangement was used for the first time on 30 May 2002 during the state visit of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, for a trip from Bruges to Brussels-South, and a second time during the state visit of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on 22 June 2006 for a trip from Schaarbeek to Liège-Guillemins.
Canada
Royal trains have been employed to transport members of the Canadian Royal Family on numerous tours prior to the 1960s, after which the Canadian Royal Flight was predominantly used.
- 1860 – Grand Trunk Railway: Prince of Wales (later as King Edward VII)
- 1901 – Canadian Pacific Railway: Duke of York (later as King George V)
- 1906 – Canadian Pacific Railway: Duke of Connaught (Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn)
- 1939 – Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
Denmark
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark received for her 60th birthday (2000) a new royal coach with a drawing room, sleeping compartments and kitchen. She used this royal coach for the state visit to Belgium, travelling the night of 27–28 May 2002 from Denmark to Brussels-South and returning from there to Denmark on the evening of 30 May 2002. The coach and the accompanying sleeping car for the staff were hooked to normal trains, except for the part from Aachen to Brussels, where it ran as a special train to allow for the arrival on a reserved platform where the press were waiting.
Japan
In Japan, trains for the emperor, the empress, or the empress dowager are called Omeshi Ressha (お召し列車), literally meaning "trains that they use", albeit with extremely polite word for "use". Trains for the other members of the imperial family are called Gojōyō Ressha (御乗用列車), meaning "trains to ride" in slightly more common language. However, both Omeshi Ressha and Gojōyō Ressha refer to a non-scheduled service solely operated for the imperial family. Dedicated imperial carriages were owned by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and these came under the control of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) following privatisation. The dedicated locomotive-hauled set was retired in the 2000s and replaced by the specially-built E655 series EMU, which can also be used as a VIP charter trainset.
In the modern period, imperial trains are used less and less, as the current emperor Akihito generally travels by air, or regular scheduled trains with a reserved carriage. Imperial trains are still operated occasionally, but they mainly function as a cordial reception for state guests, rather than transportation of the imperial family.
Morocco
The Moroccan royal train was produced by Budd Company in the US and delivered in the early 1980s.[1] The royal train consists of two self-propelled cars. After King Hassan II died his successor, King Mohammed VI, stopped using the royal train.[2]
The Netherlands
The Dutch State Railways uses a single royal carriage to transport the king and his family. It was ordered by the Dutch royal family in 1991, and construction was finished in 1993. It replaced a previous two-carriage royal train built in 1930, which is currently on display in the Dutch Railway Museum.[3] When the king travels by train, a single locomotive travels ahead to explore the tracks. The train itself is composed of two ordinary locomotives of the Dutch State Railways (head and tail of the train), the royal carriage itself, and two ordinary first class passenger carriages for staff, press and other guests.
Norway
The Norwegian Royal Train is a set of train carriages used by the Norwegian royal family and maintained by Norges Statsbaner (Norwegian State Railways). The current set was introduced in 1994 in connection with the Lillehammer Olympics and replaced a set from 1962, that had consisted of B3 carriages named A1. The set contains a main sleeping compartment with dressing room and adjoining bathroom, two guest compartments, guest bathroom, kitchen, guard compartments and a combined dining and conference room.[4]
The set is pulled by ordinary railway locomotives and most often ordinary passenger carriages for press and other guests are added.
South Africa
From 5 February to 10 April 1934, Prince George, Duke of Kent toured South Africa in a special train known as The White Train.[5]
The three month long British royal family tour of South Africa in 1947 saw the ordering of eight ivory-painted air-conditioned saloons from Britain, three of which were built to Blue Train sleeping car standards, while the remaining five were special saloons for use by the royal family and Field Marshal Jan Smuts, the South African prime minister.[6]
After the tour the Blue Train type saloons were painted in matching livery to serve on the Blue Train, while the remaining special saloons became part of the White Train used exclusively by the governor-general and later the president of South Africa.[6]
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Queen Victoria was the first British monarch to travel by train, on 13 June 1842, when she travelled on the Great Western Railway (GWR), which ran the line between London and Windsor (for Windsor Castle). Soon, other major British railway companies had their own carriage(s) dedicated for use by the royal family or other dignitaries.
In 1948, upon the formation of British Railways, the individual regions continued to maintain their own royal train carriages. A single "Royal Train" was only formed in 1977 as a response to the demands of the Silver Jubilee. This train has been maintained since privatisation of Britain's railways by EWS, now DB Schenker Rail (UK), although the royal family has travelled on ordinary service trains more frequently in recent years to minimise costs.
See also
- Royal yacht
- Official state car
- Air transports of heads of state and government
- North Korean leaders' trains
References
External links
Flickr Group : Clerestory Coaches (Railways) with pictures of many historical Royal and Presidential trains, of Clerestory design. The collection includes coaches from over 20 countries, including many built during the 19th Century.