French designer Thierry Gaugain plans to take the rail travel experience to a completely new level of luxury with his latest concept, a private luxury train made for one wealthy, owner.
The G-Train, billed as the world’s first private luxury locomotive, has 14 glass-enclosed cars that can digitally project a host of visuals. Plans for the 1,300-foot train include a primary suite at the front, followed by 18 guest rooms, a gym, spa, garden, dining car, and grand reception hall, with space for art exhibitions, live music, and movie screenings.
Fold-down wings create alfresco terraces for social events, and Gaugain designed the caboose as a “toy chest” to store automobiles, motorcycles, and other off-rail vehicles. Should passengers want to go off in different directions, though, the G Train can also be split into two. At night, it will even give off an ethereal golden glow.
Gaugain sees the $350 million train as a way to relish the journey, not just the destination. “We tend to think about rail transportation only in terms of speed, moving lots of people from point A to point B in record time,” he told Robb Report. “But this 14-car train would belong to a single owner. It’s an alternative, very leisurely way to see the world, beyond the yacht and jet.”
As the train races along at 100 miles an hour, passengers can enjoy the surrounding landscape or, at the press of the button, the high-tech glass can change the view to one of more than a half-dozen “inner journeys.”
“It might be winter outside, but the owner can suddenly be surrounded by a beautiful summer’s day with flowers and meadows,” Gaugain said. “The train is essentially a stage that the owner can configure in many ways.” They can also shift to an opaque mode for privacy.
Gaugain—a partner of Philippe Starck’s known for designing iconic superyachts, like Steve Jobs’s 260-foot Venus, as well as luxury hotels, Ducati motorcycles, and high-end goods for Louis Vuitton, Nina Ricci, and Baccarat—has had a lifelong fascination with trains.
“There’s something fantastic about trains,” he told CNN Travel. “There are a lot of romantic ideas attached to them.” But, he insists, they’re not a relic from a bygone era. “Trains are meeting the present right now,” he said. “There is nothing more sustainable than trains when it comes to traveling objects. The plane is way behind, and other means are very energy-consuming.”
Once a buyer has been found, Gaugain expects it will take at least two and a half years to build his “palace on rails.” He’s already been in discussions with British engineering firm Eckersley O’Callaghan, Swiss train builder Stadler, and French glass manufacturer Saint-Gobain to determine if his vision for a real-life Snowpiercer could be a reality. “We had to ensure the feasibility of the project before we moved ahead,” he said.
Targeting ultra-high-net-worth individuals around the world, the locomotive has been designed to fit on railways across North America, as well as Europe and Asia—whisking passengers from Sarajevo to Shanghai. “This would be for an owner who is crazy, but in a good way,” he told Robb Report. “It allows greater access to many areas than a yacht, and would open a new chapter in the owner’s life. Really, it’s the consummate way to travel.”
