Luxury, calm, pleasure and… accident of a symbol of travel. The Blue Train is indeed one of the most chic means of transport in the world, with butler service, gourmet meals and the finest cognacs served on board with Cuban cigars. The famous South African train derailed overnight from Saturday to Sunday, without causing any casualties.
“The train derailed last night, leaving a station” in Germiston, about twenty kilometers from Johannesburg, said the regulatory authority for rail transport on Sunday. The train was not carrying a passenger, “there are no victims”, the security organ confirmed. The causes of the accident are not yet known.
A new clientele
The Blue Train was put into service 75 years ago. It has since won several tourism awards and crosses South Africa connecting Cape Town to Pretoria on a luxurious two-day trip
Stopped for several months because of the Covid-19, the train started to run again in November 2020. The prohibitive prices of the trip previously reserved it mainly for foreign customers. However, the health crisis has caused prices to fall, now attracting South African customers, even if the ticket still costs at least 1,300 euros per person.