The Orient Express was a long-distance passenger train originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits on Earth.^{[source needed]} One Orient Express was built that travelled in space. (TV: Mummy on the Orient Express) It travelled between Paris and Constantinople, the latter later known as Istanbul. (PROSE: A History of Humankind ^[+]Official Guides (BBC Children's Books, 2016). Page 173.)

History[]

The Orient Express began operating in Europe in 1883. It offered an unprecedented level of luxury and comfort at a time when most travel was still uncomfortable and occasionally dangerous. (PROSE: A History of Humankind) The first journey of the Orient Express took place on 5 June, the same date as that of the Space Orient Express in 4355. (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary)

The two city names most intimately associated with the Orient Express were Paris and Istanbul, the original endpoints of the service. In 1887, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were riding on the Express through Austria when they were stopped by the train of Pope Leo XIII, who commissioned Holmes to investigate the disappearance of books from the Library of St John the Beheaded in London. (PROSE: All-Consuming Fire)

A space-faring version of the train was built that attempted to mimic the original in fine detail. (TV: Mummy on the Orient Express)

There was an Orient Express in India, and Clara Oswald wanted tickets for Christmas. (TV: Last Christmas)

References[]

The Eighth Doctor wasn't certain whether the cabins on board the R101 reminded him of the Orient Express or of the Hyperion, or "maybe" Storm Mine 4. (AUDIO: Storm Warning)

Donna Noble inadvertently gave Agatha Christie the idea of a murder taking place onboard the Orient Express. (TV: The Unicorn and the Wasp)