Great Rail Journeys

Great Rail Journeys is a United Kingdom tour operator for escorted holidays by rail. Based in the centre of York, the company provides European and Worldwide holidays to customers throughout the UK. Great Rail Journeys is ABTA bonded and a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators.

History

British Rail employees Ian Macbeth and Howard Trinder began the company in the mid-1980s as "Mac's Tours" organising holidays 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, who both had a personal passion for train travel, 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.

The name "Great Rail Journeys" was adopted in 1994. In 2004 Great Rail Journeys was a founder member of the Amber Travel Partnership with independent specialist tour operator, Inntravel. The group was formed with the view to bringing further like-minded owner-managed travel brands into the group. In 2005, the Amber Travel Partnership, including Great Rail Journeys, was acquired by the independent private equity firm, Primary Capital. In 2006, Great Rail Journeys launched a new subsidiary website, railselect.com, which organises individual tours rather than the group travel that forms the main part of Great Rail Journeys' product.

Tours

Great Rail Journeys currently organises over 1,100 departures a year on around 230 different itineraries. The majority of the itineraries are within Europe, though every year the range of holidays increases and now includes tours all over the world including Africa, Asia, Australasia and North America. Signature Great Rail Journeys tours include The Trans-Siberian Express; The Glacier Express; USA Coast to Coast; India’s Place on Wheels; The Marrakech Express; and The Arctic Circle Express. From the comfort of their seat travellers can sit back and watch the world go by as they are whisked across the continent on the high speed rail network or as they meander along a scenic mountain railway. A holiday by rail offers a startlingly different perspective to the world and one which cannot be experienced from 35,000 feet.

The expansion of Europe’s high speed rail network coupled with the growing demand for using less environmentally damaging forms of transport has had a significant impact on the ‘holiday by rail’ market. People have become increasingly aware of the concept of ‘responsible tourism’ and are recognising the environmental advantages of rail travel over other forms of transport. Travellers tired of the negative effects of flying, such as airports which are beset with long check-in queues, cramped conditions on board flights and baggage congestion issues, recognise these problems are avoided on a train.

Recent product developments include the launch of a ‘Cruising Holidays by Rail’ brochure – combining a rail journey with a sea or river cruise. Great Rail Journeys has also developed a range of ‘Special Interest Holidays’ featuring visits to Viennese Balls, Europe’s major carnivals including Venice and Nice and, for 2010, tours to Oberammergau to see the world famous Passion Play. Great Rail Journeys Cruising Holidays by Rail programme introduced seven new itineraries for 2009 including a Norwegian Coastal Adventure which sails through the Arctic Circle to Europe’s most northerly point, and a Scottish Lochs and Islands Cruise.

The 2009 season saw the introduction of a number of new Worldwide Holidays by Rail, which, due to their success are being repeated in 2010 including a classic 16-day South Africa tour – on board one of the world’s most luxurious trains, a 14-day musical adventure through America’s Deep South, a 13-day India’s Golden Triangle tour and new Canadian holidays. New for 2010 was a tour taking in Las Vegas and the USA's Golden West, an Alaskan Adventure and a new tour to India featuring a journey on the Deccan Odyssey, Northern India's newest luxury train.

The European Holidays by Rail programme expanded in 2009 with the addition of seven new itineraries including an eight-day tour, a 15-day Portugal and the Douro tour and a 13-day Andalucian Explorer holiday.

For the first time in the company's history Great Rail Journeys created a programme of holidays by rail especially tailored for Single Travellers. The programme features 10 European tours – to Switzerland, Italy, France Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Croatia – plus the classic cross-country journey from Toronto to Vancouver on The Canadian.

Growing Popularity

Great Rail Journeys has seen an increase in bookings for a number of reasons including:

• A more environmentally friendly way to travel - using rail travel to minimise customers’ carbon footprint, and the excursions during the holiday are also by scenic or vintage rail.
• Professional Tour Managers; Excursions are included.
• First Class rail availability on the majority of tours.
• A balance of arranged activities tours, with local guides to learn about the culture and history of places, and free time to explore.
• Social aspects - a more relaxing way to travel, enjoy the scenery from the comfort of the train and chat with fellow passengers.
• The new fast rail link from St Pancras International provides faster access to the continent.

Environmental Policy

Great Rail Journeys is ABTA and ATOL-bonded and a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO), which has awarded the company two-star status within its Responsible Tourism programme. As part of the company’s commitment to reducing the effect of rail travel on our environment, it has pledged £10,000 to Climate Care, its chosen Carbon Offset Partner. These funds will directly support one of Climate Care’s projects. The company pledges to offset the carbon emissions generated by the air travel of its Tour Managers, plus the emissions generated by the business air travel of its office staff whilst researching holidays. Customers can offset their CO2 emissions using the company’s preferred Offset Partner, Climate Care.

References

• Barrett, Frank (June 8, 2009)."Steam rail holidays: How breathing in the nostalgic whiff of coal lifted my Harz." Daily Mail. Accessed January 2012.
• McClarence, Stephen(October 12, 2008). "On the Slow Train to Highland Glories." Daily Express. Accessed January 2012.

External links

• Official website
• www.railselect.com
• Daily Mail - From Hitler's eyrie to Mozart's home town
• The Times - To Rome By Rail