Royal Train
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Royal Train is a set of carriages dedicated for the use of the head of state of a monarchy or other members of that particular royal family. Most monarchies with a railway system employ a set of royal carriages.
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[edit] British Royal Train
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 the Castle). Pretty soon, all the major railway companies operating in the British Isles had their own carriage(s) dedicated for use by the Royal Family or other dignitaries.[citation needed]
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 the UK's railways, although the Royal Family have travelled on ordinary service trains more frequently in recent years to minimize costs.
[edit] Australian Royal Trains
- Further information: Victorian Railways Royal Train
The various government railway operators of Australia have operated a number of royal trains for members of the Monarchy of Australia on their Royal visits to Australia.
[edit] Japanese Royal Train
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" (お召し). 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. There are train cars dedicated for the service (皇室用客車 Kōshitsu-yō Kyakusha?, "Carriage for the Imperial Family"). However, both Omeshi Ressha and Gojōyō Ressha refer to a non-scheduled service solely operated for the Family. In other words, normal train cars can also be called by the either term, when they are operated for such a service. These royal trains are operated not only by JR, but also by other private operators as well. Dedicated cars, however, have been only used by JNR. After JNR was disorganized, all the cars were succeeded by JR East. Consequently, now, the cars are almost always used within JR East lines.
In the modern period, royal trains are used less and less, as the current Emperor Akihito does not want his country's people to be troubled by non-scheduled trains. When he moves inside Japan, he generally uses an airplane, or a scheduled normal train with a reserved carriage. Royal trains are still operated for a few times per year, but they mainly function as a cordial reception for state guests, rather than a mere transportation of the Family.
[edit] Norwegian Royal Train
The Norwegian State Railways maintains a set of royal train carriages. The current set was introduced in 1994 in connection with the Lillehammer Olympics and replaced a set from 1962. 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.[1]
The set is pulled by ordinary railway locomotives and most often ordinary passenger carriages for press and other guests are added.
