Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

In 1977 the collecting of withdrawn CIWL carriages was begun by James Sherwood, owner of Sea Containers. The inaugural ride took place on 25 May 1982, since then the basic offer consists trips between Venice and Paris (until 2024 Calais with connection from/to London). Some times a year also Vienna, Budapest, Prague and Istanbul (via Bucharest) is accessed, occeasionally several other destinations like Rome, Amsterdam, Berlin, Cracow and even Stockholm.

The original "Pennsylvania" (swan neck type) bogies were changed in 2006 to newly built ones, related to types the French Corail carriages, allowing the train to run with 160 kph (formerly 140).

The dining cars have got contemporary kitchens and air conditioning already in 1982. In 2017 sleeping cars were also fitted in with air conditoning, and shortly afterwards even with sockets and wi-fi. One year later the new comfort category "Grand Suite" was introduced, followed by "Suite" in 2023 and a private carriage "L'observatoire" in 2025. All these higher categories were installed in vehicles of the fleet.