Orient Express to axe UK section after 41 years due to Brexit

But Brexit and 21st-century biometric checks are killing off the romance of crossing borders for modern passengers looking for the nostalgia of the luxury train journey that inspired Agatha Christie and Hollywood.

The coach transfer creates an unacceptable risk for Belmond, as there is no way for their passengers to avoid delays crossing the Channel. Travellers, including school coach parties, had to wait up to 14 hours at Dover at the beginning of the Easter holidays two weeks ago, and people also faced queues for Le Shuttle.

Things may get worse, Belmond fears, because the UK and EU are planning new biometric passport checks and extra red tape.

The EU is introducing a new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES), which will mean most people travelling across the Channel who do not have EU residency will need to provide fingerprints and facial recognition data when they cross the border, instead of having their passports stamped.

If the technology works smoothly, that could mean travellers over 12 years old will be able to use electronic entry gates and potentially save some time. But since even babies will need to provide biometric data, there is scepticism in the tourist industry about how the checks will work in practice. EES was due to begin this year but is now likely to come into force after the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The original Orient Express began service in 1883, running from Paris to Vienna, and several trains running the route south from France were given the name. The Simplon Orient Express began in April 1919 and Christie was inspired to write her novel Murder on the Orient Express after reading about the train being stuck in snow for five days. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express was revived when James Sherwood bought some 1929 sleeping cars at auction in 1977 and began running the service from London in 1982.