Luxury touring company Journeys of Distinction has picked its favorite rail journeys from around the world — here, a pictoral look at some of the best.

The legendary Orient Express train was on display at the Gare de l’Est railway station in Paris on Tuesday 26th April.

France’s state-owned rail company SNCF opened the train, the set of the famous Agatha Christie’s novel, to the public for an unprecedented tour.

The event marks the SNCF Thriller Prize finals, consisting in readers’ voting for their favorite detective novel of the year, along with an exhibition “Trains du mystere” showing the interlaces between rail and crime literature in the past 150 years.

A new luxury train began running Thursday between Moscow and Nice in the south of France, in a flashback to the tsarist times when Russian aristocrats flocked to the French Riviera.

The Russian Railways-operated train will depart from Moscow’s Belorussky station every Thursday afternoon, and arrive in Nice 53 hours later after passing through European capitals including Warsaw and Vienna.

“Today is a day of celebration,” said Mikhail Akulov, vice president of Russian Railways, “It’s a new stage in our partnership with the French railways.”

British designers Priestmangoode have unveiled a conceptual high-speed train for the UK.

The London studio have created the design, entitled Mercury, in an attempt persuade the British government to advance the project.

Paul Priestman of Priestmangoode, designer of the iconic Virgin Pendolino train, believes that the new high speed train is vital for the future of Britain.

An exhibition of European royal trains is to go on show at the Dutch Rail Museum in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

The collection, which includes trains used by Tsar Alexander II of Russia and Archduke Franz Ferdinand, opens to the public on April 15.

The collection will be opened by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, who will arrive in her own royal train — which will then go on display at the museum.

India has launched its most luxurious and expensive train service yet, seeking to attract well-heeled foreign rail enthusiasts prepared to pay the minimum 800-dollars-a-night price tag.

For most visitors, rail travel in India is an indispensable part of any holiday, although an ability to overlook the often filthy toilets and deal with basic comfort and crowded carriages is required.

The backers of the new service, which began its maiden journey from Kolkata to New Delhi on Saturday, have made every effort to ensure passengers get to see the country glide past the window with a minimum of inconvenience.

The specially built new train accommodates just 84 passengers, has suites with private bathrooms and plasma televisions, two restaurants serving Indian and Western food, a bar, card tables and an observation lounge.