TRANSNAMIB’S Windhoek workshops are currently rebuilding coaches for the Desert Express landcruise that is scheduled to be launched in April. Also available for private hire, the Desert Express will depart from Windhoek on a 21h round trip to Swakopmund on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. With passengers eating and sleeping on the train, stops will be made for excursions into the Namib desert and to the Spitzkoppe mountains, timed to coincide with ’the most beautiful times of the day’ at sunrise and sunset.
Air-conditioned throughout and fitted with large windows for experiencing the wide open spaces of the desert, the Desert Express will have four Spitzkoppe class sleeping cars, each with six en-suite three-berth compartments. Passengers will be able to contact on-board staff by telephone, and meals prepared in the bistro/bar coach will be available to passengers in their compartments.
Sleeping car passengers will also have their own lounge and restaurant car, with Namibian, regional and international cuisine prepared on board and served in the 29-seat Welwitschia restaurant. Wildlife videos and background music will set the mood of the 29-seat lounge, furnished with a chess table inlaid with various types of desert sand.
Starview class passengers will be accommodated in a coach with 35 reclining seats and a glass-panelled roof for viewing the night sky. Two showers, video entertainment and recorded music will be provided, and the bistro/bar coach will be open to Starview class passengers round the clock. o
