INTRO: For its R70m Blue Train refurbishment, Spoornet has drawn on the expertise of designers, architects and hoteliers. Rollo Dickson reports
On June 27 Spoornet is due to relaunch its luxury Pretoria - Cape Town Blue Train service with the first of two trainsets to undergo extensive refurbishment. Confident that it still has no equal on rails, Spoornet Chief Executive Officer Braam Le Roux has ambitions for the Blue Train to be graded as one of the world’s leading hotels, offering passengers 24-hour valet service and bathrooms with taps plated in 24carat gold.
The current fleet of 36 Blue Train coaches was mainly built in 1972 for R5m. At 2·9m, the vehicles are 50mm wider than standard Spoornet stock, and corten steel body saving 88mm have been exploited to make the most of interior space. Under a refurbishment programme that has cost over R70m, all compartments have been equipped with en-suite baths or showers, reducing the passenger complement of each set from 108 to 84 passengers.
In addition to bathroom floors of rare Italian marble, the refurbished Blue Train offers passengers hi-fi, compact disc and video equipment in its more expensive compartments. Eleven professionally-trained valets are to hand around the clock, and passengers’ laundry is taken to an on-board facility fully equipped for washing, drying and ironing.
Professional expertise
Determined to maintain its reputation as the operator of the world’s most luxurious train, Spoornet called upon interior designers Wilson & Associates. Managing Director Shiree Darley was seconded as Project Manager, assisted by architect Michael Crosby whose expertise includes the design of laser-cut veneer inlays. To make the best use of all available space on board, the refurbishment team turned to computer-aided design facilities provided by Autin Mullane & Associates.
With the brief of creating service worthy of the luxury hotels he has managed in the United States, Malaysia and South Africa, Jean Mestriner was retained as hospitality consultant for the refurbished Blue Train. Business Manager Kishore Seegoolam, not a career railwayman but trained at the St Géran resort hotel in Mauritius, has likened his own task to that of an artist ’given the opportunity to create a masterpiece’.
More evidence of the intention to create a hotel ambience is to be found in the dining car, where the walls are decorated with original works by South African artists. Staff in traditional European white aprons serve the Blue Train’s famed cuisine on gold-rimmed bone china. Male staff have discarded conventional railway uniforms for short, double-breasted navy jackets and matching trousers, with hostesses (Spoornet’s first) wearing similar uniforms with skirts.
Creature comforts
A club car has been added to complement the existing lounge car. It is equipped with a large screen displaying the view ahead as captured by a video camera mounted on the lead locomotive. Throughout the refurbished train, fluorescent lighting has been replaced with incandescent fittings to give a softer glow, and all private rooms have recessed lights and dimmers. A new air-conditioning system maintains a constant temperature of 20 to 21°C, but manual controls in each compartment allow for variation between 18 and 25°C.
To protect passengers from the heat of the Cape sun, electrically-operated blinds are fitted between the panes of the double-glazed windows. Inside the train, a textured blind can be lowered over the glass. Air-cushioned bogies and high levels of sound insulation appeared with the current Blue Train coaches in 1972, and close-bolted Scharfenberg semi-permanent bar couplers are fitted to avoid slack action. Passengers pass between cars via full-width gangways, carpeted throughout.
Hotel power at 650V is provided by two 550 kVA diesel generator sets installed in a dedicated van, maintained by two technicians present on every journey. The Blue Train carries 31000litres of water, replenished at stops en route, and pumped by compressed air to baths and showers. o
