By Ahmed Abushadi No more than a dozen truly spectacular train rides are featured worldwide on tour operators' books. On India's Palace on Wheels, featuring a black and red steam locomotive with an army of attendants adoringly polishing its every fitting, or South Africa's Blue Train, which runs the country's length from Jo'berg to the Cape, travellers could live on a luxury train for a week or more, much as they would on a cruise ship. Britain has the Royal Scotsman, Canada has the Canadian, and China offers the Marco Polo Express. Other scenic train rides are offered in Australia, Austria, France, Malaysia, Mexico, Spain and in various parts of the United States. Until the Arab-Israeli conflict interrupted railway service through Palestine in the late 1940s, Egypt shared in the glamour of the Agatha Christie-famed Orient Express, which carried generations of travellers through Europe and Turkey to Cairo and Luxor. Ever since the Orient Express ceased to run, however, Egypt has had no luxury trains to speak of. There are, of course, the trains that connect Alexandria and Cairo, and the overnight sleepers between Cairo and Luxor. A few weeks ago, however, the Cairo-based Foreign Press Association (FPA) treated about 80 of its 400 members to a luxury train ride across the Eastern and Western Deserts. The trip traced a proposed tourist train line, which, if approved, would connect the Red Sea beach resorts of Hurghada using the existing cargo-only railway line between Safaga on the Red Sea and Nag' Hammadi on the Nile, with Luxor and other ancient antiquities sites in Middle and Upper Egypt. Jointly organised by the FPA and the Egyptian Railway Organisation and supported by the owners of Al-Gouna, near Hurghada, the four-day train ride chugged from the rugged terrain of the Eastern Desert across the Nile and into the pristine Western Desert to Kharga Oasis, capital of the New Valley. The passengers, mostly foreign and few local journalists as well as a sprinkling of diplomats, shuttled between their first-class reclining seats and a well-appointed club car providing impeccable dining and a stocked bar. The trip ended in the peaceful oasis of Paris -- which means the House of Osiris -- with its rarely-visited temples, on-going excavations, and outpost fortresses which guarded Egypt's ancient North-South trade route along Darb Al-Arba'in. The train ride was a rehearsal for the presidential opening, a few days later, of the most recently constructed 42 kilometres of railway line, running south from Kharga into the Western Desert. The new railway line to Paris looks poised for a further extension towards Toshka and Abu Simbel on the shores of Lake Nasser. Included in the trip were three overnight stops at Al-Gouna Sheraton, Luxor's Winter Palace, and the surprisingly luxurious and mint-new Al-Ruwwad Hotel in Kharga. The group met Red Sea Governor Hassan Abu Se'da at a ceremony marking the symbolic ground-breaking of the Al-Gouna railway station. In Qena, we visited an impeccably appointed clinic which cares for the health of mothers and children. The small and sparkling clinic, donated by the European Union, receives 5,000 to 6,000 patients monthly, and the numbers are growing steadily. The governors of Qena and the New Valley also received us and gave an outline of what is in the pipeline modernising Qena and the New Valley -- about one-third of the country's land mass. The highlights of the one-of-a-kind trip were too many to record, but among the unforgettable moments, the warm welcome of the people of Al-Baliana still glows in the minds of those who shared in the experience. The people of this ancient town came out in force. Sherif Lutfi, a scholar of Egypt and its ancient history, kept the group spell-bound as he told the story of each site that was visited during the four-day trip. From the Eastern Desert's Roman quarries to the little-known temples and ancient churches in the New Valley, he was eloquent, informative and passionate as he described the sites, their history and their unique detail. For this trip to succeed, a few people had to have more on their minds than just enjoying the train ride, the sights and the company. Hanafi Mahmoud, director of operations of Egypt's railways, accompanied the group, answering questions and providing maps and additional information as the train proceeded. Volkhard Windfuhr, president of the FPA and the organiser of the trip, who has spent more time in Egypt and the Middle East than in Germany, cheerfully herded the unruly group from plane to train to bus to hotel every single day. He provided essential background information, interpreted when necessary, and took care of the protocol requirements at every stop. To top it all off, Mr Windfuhr managed to persuade the postmaster of Paris Oasis to ride alongside on the tour bus to provide postage stamps to the group. To everyone's delight, Mr Windfuhr had prepared special envelopes and a stamp to commemorate "The Link" -- Egypt's new scenic train, which links the Red Sea resorts with the ancient treasures of Old and New Valley: Egypt's new frontier.
