A palace on rails: a yacht designer created a train project for billionaires

French designer Thierry Gauguin has unveiled a train concept that could be of interest to the world's richest people, CNN reports. G Train is not like a regular train, but looks like a futuristic palace on rails. The train is about 400 meters long and has 14 cars, each of which is equipped with smart glass windows and a ceiling. At the request of passengers, panoramic glazing can instantly turn into opaque walls or fold into balconies. The train provides private rooms for the owner and 18 guests, a dining car, an arboretum and a large reception room. The concept brings to mind Ban Joon Ho's famous movie anti-utopia "Through the Snow" - at least, the interiors of the head cars in which the ruling elite lived.

The G Train is also for people with funds. “This is not a passenger train”, - explains Thierry Gauguin. - The owner, as we imagine him, is the one who realizes the uniqueness of the project and understands that he is dealing not just with transport. The task of this train is not to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Travel is not about speed. The point is not to rush, because time is our only treasure”.

In the past, Thierry Gauguin has designed yachts in collaboration with the French star designer Philippe Starck, who, for example, made the Venus superyacht for Steve Jobs. If a buyer is found for the G Train project willing to pay for the construction, the work will take at least two and a half years. According to the designer, he is already negotiating with experts, exploring the possibilities for the implementation of the concept. Among them are representatives of the British engineering firm Eckersley O'Callaghan, glass manufacturer Saint-Gobain, Swiss train manufacturer Stadler and security company Marine Guard.

I must say that the project is quite promising: there is a rise in interest in travel by rail in the world. People are looking for greener, less carbon footprint ways to travel around the world. The carriers, in turn, are planning the introduction of new trains and lines, such as the Dolce Vita train, which will run on 10 routes through the most famous sights of Italy, and the Midnight night train, which will connect Paris with 12 European cities.