Trains have always fascinated me. In my younger days, train travel meant cramped seats, mysterious sandwiches wrapped in cling film, and bathrooms designed more to test your courage than your bladder. So when I first heard about India's Maharajas' Express, I thought, "Surely it can't be all that different." Then I saw photographs of elegantly dressed people sipping champagne in plush armchairs, and realized I had been terribly mistaken. Regular trains, it turns out, aren't even in the same universe as this magnificent beast.

A Brief History (But Stay Awake—This Is Actually Interesting)

Luxury train travel in India isn't new. It all started rather spectacularly in 1982 with the Palace on Wheels, a train that allowed tourists to see Rajasthan while pretending, for a week, that they were minor royalty—complete with princely cabins, lavish feasts, and, one assumes, servants who were paid specifically to pretend they weren't bored by the tourists' endless questions.

Encouraged by this initial success, someone at Indian Railways presumably sat down with a cup of tea and thought, “You know, we can do even better.” Enter the Maharajas' Express, first introduced in 2010. Its founders cleverly recognized that people enjoy luxury more when it's on wheels and hurtling gently past fascinating landmarks at 60 miles per hour. Thus, the Maharajas' Express was born, rapidly earning itself the unofficial title of “the Orient Express of India”—only, presumably, with fewer mysterious murders.

Who Runs This Opulent Machine Anyway?

Initially, the Maharajas' Express was a joint venture between the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Cox & Kings India Ltd., a rather fancy travel company. IRCTC provided the trains, the rails, and presumably the coal-shoveling (I'm joking—it's all very modern and climate-controlled now). Cox & Kings took care of making it seem irresistible in glossy brochures.

Unfortunately, this particular marriage didn't last—due to operational disagreements that nobody officially explains (but I like to imagine involved heated debates over thread counts and menu fonts). Since then, IRCTC has been running the whole show themselves, proving remarkably good at delivering a luxury experience usually reserved for movie stars, visiting dignitaries, and extremely lucky travel writers.

Inspired by Kings (Who Really Loved Their Trains)

You might wonder why India, of all places, has such an extravagant train. The answer lies in the country's wonderfully eccentric maharajas. Long before most Indians had even seen a train, the local kings were obsessively building private railway carriages, lavishly decorated with jewels, mirrors, intricate carvings, and artwork worth more than your entire house. The maharaja of Gwalior once had a miniature train set that ferried cocktails around his palace dining room. And the Maharaja of Vadodara owned a jewel-encrusted rail carriage to impress his British friends—or perhaps just to annoy the neighbors.

The Maharajas Express train captures this same spirit, minus the jewelry theft risk. It blends the romantic history of royal India with modern luxury, offering a glimpse of what it was like to travel when money was no object and no decoration too extravagant.

Luxury Beyond Your Wildest Train Fantasies

The first thing you notice when stepping onto the Maharajas Express is that everything, absolutely everything, seems impossibly tasteful. Cabins aren't just cabins—they're miniature palaces with silk drapes, hand-carved furniture, and bathrooms that would impress even the pickiest aristocrat. There are personalized butlers who appear whenever you're thirsty, confused, or simply looking too comfortable to fetch something yourself.

There's Wi-Fi, which is particularly useful if you want to make your friends back home jealous in real-time, and climate control so effective you may forget you're traveling through the deserts of Rajasthan. Oh, and there are two onboard restaurants serving dishes so deliciously extravagant you might feel a little guilty eating them in your casual holiday clothes.

The Indian Panorama—An Itinerary That's More Than Just Pretty Views

The Maharajas' Express has several routes, but the "Indian Panorama" itinerary is especially delightful. While some luxury trains focus primarily on champagne breakfasts (not that there's anything wrong with those), the Indian Panorama thoughtfully combines decadence with genuinely enriching experiences. It's perfect if you love history, culture, wildlife—or, like me, just have trouble making up your mind.

Your trip starts in Delhi, that chaotic yet endlessly charming capital city, before heading off to Jaipur, where the buildings are famously pink because some ruler, years ago, decided his city needed to look nice for a royal visit. From there, you glide effortlessly through Rajasthan, enjoying grand forts, historic palaces, and—if you're lucky—spotting a few tigers in Ranthambore National Park, creatures who've learned to ignore tourists with the practiced ease of Hollywood celebrities.

Then there's Fatehpur Sikri, the glorious capital that Emperor Akbar built and abandoned within 14 years due to a slight oversight: he'd forgotten to secure a reliable water supply. (Even emperors make mistakes, apparently.) The train also rolls into Khajuraho, famous for temples carved with sculptures so detailed and, shall we say, enthusiastic, that Victorian explorers nearly dropped their monocles upon first sight. It's history at its most delightfully scandalous.

Deliciously Decadent Dining

Eating aboard the Maharajas Express is a delightful affair, and the restaurants—Mayur Mahal and Rang Mahal—are gorgeous enough to distract you entirely from the passing scenery. The food is spectacularly good, and so plentiful you might suspect they're secretly preparing you for hibernation. Meals come with thoughtfully paired wines, making you feel extremely sophisticated—at least until you drip sauce onto your shirt and realize you forgot to pack enough stain remover.

Off-train excursions offer more culinary delights, featuring local specialties and exclusive venues, where you'll enjoy delicacies you didn't even know existed but now desperately want to find again.

Is the Maharajas Express Worth Its Fare?

Let's address the elephant in the luxurious cabin. The Maharajas Express fare is admittedly steep. But consider it this way: you're not simply paying for transportation. You're paying for the chance to experience India as the maharajas once did, but with better plumbing, faster Wi-Fi, and fewer diplomatic responsibilities. It's travel that feels less like sightseeing and more like becoming a character in a particularly luxurious period drama—minus the powdered wigs.

The Final Word (Or Why Ordinary Travel Seems Disappointing Afterwards)

When your journey ends, stepping off the Maharajas Express might feel like emerging from a particularly pleasant dream. You'll find yourself blinking sadly at normal trains, ordinary hotel rooms, and regular meals, quietly wondering how you ever lived without your personal butler politely offering tea.

So yes, the Maharajas Express isn't just a luxury train—it's a gently rolling museum of Indian elegance, hospitality, and charm. It spoils you in ways you can't quite anticipate. But let's face it: once in a while, a little extravagant spoilage is precisely what we deserve.

Just don't say I didn't warn you when ordinary trains seem utterly inadequate afterward.