All Aboard World’s First Private Luxury Train By Top Yacht Designer

It's not about the destination, it's about the journey. At least that’s what world-renowned French superyacht and private jet designer Thierry Guagain had in mind while brewing up the world’s first private luxury train. The prolific designer is venerated for his formidable designs for some of the world’s biggest names. His career spans three decades where he mostly dabbled in extra-decadent projects like Steve Jobs’ 80 metre superyacht or private jets, but now, the design giant is bringing us the G Train, a new USD 350 million luxury vehicle that puts passenger trains to shame.

The 14-car, 400-metre-long-train, sheathed in 3,500 sqm of special technical glass, can accommodate 18 overnight guests, yet is designed for a single owner. Integrating art, technology and light, the G train was intended to be a stage, shifting and morphing all the time whether by mechanical or digital means. The G Train can run up to 160 kilometres an hour with its four custom locomotives adapted to railways across the Americas and Europe, stopping basically wherever the owner feels like it.

The G Train is divided into two sections: one for the owner’s accommodation and entertainment space, and the other for crew and overnight guests. For parties, the train’s wings follow down to unveil a spacious terrace. Did we also mention this train houses a garden and a ‘toy chest’ to store cars, motorbikes, and so on? The most tech-forward feature is perhaps the exterior which is made of technical smart glass that can transition from completely transparent to a gold-toned opacity with a push of a button.

Envisioned to be an eco-friendly alternative to private jet travel, the G Train utilises a hybrid solution that balances electric hydrogen with diesel-electric engines, creating minimal ecological impact. The project’s pre-development phase kicked off four years ago with the help of some of the world’s most eminent engineers and architects including Stadler, Saint-Gobain, Eckersley O’Callaghan, Vision System, Marine Guard and DWH. Gaugain’s vision will soon come to life, although it will take two years to actually get built for its new owner.