Britain’s newest luxury train, designed to whisk Londoners out of the capital to some of Britain’s most beautiful sites, has failed to give customers the experience they were looking for. Costing an eye-watering £11,000 for two people, the Britannic Explorer, dubbed “Britain’s poshest train,” is the first high-end sleeper train that operates through England and Wales.
Featuring 18 cabins, including three Grand Suites and 15 regular suites, the Britannic Explorer celebrates the art of slow travel by paying homage to the Great British tradition of touring. The sleeper offers three routes departing from London to Cornwall, the picturesque Lake District, or the rolling hills of Wales. However, just four hours after it began its most recent journey, the trip ended rather abruptly at Fenny Stratford in Milton Keynes, where it terminated.
Passengers had no choice but to disembark and come to the sad reality that the trip they had not only forked out an arm and a leg for had been abandoned.
The train left London Victoria station as planned on September 26 at 4pm – the first day’s travel was meant to see the train going deep into Yorkshire while passengers enjoyed convivial getting-to-know-you drinks in the observation car. However, by 8pm the train goers saw their trip grind to an abrupt halt.
Some passengers are understood to have paid upwards of £50,000 for a three-night stay in one of the train’s three “grand suites”.
A spokesperson for Belmond has since confirmed that the train has had to be taken out of service for the time being as they investigate further.
The statement read: “Due to an isolated new issue related to a door mechanism on board the Britannic Explorer on Friday evening, the remainder of the trip was cancelled and all passengers were transferred to London hotels,” the spokesman said. “An investigation into the door mechanism will be conducted by an independent body.
“Every affected guest was offered a full refund, along with a complimentary future journey aboard the Britannic Explorer. In addition, we are covering any related expenses incurred as a result of the cancellation. The train is currently out of service while our teams work with urgency and care to resolve the issue and enable a timely return to service.”
The train, which features an onboard wellness suite and a botanically inspired bar that serves stunning craft cocktails, has been plagued by problems since it began operating earlier this year.
Its inaugural trip at the beginning of July 2025 was cancelled due to “maintenance issues,” and the rescheduled trip at the end of July was also cancelled.
The train finally made its maiden voyage at the end of August, with a trip from London to Cornwall, and all seemed to go off without a hitch. However, this did not last long after its next trip from London to Wals was met with criticism, with a travel writer for The Telegraph claiming there were water supply problems, complaints about the food and someone else’s worn clothes and pyjamas were in his cabin’s wardrobe.
Chef Simon Rogan has since apologised for the food, claiming it was “not fully ready” and the “kitchen was not properly working.” However, he vowed they would “turn this around” on future journeys.
