ABSTRACT
The superiority of trains over ships for carrying mail was now a fact accepted by the postal authorities of Europe, but Wagons-Lits had shown that they could carry it in vans attached to their luxury trains faster and at no extra charge than the existing mail trains. Parties of friends consisting of twelve persons could have a special sleeping car placed at their disposal, which included the free services of a guide-interpreter throughout the journey. Forty people were entitled to a special train with the necessary guides. To enable easy daily working of the dining car and locomotives for this train, the Paris portion of the Swiss-Arlberg-Vienna Express was diverted to run via the Orient Express route as far as Chalons; it then ran to Chaumont where it regained the direct Paris main line. At last, on May 15, 1932, the Swiss-Arlberg-Vienna Express was extended from Vienna to Bucharest and was renamed the Arlberg-Orient Express.
