We approached the Tangula Express - a high end train set to run between Beijing and Lhasa - as a contemporary, luxury hotel within a train format. Inspired by the luxury of the Great Train Journeys, we wanted to capture the romance of train travel but not the nostalgia of it. Taking from the luggage trunks of old, we outfitted each carriage with its own separate, living, sleeping and bathing area all within a space of 10m². The insides of the carriages were then lined with leather and customised cabinetry finished in a variety of indigenous timbers and fabrics.
In order to place an emphasis on the familiarity of object rather than the train’s technological prowess, we pared down fixtures that visually referred to the train’s machinery and replaced them with materials more commonly associated with resorts and high end hotels. The oxygen enriched train will travel along the highest railroad in the world and reach altitudes in an excess of 5000m.

Interior styling by ElskopScholz.

http://www.tangulaluxurytrains.com/