After a two-year pause, the Orient Express stopped at the central railway station in Ruse, the Bulgarian news agency BTA reports. The legendary train runs once a year from Paris to Istanbul.

There are 83 tourists from different countries, mostly from the US and UK, travelling in its 15 carriages, with a 47-member crew to cater to their needs. The menu onboard includes a variety of food from each of the countries the Orient Express passes through.

Talking to the BTA, Stefano Gambiglione, a steward on the train, said that working on the train was like travelling back in time to the 1920s, and the people on it were always celebrating something which was fun. According to Radoslav Turlakov, stationmaster at Ruse railway station, during its stay in the city, water will be delivered to the train, it will undergo a technical inspection and border checks. For the distance to Varna on the Black Sea coast, the two Romanian diesel locomotives will be replaced with the new electric locomotive of Bulgarian railways Khan Kardam. The train arrives in Istanbul tomorrow. On its way back, the Orient Express will again stop over at Ruse on Saturday 3 September for 101 minutes.  

Photos: Facebook/museumruse