The Hungarian Railways is launching a luxury  train service connecting Budapest to Tehran, with ticket prices between EUR 10,000 and EUR 23,000, reports AFP. The train will also pass and make two stops in Romania on the third day of the trip, in Sighisoara and in Brasov, before reaching Tehran after two weeks.

The first "Golden Eagle-Danube Express" train, which comprises 13 lavishly-decorated wood-panelled 1950s carriages and berths for about 70 guests, will set off from Budapest on October 15.

It will cross Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, and carry passengers through the Iranian cities of Shiraz and Persepolis. The two-week trip will start on October 14 in Budapest and end in Tehran on October 28. The passengers will stop in Sighisoara in Romania's Transylvania for a walking tour, and then in Brasov for a tour of the Bran castle on the third day, before moving on to Bulgaria. The full itinerary and schedule is here. 

The trip back, also a two-week journey, in late October will also include a one day stop in Sighisoara and Brasov in central Romania.

According to Marcella Beke, sales director of the "Nostalgia" branch of the Hungarian state-owned rail operator, all the berths on the maiden journey have already been snapped up, reports AFP, but another five trips are scheduled for next year.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com