Entire Rail Journeys enlists Rail Plus ‘brains trust’

Go back to the e-newsletter

Entire Travel Group officially launched its luxury Rail Journeys program to travel advisors in Sydney on Wednesday night, unveiling a line up of 65 independent rail packages with operators such as Belmond, Rocky Mountaineer, Golden Eagle, Rovos Rail, The Blue Train and others. Brad McDonnell, Managing Director of Entire Travel Group said the new rail division was “20 years in the making,” brought forward following the pandemic and a strong performing Canada division which features both the Rocky Mountaineer and VIA Rail.

McDonnell and Greg McCallum, Entire Travel Group’s Sales & Marketing Director, saw a gap in the market to build on the successes of former Australasian rail specialist, Rail Plus, which was absorbed by Rail Europe in 2016. Entire Rail Journeys has been created by the “brains trust” that were behind the original Rail Plus program, including the core Great Trains Journeys offering that spanned luxury rail operations around the world, McDonnell said.

---

---

McCallum was previously the National Sales Manager for Rail Plus for nearly a decade, while Sana Malihi – who developed the offering at Rail Plus – was Product Manager, and Zoe Condon had headed up reservations for that luxury train program for several years. After the demise of Rail Plus, Condon kept on track with her rail focus with roles at Rocky Mountaineer and as an International Rail Specialist at Infinity Holidays. Malihi and Condon were both recruited by Entire in recent years to construct the Entire Rail Journeys portfolio.

McDonnell said: “That’s a lot of experience and that’s what we’re all about, building on the company slogan of “When Experience Matters.” We don’t take on a new product because it’s an opportunity, we have to do it well.”

“We’re not the new kids on the block in terms of luxury trains and rail programs. There is 15- 20 years experience sitting behind the program at Entire Rail Journeys,” McDonnell added.

Rail Journey offering

The Entire Rail Journeys collection traverses Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia, with itineraries ranging from one to 16 nights duration, or from $2,340 per person share on the 2-night Great Southern from Adelaide to Brisbane, through to the 16-day Caspian Odyssey between Yerevan and Alamty, priced from $46,057 per person twin share.

The range of operators include Golden Eagle Luxury Trains (Gold Eagle and Golden Eagle Danube Express), Swiss Scenic Trains, VIA Rail Canada, Rocky Mountaineer and Belmond (Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, The Royal Scotsman, Orient Silk Road Express and Eastern & Oriental Express).

Other luxury rail journeys featured in the 2024/25 brochure include:

• The Alaska Railroad (North America)
• The Blue Train (South Africa)
• Rovos Rail (Africa)
• El Transcántabrico Gran Lujo, Costa Verde Express, El Expreso de la Robla, and Al Andálus (Spain)
• Orient Silk Road Express (Central Asia)
• The Ghan, Indian Pacific and Great Southern (Australia).

The accompanying 80-page brochure profiles each rail journey, including itineraries, maps, highlights, prices and inclusions, along with details on dining and cabin options. Agents can also use a tour code to access departure dates and additional information on Entire Travel Group’s website.

Click the cover to view the eBrochure

As well as producing digital and print versions of the inaugural Entire Rail Journeys brochure, Entire Travel Group has established a dedicated phone line and email (rail@entiretravel.com.au), which agents can use to connect with specialist consultants.

Advisors can quote directly from the online itinerary listing to their client (with real-time dynamic pricing), embedded their own company logo, a PDF of the itinerary and a ‘Book Now’ button to proceed with a sale. Last night’s event featured a group Q&A moderated by McDonnell with a number of key luxury rail program partners and tourism bureaus, who provided deeper insight on each of their rail journeys and services, and the destinations in which they operated. For attending travel advisors, there were also a generous number of rail journeys and passes given away as lucky door prizes with Golden Eagle, VIA Rail, Rocky Mountaineer and Switzerland Tourism. Lead image: Pictured at the event held at The Tea Room at Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building, from left are: Greg McCallum, Entire Travel Group; Manisha Rathod, Account Director AU/NZ, Belmond; Sean Lane, Market Development, Australia, VIA Rail; Megan Bardsley, BDM ANZ, Golden Eagle; Tony Soden, Rocky Mountaineer; Sandra Babey, Director ANZ, Switzerland Tourism and Brad McDonnell, Entire Travel Group.

Go back to the e-newsletter