The Al Ándalus train rides again: inside the longest and most glamorous luxury convoy in Spain

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The jewel has left the jeweler.

After two years of hiatus due to the pandemic, the Al Ándalus luxury train, the Spanish

, has left the workshops where it was neatly stored to roll again through Andalusian lands.

After eating at the Alfonso XIII hotel in Seville, the first passengers of the season have returned this week to the Santa Justa station, the starting point of a journey through space and time aboard one of the most

to Renfe.

Also the most impressive for its dimensions.

With

, Al Ándalus is the longest "hotel on rails" in our country, with 15 patented wagons for the enjoyment of only

.

Virtually all seats for the season with 16 scheduled itineraries are sold out.

There are

in each car, wooden dresses, fabrics and objects from the 1920s.

There is a romantic atmosphere and rooms that invite you to talk, to enjoy the slow journey.

There is past.

The living room.

"They are vehicles similar to those used by Queen Elizabeth II of England when she traveled to French Brittany. We are talking about the history of the 20th century that we have been able to

And this is a source of pride for us", explains Félix Martín, director of Trains Renfe tourist.

Before leaving, the restaurant is already dressed for the arrival of the passengers.

The

, a cabin with a double bed, large windows and a bathroom with a shower await the arrival of their owners.

As a novelty, there is Wi-Fi, this is already mandatory in all corners of the world.

But above all, there are many details in every corner of the convoy.

The dining room toilet, for example, is a

.

The marble is original, like the

the taps and the mirrors that transfer the reflection of the traveler to the Belle Époque.

Martín says that during the pandemic they had to

Félix Martín, director of Renfe Tourist Trains.

"From the fabrics to the crockery, everything has been in special warehouses so that it does not deteriorate."

The technological part, for its part, was taken to the workshops so that it would not be idle for two years.

"A deaf job, but very important," emphasizes the person in charge.

Late in the afternoon, as the saloon cars fill up, the kitchen begins to come to life.

It is one of the most valued aspects of Al Ándalus.

On the menu, national flavors: Ajoblanco, fried octopus with tomato, cod with picual pil pil sauce and onions... a festival to promote national flavors.

80 percent of the passengers are foreigners.

"We source products from the area," explains Andrés Fernández, chef at Al Ándalus, who has just managed the stoves on the Transcantábrico, another of the great tourist trains.

"The challenge of cooking on a train is that we are

."

Also the logistics of getting the product: "Everything is for that same day."

Chef Andrés Férnandez in the kitchen.

The rush is neither seen nor heard in the dining room.

"These trains are not governed by speed," says Martín.

"Sometimes we slow down a little so that customers can enjoy

, so that dinner is more comfortable."

And how do the passengers experience this lavish adventure?

Melquiades Fernández, head waiter and the train's longest-serving employee, knows the ritual perfectly: "Over the seven days the passengers become

They are so comfortable that there are even tears at the end of the trip ".

No murders like in Agatha Christie's novel, so... "None at the moment and we hope it continues like this," says he who has lived 15 seasons aboard a luxury train with a wink.

Detail of one of the toilets from 1920.

The Al Ándalus Train, which started rolling in 1985 and underwent a comprehensive reform in 2012, has become one of the great references of the so-called "cruises on rails".

The Andalusian itinerary begins and ends in Seville, lasts seven days and seven nights and you can find tickets from 2,500 euros per person.

This year, there will also be a trip to Santiago de Compostela as it is the Jacobean year.

Because, unlike the Transcantábrico Gran Lujo, which can only circulate in the north of the peninsula through the gauge, Al Ándalus has the capacity to

Moreover, next year could give surprises.

"We are designing new proposals so that it rolls throughout the country," says Martín.

We will have to wait.

Meanwhile, the railway celebrates the return of all its tourist trains this year with a novelty, the addition to the fleet of the new Costa Verde Express.

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