Celia, a lavish new carriage imagined by Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, brings cinematic glamour to one of England’s most storied trains.
There’s something inherently glamorous about stepping onto the British Pullman. The art deco details. The crisp table linens. The feeling that you should probably be wearing red lipstick and pearls, even if it’s only noon.
Now, Belmond has dialled that glamour all the way up. Celia is a brand-new private dining and events carriage for the British Pullman, dreamed up by filmmaker Baz Luhrmann and designer Catherine Martin. Yes, that Baz Luhrmann — the mind behind Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby. Which should tell you everything you need to know about the opulence.
This isn’t a quiet, minimalist addition. Celia is lush, velvet-upholstered. Rich with saturated greens, yellows, reds and purples. Floral motifs inspired by British flora are woven through the oak marquetry and furnishings. Heavy theatre-style curtains divide the space. Even the powder room gets the full treatment, with a mosaic and hand-painted ceiling wrapped in florals.
It feels less like boarding a train carriage and more like stepping onto a film set — one that just happens to glide through the English countryside.
Unlike the British Pullman’s other carriages, many of which date back to the 1920s and ’30s and have been painstakingly restored, Celia is entirely new. But instead of breaking from tradition, it leans right into the golden age of travel — just interpreted through a maximalist, cinematic lens. The carriage seats up to 22 guests, making it one of the most intimate spaces on board. It’s designed for private dining and special events like milestone birthdays or small weddings.
Belmond’s British Pullman has long traded in nostalgia. Sister train to the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, it offers day journeys through the English countryside with fine dining, themed departures and serious old-world charm. Each carriage typically has its own name and story. Celia fits into that tradition — but it also signals something new. Luxury rail travel is having a moment again. Travellers are craving slower, more tactile experiences — linen tablecloths, polished brass, long lunches as fields roll by outside the window. But they also want story. They want immersion. They want something that feels different from another tasting menu in a beautifully beige dining room.
In a travel landscape that often defaults to pared-back minimalism, Celia does the opposite. It embraces ornament. It leans into romance. It invites you to dress up, order another glass of champagne and pretend — even just for a few hours — that you’re the main character in your own period drama.
