This 1,300-Foot Long Glass Luxury Train Concept is a Palace on Rails

The $350 million train concept is designed to elevate the rail travel experience.

French designer Thierry Gaugain, known for his work designing superyachts like Steve Jobs‘s 262-foot Venus, has turned his attention to dry land. If the future of railway travel looks anything like his concept for the all-glass, smart “G Train,” planes and boats might be in trouble. 

Gaugain’s train design is a completely novel reimagining of private transport. The designer has envisioned a 1,300-foot luxury smart train intended for individual ownership. 

Each car is constructed with glass that changes color, displays scenes akin to living wallpaper, and can go from clear to opaque.

Inside, the G Train (as planned) will really live up to claims it is essentially a moving mansion, with a beautifully appointed master suite for the owner, gym, spa, and guest rooms as well as space for guests to socialize and even store their own vehicles on board.

Here’s more from CNN about Gaugain’s vision of the future on rails:

“The owner we envision is someone who is aware of the uniqueness of this train and understands that we are not just talking about transportation. It’s about travel, not how fast you get from point A to point B.”

Gaugain feels that travel has become more focused on speed than the actual journey, and he sees the G Train as a mode of transportation where those on board can have just as much, if not more, fun on the way to their chosen destination.

Gaugain went on to make a point in poetic terms, telling CNN “Travel is not about speed.”

“It’s about taking the time,” Gaugain continued, “because time is the only treasure we have.”

Gaugain indicated he was thinking about Steve Jobs’s widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, when he began designing the train, but he doesn’t actually have a customer yet. 

After all, as envisioned, it would cost around $350 million, and according to Thierry Gaugain, he needs someone who is just as “crazy” as he is to get on board so he can make his crazy supertrain dream a reality.

Practically speaking, it could happen, since all the necessary technology is already out there, and the G Train could be adapted to differences between American and European railways. 

If the G Train is ever built — and CNN reports Gaugain has brought several experts in relevant fields into the design process to ensure he could really do what he wants with it — it will have a top speed of nearly 100mph (160km) and room for at least 18 passengers. 

Gaugain told CNN that he thinks trains “will become more and more a vehicle for the future. And what we have in mind with this train is to make a vehicle for the future. A marriage of extreme luxury and the best technology.”

Check out the designer’s intriguing website to learn more at Gaugain.net.