AN EXCITING new era of luxury rail travel is on track for a Kent launch.

Mark Toynbee, an entrepreneur from Woodchurch, near Ashford, is investing a six-figure sum in his ambitious travel venture Very Special Trains.

It gets underway 7.30am Saturday, April 3, when a refurbished Inter-City train hauled by a diesel locomotive pulls out of Ashford International, calling at Staplehurst, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks and Orpington on its way to Bristol, Bath and Longleat.

VST will offer "exclusive excursions" to interesting destinations across the country.

Mr Toynbee, 45, looked for a new challenge after deteriorating health persuaded the 45-year old to sell his Ashford-based marketing business Caxton Take One Media.

Always keen on railways, a chance conversation last year sparked the idea of luxury rail travel at an affordable price.

He admired the Orient Express concept but thought high fares priced out most potential customers.

Mr Toynbee managed to find an operator, rolling stock provider and caterer, and has set up an office employing six people at Brook Farm, Woodchurch.

He said: "I've had a lifelong interest in railways, not in a train-spotting kind of way but in the whole romance, the construction, the history and how it paved the way for the Industrial Revolution."

But the romance of rail is not blinding him to the harsh financial reality that will determine whether or not his enterprise comes off the rails.

Just to put a train on the railway network costs £18,000. He needs another £12,000 for other services.

To cover costs of £30,000 a train, he needs 60 per cent of the 512 seats in the upgraded Inter-City carriages to be occupied -- that means around 400 people paying fares from £60 (£40 for children) to £175 for "Premier Plus with Dining”. Champagne and chocolates will be £55 extra.

Many will depart from Ashford International, with Kent pick-up stations, including Maidstone East, Otford and Swanley. Other services will leave from Hampshire, Dorset, Sussex, Surrey, Wiltshire, Berkshire and London.

Trains will link with coaches for the final leg of the journey, and offer destinations such as Longleat, Crich Tramway Village, Chatsworth House, Spalding International Flower Festival, the Eden Project, the Norfolk Broads, Stratford-upon-Avon and Ironbridge.

There will even be a 60th anniversary D-Day special, hauled by steam engine, between London and Portsmouth on June 6.

Most will operate on Saturdays, but Mr Toynbee hopes to offer midweek trips in the future, many targeted at the corporate market.

"I love a challenge and have developed a knack of finding and filling a specialised niche, developing it to make it my own. I think that with Very Special Trains, this is something I can do again.

"Yes, we are at the mercy of Network Rail, yes, there will be weekend engineering. So I have to be realistic as well as nostalgic about what we can and cannot achieve."

He admits it's risky, but he believes his new venture will put Kent on the railway excursion map.

"What we want to do is to provide the style and the pleasure you get on the Orient Express but at a cost that is rather more affordable. I'm more confident of this than anything I've ever done."

Details on 0845 601 7123 or visit www.veryspecialtrains.co.uk.