Skyfall train to take passengers to London

IT may not be behind the wheel of a Aston Martin, but James Bond fans will still be able to replicate their hero’s climactic journey to Scotland from blockbuster Skyfall in style.

A train named Skyfall will cruise into Edinburgh tomorrow afternoon in a lavish celebration of Britain’s highest grossing film.

The service, operated by East Coast, will be the first in a series of journeys as the specially-branded train enters active service on the traditional Flying Scotsman route between Waverley and London’s King’s Cross.

All 11 carriages have been wrapped in decorative artwork sourced directly from Skyfall to celebrate the Monday release on Blu-ray and DVD, which has now earned £708 million worldwide.

Passengers will be free to make the four-hour journey on board the train from tomorrow, mirroring Bond and M’s voyage north for the film’s final act.

However, it is unlikely to be as glitzy as today’s maiden voyage as Bond girl Bérénice Marlohe and Naomie Harris, who plays Eve Moneypenny in Skyfall, will both be on board.

Skyfall Martini cocktails will be served by Erik Lorincz, who designed the cocktail for the film, while one carriage will be given over to a dedicated Blu-ray screening lounge to watch the box-office hit.

Film critic Jon Melville predicted fans would leap at the chance to get a ticket on board the Skyfall train, with the move representing another potential tourism boon for the city.

He said: “Skyfall, of course, has such a great Scottish connection with the filming that took place in the Highlands, so anything that we can do to get people travelling to Scotland is a great thing.

“If we’re talking Scotland, we have such a strong connection to Bond because of Sean Connery and because Bond is half-Scottish.

“People will be able to soak up the atmosphere of Sean Connery’s city and then maybe head further north and see where they filmed Skyfall.”

In the film’s dramatic finale, Bond stops at Glencoe before visiting his ancestral Scottish home where he battles villain Raoul Silva, played by Javier Bardem, in an action-packed siege.

VisitScotland regional director Manuela Calchini said: “Scotland features heavily in the thrilling climax of Skyfall, surely one of the greatest ever Bond films, and we support any tourism initiative that takes advantage of its outstanding success.”

A platform at King’s Cross has been renamed 007 for the occasion.

On board the train, free Wi-Fi ensures business contact is maintained without interruption whilst being accompanied by a quality food and drinks service - which Bond would no doubt approve of.

Skyfall Martinis were shaken and not stirred by Savoy mixologist Erik Lorincz whilst train announcements were taken over for the day by film critic and TV presenter Alex Zane.

Leave you shaken and stirred

THE gut-wrenching moment when a stray bullet knocks Daniel Craig from the top of a moving carriage in Skyfall’s opening sequence is memorable, but is it the best James Bond train moment?

Fans would be quick to point towards the franchise’s second film, From Russia With Love, for a clear rival.

In that movie, Bond (played by Sean Connery) detonates a tear gas booby trap in the face of blonde assassin Grant (Robert Shaw, pictured with Connery) before eventually strangling his opponent to death with the villain’s own garrotte.

Other classic train fight scenes include Roger Moore’s 007 slugging it out with iconic bad guy Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me, and Bond throwing Tee Hee Johnson from the train window at the end of Live and Let Die.