Passengers paying more than £400 a ticket for a slap-up day on a posh train from Wakefield that goes nowhere

The 1930s Pullman-style Northern Belle will just meander through the Yorkshire countryside as they tuck into a slap-up seven-course lunch.

Then six hours later it will bring them back again to Wakefield without them ever stepping off.

But more than 200 people have already booked on the train that actor Bill Nighy described as “The Grand Dame of luxury travel”.

And last year it was voted the ninth most luxurious train in the world, the only British entry in the top 10 and pipping famous rivals like Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer and India’s Maharajah Express.

Readers of the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller magazine raved over the food, specially prepared on board by Barnsley-born chef Matthew Green.

Wakefield businessman David Pitts, who bought the train from the iconic Orient Express group, said: “Nothing is too good for our pampered passengers.

"The Northern Belle transports them back to the golden days of rail travel.

“We even have an on-board band to serenade them and there is a conjuror to add an extra touch of magic to the day.”

The £440 top price tickers includes Laurent-Perrier La Cuvee champagne, reckoned to be among the finest in the world.

But passengers can opt for a cheaper option at £295.

A special red carpet will be laid on the platform before the train leaves Westgate station at 11.50am on Friday, October 27. It is scheduled to arrive back at 6.10pm.

For more details, see www.northernbelle.co.uk