When the Orient Express began operating in the 19th century, passports were optional – the only paperwork required by British travellers was a copy of the Thomas Cook Continental Timetable.
But Brexit and 21st-century checks are killing off the romance of crossing borders for passengers looking for the nostalgia of the luxury train journey that inspired Agatha Christie and Hollywood. Belmond, the company that runs today’s Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, has
