Arsenale, a company controlled by the Barletta group and active in the luxury rail tourism business, is growing in Asia. The Italian company has acquired a strategic stake (33%) in the capital of SJourney, a young Vietnamese brand of rail cruises inspired by the legendary Trans Indochine Express. Paolo Barletta, CEO of Arsenale, announced this to Il Sole 24 Ore. SJourney offers a journey of up to 8 days and 7 nights between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (and vice versa), an iconic itinerary from north to south of 1,726 kilometers that crosses some of the most picturesque landscapes and culturally significant places in Vietnam. The company’s name derives from the S shape of Vietnam. The investment in Asia follows the acquisition, made a year ago by Arsenale, of the British company Golden Eagle Luxury Trains and is part of the group’s project to build an integrated international platform dedicated to luxury rail tourism.
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Barletta says: “In 2020 Arsenale did not exist, today we are one of the top three luxury rail cruise companies in the world. For us, the operation in Asia is strategic because it allows Arsenale to cover another very important corridor within a very significant tourism market. Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing tourism markets, with over 21 million visitors in 2025 and about 25 million estimated by the end of 2026, with a growth of 16 percent. A market that surpasses Egypt’s. This is the context in which Arsenale arrives. SJourney is a young company, founded in 2024, but it has already reached break-even.”
As a strategic minority shareholder, Arsenale will support the next development phase of SJourney through its international sales network, helping to increase its global visibility. Barletta continues: “Entering SJourney’s capital is just a first step, Arsenale’s goal is to increase its stake, reaching an equal partnership with a 50 percent share. We believe that SJourney’s growth will come through geographic expansion, bringing luxury rail cruises to neighboring markets, that is, countries close to Vietnam. In the next five years, our forecast is to invest, together with SJourney, around 20 million euros aimed at developing expansion activities and strengthening the Vietnamese and neighboring markets.”
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The agreement also provides for the possibility of licensing the Golden Eagle brand, with the positioning SJourney by Golden Eagle to be evaluated within the framework of progressive future strategic and operational alignment. SJourney – Barletta emphasizes – will remain an independent project, with its own distinctive identity and will continue to represent the local expression of the experience, deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture and territories.
In Italy, in the luxury train sector, Arsenale has created the La Dolce Vita Orient Express train, the first sustainable rail tourism project with a luxury offer in collaboration with Orient Express, Trenitalia, Italian Tourist Trains and the FS Foundation (all entities of the FS group). Starting from 2023, Arsenale has embarked on an international expansion process, with already four projects signed. In Saudi Arabia, the company is developing Dream of The Desert in collaboration with Saudi Arabia Railways, the first luxury train to travel the Kingdom. In the United Arab Emirates, together with Etihad Railway, a luxury train crossing the Middle Eastern peninsula is under construction. In Uzbekistan, in partnership with Uzbek Railways and the State Committee for Tourism, The Samarkand Express is being designed, the first luxury train in Central Asia. In Egypt, Arsenale is developing Guardian of the Nile in collaboration with Egypt National Railway, the country’s first luxury train. And to support expansion plans, in recent weeks Arsenale successfully completed the placement of a 300 million euro bond on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
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