World's priciest train ticket?

After departing London (by plane), the first stop on the 53-day, round-the-world trip offered by Great Rail Journeys is New York, where passengers board trains to Washington, then Chicago and on to Denver.

The tour takes travelers through the Rocky Mountains and then on to the historic Durango and Silverton line.

Side trips include Monument Valley, iconic filming location of countless Westerns.

After a tour of Los Angeles, passengers travel by boat to San Francisco and then fly to China.

After arriving in the Chinese commercial capital of Shanghai, passengers travel by rail to Xian and then Beijing.

Another side trip takes travelers to the Great Wall of China, just outside Beijing.

From China, the iron road trip takes in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, before crossing into Russia.

The journey then heads into the heart of Russia via the Trans-Siberian Railway.

There's a stop at Siberia's Lake Baikal, the world's largest body of fresh water.

After the rigors of crossing Russia by rail, there's a welcome two-day pause to explore Moscow.

For its final section, the tour plows on into Europe, calling first in the Polish capital.

Then it's on to Prague, Vienna, Innsbruck, Venice and back to London.

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• Round-the-world ticket offered by Great Rail Journeys begins and ends in London


• Travelers will spend two weeks crossing the United States before transferring to China by air


• From Beijing, passengers travel to Mongolia then Russia via the Trans-Siberian Railway

London, England (CNN) -- A 53-day journey by train might sound like murder on the Orient Express, but one enterprising British travel company is offering rail tickets that take nearly eight weeks to circumnavigate the globe.

As you'd expect for the $36,500 price tag, you won't be spending six weeks cooped in the cheap seats listening to other people yammering into their cell phones.

The ticket offered by Great Rail Journeys is first class most of the way, crossing three continents in the kind of style you'd associate with a golden age of rail travel -- albeit without the top hats and tailcoats.

En route, passengers get to experience some of the world's most luxurious trains, including the Tsar's Gold Private Train from Mongolia, the Venice Simplon Orient-Express and the British Orient Express Pullman.

The itinerary begins in London on May 18, 2015.

"We've got some pretty long journeys in our portfolio, but we've never done the full circumnavigation," Julian Appleyard of Great Rail Journeys said.

The itinerary includes a trip to Monument Valley in the American Southwest.

Passengers will fly to New York and then spend 20 days crossing North America by train.

They call in at Washington, Chicago and Denver and then sample a few classic rail rides such as Colorado's scenic Royal Gorge route and the steam-powered Durango & Silverton line.

Ten epic train journeys

There's a side trip to the Grand Canyon, a sojourn in Los Angeles and a boat ride to San Francisco, where passengers take to the air once again to reach Shanghai.

The trip sticks firmly to the rails from then on, taking passengers from Xian, home of terra cotta warriors, to Beijing and then on to Russia via Mongolia.

The journey links up with the epic Trans-Siberian line to reach Moscow before pressing on into Europe.

After calling at Warsaw, Prague, Vienna, Innsbruck and Venice, it heads back to London.

Appleyard says the company had sold its first tickets but is planning to limit numbers to about 25 to "keep it fairly exclusive."

"There is a huge number of people who are interested in rail as a method of travel," he said.

Neither oceans nor the Great Wall will get in the way of the round-the-world train trip.

"This is quite clearly the longest and most expensive trip we've ever done so it's going to appeal to the wealthy and, at 53 days, people with time on their hands."

If 53 days sounds a little on the slow side, another company offers a similar journey in reverse, via Canada, that takes a mere 40 days.

Ffestiniog Travel, based in Wales, charges $32,765 for its escorted tour starting May 3.

Or you could just catch a plane.

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