It is the answer for local travellers who dream about a trip on the Blue Train but can't quite bring themselves to sell their homes and children to scrape together the money for a ticket.
Premier Classe is not just a few luxury coaches tacked on to the Trans-Karoo Express or daily milk train running between Joburg and Cape Town, it is a rather garish, deep-purple collection of sleeper coaches, dining cars and even a motor vehicle transport wagon.
It leaves Joburg every Thursday and Sunday at 3pm and arrives in Cape Town the following day at 4.15pm. The return trip leaves the Mother City every Tuesday and Saturday just after 9am and arrives in Joburg the following day at 11am.
Few people seem to have heard about this train, which, for R975 out of season and R1 575 in season - one way - you get comfortable accommodation and luxury dining along with 5-star service.
I first heard about it at a dinner party in Joburg where everyone was hot under the collar about parking chaos at the airports; the arrogance of Acsa; bad-tempered check-in crowds; late departures and arrivals; frenetic security; tasteless in-flight food; and how travelling by air had moved from being a convenient way of getting around the country to the equivalent of being caught in the middle of a rugby scrum.
My wife and I decided to give it a go on a recent visit to Joburg because Premier Classe had come well recommended by those who had tried it. But, I was a bit worried about Park Station Joburg and had visions of being mugged, stripped naked and being left to rot on a remote platform. But, to my shame, the concourse was alive not only with travellers and commuters but orderly and, most surprising of all, as neat and clean as a pin.
We were shown to a special Premier Classe lounge at the station - similar to those business class lounges at the airport - where we were offered refreshments. Just before departure, the train manager and staff members gathered in the lounge and welcomed us. The welcome was warm and genuine.
Cape Town station also has a Premier Classe lounge that is no more than five metres from a car or taxi drop-off and only a few metres from the Premier Classe platform.
Our baggage was whisked away and we were escorted by the staff to the train. Our compartments had our names printed on the doors and were pretty much the standard double compartments one gets on most trains. But, with lots of cupboard space and comfortable seating that converted into two equally comfortable single beds. Swinging cats is not advisable, but then again it is far from claustrophobic.
The train pulled out of Joburg smack on time and the small group of about a dozen passengers gathered in the lounge/restaurant car that I am convinced once belonged to the Blue Train. Champagne and snacks were offered.
The most impressive part of Premier Classe is the cuisine, with excellent breakfast, lunch and dinner all included in the fare. The amount and quality of the food exceeded the expectations of everyone on board. To put it in a nutshell - the exact opposite of airline food.
And all the time the staff were at hand to cater to our every whim. Polite, efficient and, most of all, genuinely friendly. When they asked how you slept or how you enjoyed your food, you could see they wanted their passengers to be happy.
When it comes to sleeping on trains, I suppose either one can or one can't. Sure, the train has to stop quite often to let traffic through and sometimes its gentle rocking and the clickety-clack of the wheels is a bit like a jumbo jet hitting serious turbulence.
The beauty of it all is that apart from the eight hours of darkness, you have a total of 25 hours to just kick back, relax and snooze as much as you want. Well, call that about 18 hours - because you wouldn't want to miss all that glorious food.
It is not often that I wax lyrical over anything to do with travelling these days because it has mostly become inconvenient, hectic, security paranoid and thoroughly disagreeable.
But, Premier Classe is a genuine value-for-money, relaxing travel experience.
And no, they didn't know I was going to write an article and, equally, this wasn't a free trip - I paid for it like any other passenger.
I am hooked on it, however, and whenever I can afford the time, I will spit contemptuously in the direction of the airport and head for the station.