by As our narrow high-speed train rounded the edge of Lac du Bourget, I watched the sun burn behind the peaks of the Chaîne de l’Épine range. It may be better to get to the planet by train than by flight, but it also offers better views.
I was on the first Eurostar Snow Train service, taking me from London St Pancras to Bourg St Maurice, the gateway to a cluster of the biggest and most famous ski resorts in France – including Val d’Isère, Tignes, La Rosière, La Plagne and Les Arcs.
In recent years this route has been getting worse over time. More than 160 years have passed since Thomas Cook organized the original snow train to the Alps. By the early 21stSt century, over 30,000 British skiers traveled to the Alps each winter on the direct Eurostar service.
But the rise of low-cost airlines undermined demand and as the pandemic hit, in July 2020 Eurostar canceled the route to focus on their “core” destinations.
A petition and lobbying by French and British activists resulted in a new service, organized by tour operator Travelski, but when it was announced last summer that this too was to be cancelled, holidaymakers were left in despair sustainable skiing.
It emerged that Eurostar were biding their time until their merger with Belgian rail operator Thalys was completed. Shortly after, the new Eurostar Snow Train was announced, although there was one major difference: instead of traveling from London directly to the Alps, passengers would be sent via Lille, changing on one of the newly acquired Thalys trains.
Although the capacity is limited to just eight weeks, between mid-December and early February, the new service is very popular. Eurostar reported that over half of the available tickets were sold within their first week of sale.
Tour operators such as Inghams Ski and Travelski are offering holidays including the service instead of flights, while Inghams confirmed last week that their train packages were already 84 per cent sold.
With more than 4,000 travelers set to use the service this winter, I wanted to know if this new low-carbon option for skiers could live up to the hype.
As someone who has traveled by train to the Alps since the hedonistic disco-driven days of the 1980s, when you had to take a train to Dover, a ferry to Calais, and then be on the train overnight sleeping in spartan couchettes, I was excited to get. out.
Despite warnings that up to 35,000 passengers a day were expected to depart London St Pancras over the Christmas period, I was relieved to sail through security and customs in 15 minutes.
The first surprise was that, although many excited skiers were putting their skis and boot bags on the train, it was only a regular London-Lille service, which mostly couples and families ended up on way to shop at Lille’s Christmas markets.
Encouragingly, there was plenty of room for everyone, despite the extra bulky luggage. Eurostar had set aside rows of seats specifically for ski storage, leaving plenty of space in the aisles.
After crossing the Medway and then dipping under the English Channel, I was surprised by our quick arrival in Lille. At just one hour and twenty minutes, Lille is almost an hour faster than the Eurostar to Paris, and there was panic as skiers rushed to unload their bags, before continuing the train to Brussels.
Changing trains at Lille was as simple as Eurostar promised. The train left for the Alps from the other platform, with plenty of time to stow luggage. threats for Moûtiers and Bourg St Maurice respectively, and visit the patisserie in the station concourse for the first continental croissant.
The most significant change from the previous Travelski service is the removal of their puritanical alcohol ban. As we neared our way to the Alps, our carriage echoed with the popping of champagne corks as skiers celebrated our progress to the snow.
This does not mean that the new service was free of initial problems. Clearly no one has read from Eurostar Asterix in Britain – where the fierce Britons refrain from fighting the Romans at 4pm every day so they can have a cup of hot water – because the train ran out of tea bags within an hour.
Despite the issue for British tea drinking habits, the other passengers I spoke to were positive about the new service. Clare Crosby and her family started from Newick in East Sussex and chose the train because “it’s faster than driving, even if it’s more expensive.”
Charlotte Roberts was cradling her six-month-old son Joshua when she told me that the decision to travel by train was because “the whole journey is a lot easier than flying when you have a baby. “
Other passengers were more motivated by the environmental benefits. BBC Ski Sunday’s Chemmy Alcott enthused: “It’s like any normal travel day, but guilt-free and with a lot more excitement.”
Has the future of sustainable travel been saved? But only if enough people take up the service, according to Alcott: “If we can get seats down and show it’s popular, hopefully they’ll run more trains. That’s what we really need.”
Fundamentals
The Eurostar Snow Train departs at 09:01 every Saturday morning until 4 February 2024 from London St Pancras via Lille, stopping at Chambéry, Albertville, Moûtiers (17:30), Aime-la-Plagne (18:00) and Bourg-Saint-Maurice (18:20). The return is made during the day on the following Sunday.
Single train tickets were available from £99 each, but only limited availability remains this winter. The cheapest product currently available is now £365, running from 20th January.
Packages are available from Inghams, for a seven-night stay in Arc 1950, self-catering, including train travel and transfers, from £1,109pp, based on four sharing, departing from 3 February 2024.
