Snowcarbon newsletter 11th August - schedules
Hello there,
Since the previous Snowcarbon newsletter (at the end of June), there hasn’t been any major news to tell you about rail travel to the Alps.
What Eurostar told me this week
This week, I asked Eurostar’s press office for an update. They told me that Eurostar is still deciding whether to run the Ski Train this winter.
I also asked about indirect journeys via Paris. Particularly because — bizarrely — Eurostar still hasn’t scheduled a Saturday afternoon Paris-to-London train (even though it has already done so for other days of the week). One needs a train back from Paris in the afternoon, in order to connect with a TGV coming from the Alps on a Saturday morning. Eurostar's press office told me that Eurostar is expecting, in September, to be able to add trains to its winter schedule. I emphasised the importance of these Saturday trains for skiers, given that Saturday is the most popular ski holiday changover day.
So, for the moment, it’s still a bit of a waiting game with schedules.
What did normal schedules look like?
During this time, it might be useful for you to see what rail schedules were like, pre-pandemic.
Below, I’ve written out some recommended pre-pandemic schedules for Saturday – Saturday holidays, for some popular train stations in the Alps.
As you'll see, there is a beautiful array of ski resorts that can be reached conveniently by train.
NB: These schedules are only examples, on Saturdays. There are normally plenty of other possible schedules too, both on Saturdays and other days of the week, of course.
As trains come on sale, or for considering potential destinations, these pre-pandemic schedules give you a way to compare whatever is on sale to what would normally be possible.
(NB, I couldn't get the timetable columns below to line up precisely in Mailchimp. If you are a stickler for neat columns, then apologies. I love a perfectly neat column too).
Aime la Plagne, France
Ski resorts served: La Plagne
London to Aime la Plagne (direct, daytime)
Depart London St Pancras 09:45 Eurostar Ski Train
Arrive Aime la Plagne 18:46
London to Aime la Plagne (direct, overnight - on Fridays)
Depart London St Pancras 19:45 Eurostar Ski Train
Arrive Aime la Plagne 05:57
London to Aime la Plagne ((indirect, daytime)
Depart London St Pancras 07:52 Eurostar
Arrive Paris-Nord 11:17
Depart Paris-Lyon 12:47 TGV
Arrive Aime la Plagne 17:26
Aime la Plagne to London (direct, daytime)
(Ski Train departs from Bourg on the inbound)
Depart Bourg St Maurice 09:34 TGV
Arrive London St Pancras 16:13
Aime la Plagne to London (direct, overnight, Saturdays)
(Ski Train departs from Bourg on the inbound)
Depart Bourg St Maurice 22:12 TGV
Arrive London St Pancras 07:16
Aime la Plagne to London (indirect, daytime)
Depart Aime la Plagne 09:36 TGV
Arrive Paris-Lyon 14:10
Depart Paris-Nord 16:13 Eurostar
Arrive London St Pancras 17:39
Annecy, France
Ski resorts served include: La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand
London to Annecy
Depart London St Pancras 07:52 Eurostar
Arrive Paris-Nord 11:17
Depart Paris-Lyon 12:45 TGV
Arrive Annecy 16:29
Annecy to London
Depart Annecy 09:31 TGV
Arrive Paris-Lyon 13:19
Depart Paris-Nord 15:07 Eurostar
Arrive London St Pancras 16:39
Bourg St Maurice, France
Ski resorts served include: La Rosie?re, Les Arcs, Peisey – Vallandry<span style="caret-color: rgb(96, 96, 96); color: rgb(96, 96, 96); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px;