Eurostar direct night ski train

The tickets for the Eurostar direct night ski train finally came on sale today, if anyone is interested in buying any. But they are very expensive - £200 for one person one way at Feb half-term and £256 for Leisure Select (sort of First Class).

I am very cross. I bought the day tickets out there when they came on sale, a month ago, but it seems there was some problem with SNCF (the French train company) over the timetables for the night train that I wanted to get back and I couldn't buy my normal return ticket. Hence I paid more for my day train out there, as a single ticket, and I've just had to pay more again for my night return train, again as a single ticket.

I am going to complain to Eurostar because it's simply not fair :evil:. I don't see why I should have to pay an extra £60 or so just because I couldn't buy a return ticket because Eurostar took so long to sort out their problems with SNCF. If I'd waited until a normal return had become available there wouldn't have been any seats left since I'm going at Feb half-term.

Ally

Ally

Ditch the train & go by plane. :shock:

brooksy wrote:
Ally

Ditch the train & go by plane. :shock:

I cannot imagine the boredom of traveling that distance by train 8)

At those prices surely it's cheaper to fly! :shock:

snowb4ndit wrote:At those prices surely it's cheaper to fly! :shock:

I'm sure you are right Snowbandit and it would have been cheaper to fly on this occasion. Normally, I can get return train tickets - out by day and back by night - for £300, which isn't much more than flying at Feb half-term by the time you add in the cost of the long transfer to Courchevel from the airport as compared with the short one from the station at Moutiers.

It's just this problem with the Eurostar/SNCF that's making it cost a fortune. Eurostar said (I don't know if it's true) that SNCF are thinking of discontinuing all their night sleeper ski trains (from Moutiers to Paris for example) because they're not running at a profit. And I would guess that they didn't want the Eurostar night train to run because they'd have to sort out all the night signals and whatever else they have to do to allow the train to run at night. So it took Eurostar an entire month to get them to agree to Eurostar selling their direct night ski train tickets.

I do hope the night trains don't stop. It was awful when they stopped Raileurope's overnight sleeper ski train (the 'Snow Train') to and from London. There are no beds in the Eurostar overnight one (which is why I slept on the floor in the bar last time).

I would think, door to door from central London to e.g. Courchevel, that the direct day train from St Pancras is just as quick as the plane because it only takes 6 1/2 hours and the check in time is only 1/2 hour and the transfer to resort is only about 1/2 hour. And it's much easier. You just get straight on the train with your luggage and then collapse for the next 6 1/2 hours. Plus there is a buffet bar on the train.

And the big advantage of coming back on the night train is that we get to ski for a whole extra day on Saturday, as the train doesn't leave until 11 p.m.

Ally

I've done the Eurostar direct night train a couple of times, because it gives you 2 extra days skiing.

Ally you're are I'm afraid addicted to trains. )

Brooksy,
I'm afraid you're quite right :D I am addicted to trains :lol:

I went to the airport a couple of weeks ago and I had nightmares all night afterwards - and I wasn't even getting on a plane :shock:

I don't actually have a phobia of flying but I find there's a lot more stress associated with flying than going by train. For example, one of the suitcases had mysteriously grown from 23 Kg (the maximum weight allowed) to 26 Kg !!!

There aren't any weight restrictions on the train - or any of that plastic bag nonsense.

Andyhull - I'm glad I'm not the only one using the night train. But I wouldn't fancy going out on it because I'm sure I'd be too tired to ski afterwards.


Ally