The first booking window opened last week for indirect trains (i.e. Eurostar + SNCF) travelling between 15 December 2019 and 05 January 2020.

Eurostar trains can be booked well in advance, but one of the limitations of SNCF is that tickets normally only go on sale around 90 days in advance.

Tickets for journeys travelling between 06 January and 8 March 2020 go on sale on 17 October.

Travel by Train

Specialist Booking Agents

You can book all your trains online direct with Eurostar and SNCF, or use an app such as Trainline . We particularly like Loco2.com, which is excellent at providing the best connections.

Alternatively for a small fee, agencies such as Rail Canterbury or Festiniog Travel can book all the elements for you.

Brighton-London-Paris-Les Arcs

I have just booked my own trains for my trip to Les Arcs in December. I’m travelling by Eurostar to Paris, taking the Metro from Gare du Nord to Gard du Lyon, and a TGV to Chambéry.

I’ll change at Chambéry and catch my final connection to Bourg St Maurice, before catching the newly-renovated funicular direct to Les Arcs 1600.

My journey (from Brighton) will take around 10 hours – perhaps 3 hours longer than flying – but I’ll be able to work, sleep and enjoy the views, without any stressful check-in procedures or security checks.

 

(c) SnowCarbon.co.uk

Cut your emissions by 85%

On top of that the carbon emissions generated from my journey will be approximately 26kg of CO2, compared with 164kg CO2 flying.

Only by reducing carbon emissions will we prevent the climate crisis that is unfolding in front of us.

While systemic change by government is essential, you can make a difference in the choices you make – and travelling by train instead of flying makes a significant difference to your own carbon footprint.