‘Which?’ finds rail travel not as expensive for families as flying
According to research from the consumer website ‘Which?’ families can save money travelling by train, when compared to flying. The study looked specifically at the cost of air travel versus the cost of overnight train travel, which is currently enjoying a renaissance in continental Europe. Which? Notes that flights often seem cheaper in the first...
Case Study: Taking the train from the UK to Arinsal, Andorra
Tom Thorp recently contacted us after listening to Iain talking about train travel on The Ski Podcast: “I’ve been enjoying your podcast, thank you for all your work creating interesting episodes and insights.” Tom is a ski instructor, working both in the UK and regularly in the European mountains. He specifically wanted to share his...
Case Study: UK to Méribel (Les 3 Vallées) by train
In January 2023, Iain Martin, presenter of The Ski Podcast and founder of Ski Flight Free, travelled from the UK to Méribel – in the heart of Les 3 Vallées – by train. London to Paris All train trips to the Alps from the UK depart from London St Pancras International. I booked the first Eurostar of the...
We can’t wait for Midnight Trains to arrive…
We’re in the midst of creating a sleeper train company, but more precisely, we’re aiming to reinvent the night train to make it the most comfortable and sustainable mode of transport of the century, as an alternative to medium-haul flights. The new trans-continental train company ‘Midnight Trains’ is not expected to launch until the end...
New Direct Train from Amsterdam to Austrian Alps (Updated Dec 2022)
December 2022 Update: The TUI Ski Express has started. ⛷ Big news: The very first #TUI Ski Express hit the rail. ?The special #train is a weekly direct service from The Netherlands ?? to the Austrian alps ??. In addition to its comfort and cosiness, the big bonus is a more #sustainable transport to winter...
Case Study: UK to Orelle (Les 3 Vallées) by train
In December 2022, Iain Martin, presenter of The Ski Podcast and founder of Ski Flight Free, travelled from the UK to Orelle – the secret fourth valley of Les 3 Vallées – by train. London to Paris As with all train journeys to the continent, my day started at London St Pancras. Although on arrival...
Cauterets / Crans Montana / Eurostar / Les Arcs / Orelle / Serre Chevalier / Ski Flight Free / SNCF / Soll / Train Travel / Zermatt
‘The Best Ski Resorts to travel to by train’
Iain – founder of Ski Flight Free – was recently commissioned by ‘The Independent’ to put together a summary of the best ski resorts to travel to by train. The eight resorts that made the short list were: Les Arcs (Find out about the Travelski Express here) Crans Montana Serre Chevalier (Read about their night...
Travelski Express returns for 2022/23 with new destinations
Despite a challenging first season, Travelski Express have confirmed that they will be continuing their direct train service from London to France for the 2022/23 winter season. Due to engineering works, the outbound train will continue to depart on Friday evening, arriving Saturday morning, with the return train leaving on Sunday morning, arriving back into...
The ‘TravelSki Express’: New direct ski train to the French Alps (Updated Nov 2022)
Iain tested the inaugural outbound service in January 2022. You can read his article here, listen to the special podcast episode or watch his video below. —————- The ‘Travelski Express’ is fantastic news for train lovers and skiers looking to reduce their carbon emissions. Compagnie des Alpes has signed an agreement with Eurostar to relaunch...
What is the actual carbon footprint of a train?
We are indebted to our friends at Midnight Trains for this analysis, first published on their website, but so compelling that it deserves to be shared. Let’s weigh up the stats First up, according to the French government, the transport sector generates more greenhouse gases than any other, representing 31% of all emissions. Drilling down...
Sunweb offering night train to the Alps from Netherlands/Belgium
In another indicator of the growing provision of rail options by travel companies to match the increased demand for this low-carbon form of travel. Last week we wrote about the ANMSM’s goal to lobby for improved rail services to the Alps. Their research showed a high potential level of demand, if there were more trains...
French ski resorts lobby for more trains
The National Association of Mayors of Mountain Resorts (ANMSM) has called for better train services to ski resorts in France to reduce the carbon footprint of ski holidays. A survey commissioned by the ANMSM and conducted by G2A Consulting showed that almost half of respondents would change the way they travel to resort if the...
