“People are travelling to the Alps again by train” [1988 version]

‘Plus ça change’, as our French friends say. A more relevant quote might be one attributed to Karl Marx:

“History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.”

In the same week that Eurostar announced that it was cancelling the direct train to the Tarentaise in the French Alps, Andrew Brannan, a keen listener of The Ski Podcast, sent us this clipping.

“People are travelling to the Alps again by train”

It turns out that over 30 years ago Ski Survey magazine revealed that “People are travelling to the Alps again by train”

Back in 1988, the excitement was over a new Motorail service that you could use to take your car out on that same route from Calais (it being pre-tunnel) to the Tarentaise.

I’m not sure how long the Motorail service lasted, but evidently the author’s plea fell on deaf ears:

“You have the message. Go by rail.”

Travel by train and cut your carbon emissions

Don’t despair though, you can still travel to France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy by train for your ski holidays this winter.

It’s not difficult and it will cut down your carbon footprint by up to 90%