Holidays reachable by train
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Eurostar reduces ski train tickets to £149rtn
Eurostar is due to open ticket sales for its direct ski services from London and Ashford to the French Alps on Tuesday 7 July with return fares starting from £149, down from £179 return last year.
Eurostar provides two weekly direct services to Moûtiers, Aime-La-Plagne and Bourg St Maurice. Compared with flying, the overnight service, which leaves St Pancras in the evening, allows you an extra two days on the slopes because you arrive early the following day (rather than late morning/early afternoon if you fly) and the return train leaves in the evening (so you can ski on the final day before coming home) without having to pay for the two night's accommodation. Choose to go out on a Friday evening and you can often the find the slopes are less crowded on the Saturday as it is changeover day.
Eurostar’s ski direct services offer access to a variety of top ski destinations in the French Alps such as Courchevel, La Plagne, Tignes, Meribel, Les Arcs, from where it is a short bus ride to the resorts. An extra item of luggage (in addition to the normal luggage allowance) - such as a pair of skis or a snowboard - can be taken onboard at no extra cost (and of course there is no need to wait for baggage reclaim).
Above: The direct route to the slopes by train
The timetable for the 2009-2010 season to the French Alps will be as follows:
Direct Overnight Service | |||
Weekly Friday/Saturday service | Weekly Saturday/Sunday service | ||
Train 9096 (1) | Train 9099 (2)* | ||
London St Pancras | 20:31 | Bourg St Maurice | 22:15 |
Ashford | 21:15 | Aime La Plagne | - |
Moutiers | 05:37 | Moutiers | 23:09 |
Aime La Plagne | 06:05 | Ashford | 06:34 |
Bourg St Maurice | 06:27 | London St Pancras | 07:16 |
Direct daytime service | |||
Weekly Saturday service | Weekly Saturday service | ||
Train 9092 (3) | Train 9095 (4)* | ||
London St Pancras | 10:00 | Bourg St Maurice | 10:04 |
Ashford | 10:47 | Aime La Plagne | - |
Moutiers | 17:30 | Moutiers | 10:45 |
Aime La Plagne | 18:02 | Ashford | 15:36 |
Bourg St Maurice | 18:20 | London St Pancras | 16:11 |
(1) Runs from Friday 1 January 2010 to Friday 2 April 2010
(2) Runs from Saturday 19 December 2009 to Saturday 10 April 2010
(3) Runs from Saturday 2 January 2010 to Saturday 17 April 2010
(4) Runs from Saturday 26 December 2009 to Saturday 10 April 2010
*There is no stop at Aime La Plagne on the inbound service.</FONT>
Return fares start from £149 standard class. Leisure Select class, which includes meals and drinks served at your seat start from £229 return.
Bookings can be made online on eurostar.com or by calling 08705 186 186.
>>Research commissioned by Eurostar has shown that a Eurostar journey to Bourg St Maurice generates 14kg of CO2 per passenger. By comparison, a typical return flight from London to Geneva emits 147.8kg of CO2 per passenger.
See also:
Greentraveller's guide to Green ski holidays
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