{"id":5284,"date":"2016-10-14T16:20:14","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T15:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skiinluxury.com\/blog\/?p=5284"},"modified":"2016-11-02T10:13:58","modified_gmt":"2016-11-02T10:13:58","slug":"getting-to-the-alps-by-train-with-snowcarbon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skiinluxury.com\/blog\/getting-to-the-alps-by-train-with-snowcarbon\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting To The Alps By Train – Introducing Snowcarbon"},"content":{"rendered":"

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So you are thinking about your next trip to the Alps and are contemplating all the different ways that you could get\u00a0to your chosen resort. If your first thought is\u00a0“what is the nearest airport I can get to?”…..why not look at getting\u00a0to the Alps by train?<\/p>\n

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The thought of\u00a0transporting your family and all your bags to the airport just to be greeted by queues upon arrival hits you in the face like a punch from Rocky Balboa! On top of this you have the hassle of getting your family checked in,\u00a0to then be cramped on board a plane for another hour or so.<\/p>\n

Why go through all this painful procedure when you can\u00a0get the Snow train straight from London to the Alps?! Space, comfort and incredible\u00a0vistas are all available to you whilst travelling by train. This was exactly the thought Daniel Elkan had, a freelance journalist and creator of\u00a0Snowcarbon<\/a>. A website that provides up to date information on how to get to the mountains via rail.<\/p>\n

Lucky enough for us, we got to catch up with him and get the low down\u00a0on\u00a0how the idea of Snowcarbon<\/a> came about, his favourite rail journeys, the advantages of travelling by train to the Alps\u00a0and which train experiences are a must to tick off this coming winter.<\/p>\n

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W –\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>For those that haven\u2019t heard of Snowcarbon, please can you give us the lowdown of who you are and what you do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DE –\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Snowcarbon<\/a> is an independent website that helps skiers find out how to travel to the Alps by train. I launched it because, although rail travel is such a fantastic and enjoyable way to get to ski resorts, it\u2019s often difficult to find out about the journeys:\u00a0 which resorts you get to, journeys schedules, what the journeys are like. So I think the site does something quite useful – and skiers often write in to say how helpful it is, which is a good sign!<\/p>\n

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W –\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Where did your interest in\u00a0travelling\u00a0to the Alps by train stem from?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DE<\/strong> –\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>When I first was invited skiing by some friends, I didn\u2019t have a clue about the Alps in winter \u2013 or how to get there. I got up at some insanely early\u00a0hour \u2013 as instructed – to get on a flight and it took all day to get there.<\/p>\n

On the next trip, after another long and tedious journey by plane, I spotted a train station nearby as our airport transfer approached the resort.\u00a0 I wondered whether we could have come by rail instead, looked up the journey and realised it wouldn\u2019t have taken us much longer by train.\u00a0 I decided to organise the next holiday by train \u2013 and now always do so. So now the journey becomes part of the holiday \u2013 more enjoyable and more Eco-friendly.<\/p>\n

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W –\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Tell us more about why people should look to travel to their chosen ski resorts by train. What are the advantages and disadvantages?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DE –\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>If you are travelling with a group of friends, or with family, you are going to be able to get some quality time on the train. It\u2019s such a social way of travelling compared to flying \u2013 it feels so different when you are not shuffling between queues. Flying always seems like it won\u2019t take long, but door-to-door it does.<\/p>\n

The train takes all day too, but it\u2019s quality time. The scenery is magnificent, and you arrive far closer to your chalet than you would if you fly. Some journeys do require a change of station in Paris, and with your ski luggage with you that might seem like a faff. But it\u2019s so worth it \u2013 and you can change by pre-booked taxi, which makes it very straightforward. People are used to flying, of course, and the industry often assumes that people want to fly. So the problem can be persuading your friends to travel differently. Once you do, they will thank you for it!<\/p>\n

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W –\u00a0<\/em>Have you noticed any trends throughout the last few seasons in terms of number of travellers opting to take a train into resort?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DE – <\/strong><\/em>There is certainly increasing interest in train travel as more skiers find out about their options. This season Eurostar has put on two extra Ski Trains during half-term to cope with demand. Last year Eurostar launched it\u2019s new London – Lyon direct route, which created more\u00a0rail journey options to the Alps.<\/p>\n

What I see are more skiers trying indirect routes. There are many skiers who will only fly now if they have to, because they really enjoy the rail travel. But the ski industry and rail industry, in what it offers skiers who want to travel by train, is way behind the demand.\u00a0 It\u2019s like the situation 20 years ago with supermarkets and organic food. Then, you could hardly find any; now it\u2019s huge, and still growing.<\/p>\n

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W –<\/em>\u00a0Are there any particularly memorable routes that you would recommend someone who hasn\u2019t travelled to a resort by train before?<\/strong><\/p>\n

DE –\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>If you\u2019ve never been on the train, I\u2019d try the direct Ski Train because it can knock the pants off flying without even thinking about it. The journey via Lyon, outbound particularly, makes things easy, and you can reach resorts such as Alpe d\u2019Huez and Megeve with only a platform change. \u00a0Down to Zermatt, Saas Fee and Verbier takes a bit longer, but going through Switzerland by train is wonderful.<\/p>\n

London to St Anton in Austria is another wonderful journey, with ringside seats past the vast Lake Zurich and Lake Wallen and through the spectacular Arlberg Valley.<\/p>\n

These longer journeys can, as an option, be broken up by a stay in Paris for one night on the outbound. So you get to have dinner in Paris and the next morning take a train to the Alps. It\u2019s a lovely way of doing things.<\/p>\n

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W –\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>What type of\u00a0group\u00a0does rail travel to the Alps suit best? <\/strong><\/p>\n

DE –\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Rail travel suits families and groups of friends too. When you go on a train at half-term or Easter, and you see the way that children have fun and get involved with the journey, it\u2019s really fantastic. They\u2019ll spend hours drawing, scribbling, reading, playing cards. It\u2019s a real adventure for them and the parents get a chance to relax. \u00a0For groups of friends it\u2019s just brilliant. Every year I organise a big holiday for a bunch of mates. Not everyone knows each other at the start but we crack open the bubbles on the train, everyone socialises and gets to know each other. By the time we reach the chalet, new friendships have already formed and old mates have had a chance to catch up. It\u2019s a great way to start any holiday.<\/p>\n

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If this info wasn’t enough you can get\u00a0more of an\u00a0insight into rail travel to the Alps by looking at some of Daniel’s Youtube videos below. He shows us why train travel is popular with families and also a race to the Alps with a Top Gear’esq “Plane vs Train” adventure.<\/p>\n

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