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Eco-friendly travel on the Snow Train

's no train like the Snow Train!
To say that we are on the slippery slope to oblivion if we don’t all start doing our bit to protect the environment is, in fact, a misnomer. Because if the glaciers continue to recede at their current alarming rate and the snow starts melting before it hits the ground, the slopes are going to be anything but slippery!

So, as a keen skier or snowboarder, what can you do to help? Well, why not opt for an environmentally-friendly means of transport to get you to the mountains this winter? No, that doesn’t mean cycling to the French Alps, unless you insist, but there has to be a better way of getting there than jumping on a plane which then proceeds to pump tons of CO2 and other noxious gases into the atmosphere before depositing you a hundred miles from where you are actually going.

Fortunately the Snow Train offers you an alternative. It is not only the eco-friendliest way of travelling but also happens to be the only means whereby you get eight days’ skiing in a week. The trick is that you travel overnight in a couchette, thereby saving a day at each end of your holiday.

Here’s how it works...

Firstly, choose your train. Option one, affectionately known as the White Train, is to take a Eurostar to Paris Gare du Nord where you simply change platforms to the overnight Snow Train to the Alps. You’ve got time to have a meal and a drink or two before the train leaves, and your luggage is looked after while you head for the nearest brasserie.

Then it’s back to the train where you can either retire gracefully to your couchette and sleep your way to the Alps, or do what most people do, which is make your way to the bar-disco car and party until the wee small hours!

As the sun comes up, you arrive in the heart of the mountains, just a short hop from your resort and, very importantly, breakfast. There are six Alpine stations to choose from, including Moûtiers (for the Three Valleys) and Bourg St. Maurice (for Les Arcs, Val d’Isère and Tignes), all of which are linked to the principal resorts by ski bus in less than an hour. In fact, Les Arcs is only seven minutes by funicular from Bourg St. Maurice, so you could be on the slopes by 9:30!

Option two, otherwise know as the Blue Train, is similar in concept, except that instead of going via Paris, you get yourself to Folkestone (where, incidentally, you can park your car for a very modest fee) and join a coach which takes you by Eurotunnel to Calais and delivers you to the Snow Train station. Then it’s all aboard and overnight direct to the ski slopes.

Either way, you leave home on Friday afternoon and arrive in the Tarentaise early next morning. You have then got eight full days on the slopes before you return overnight, getting back to the UK on Sunday.

The Snow Train has another great advantage: not only are there no baggage restrictions, but your skis or snowboard go free so, unlike the airlines, there are no extra charges.

So much for the practicalities. But to be honest, it has to be said that the Snow Train regulars are probably not all altruistic souls doing their best to save the planet. They do it simply because they enjoy it, and those lucky enough to be travelling back from France this New Year’s Eve will be looking forward to one hell of a party. You’d be mad to miss it!

Return Snow Train fares this winter start from only £169pp.




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