50% of my working life was spent overseas: Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Egypt and Zambia, twice. This means we’ve contributed more than our fair share of CO2 emissions. So, in 2006, when I thought my international career was over I decided I’d try not to fly again. That lasted two years until ColaLife took off, slightly unexpectedly, and if we wanted to pursue this opportunity we were going to have to start flying again which we did. But we are now back in “trying not to” mode and this is where the train comes in. For this, the Eurostar has been a key enabler. The fact that you can have an early breakfast in Coldwaltham and be in Paris for lunch still blows my mind.
But it’s not just about trying not to trash the planet for our grandchildren. Train travel is so much more pleasant than flying. If (when?) I fly again I will not look forward to it. The anticipation of submitting myself to the crowd management systems of airports where you are shunted in groups from one place to another, like animals going through a livestock market, would not fill me with excitement. Then there’s the plane itself where you’re repeatedly told to “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight” in circumstances where it is totally impossible to do so.
So, are there downsides?
Yes, of course there are. The first one is that the train is generally a lot slower than flying. Although this probably isn’t the case if you’re going somewhere served directly by Eurostar (eg Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels etc) if you take into account the fact that you’ve got to be at the airport 2-3 hours before departure.
However, this downside can be ameliorated if you shift your mindset and consider that your holiday starts the moment you leave your home and not after the trauma of getting to your destination by plane.
We are currently travelling along this bit a train line with water on both sides…
The other downside is cost. Train travel does not enjoy the same subsidies as air travel. The aviation industry is heavily subsidized globally, primarily through tax exemptions rather than direct cash payments. Key subsidies include exemptions from Value Added Tax (VAT) on international tickets, fuel tax exemptions, and government support for regional airports. These measures significantly lower operating costs, allowing for cheaper tickets.
The other downside is the time it takes to organise and book a multi-leg, multi-country trip. It can take several hours over several days and it is not for the faint hearted. Online booking systems vary greatly in their “fitness for purpose”. But there are a couple of ways around this. You can just wing it and not book in advance, buy the ticket for your next destination on arrival at the latest one – we’ve found booking offices in France and Spain incredibly helpful. So, I think this would be fine in 99% of cases; trains are very rarely fully booked unless it’s Eurostar or a special service eg a ski train. The other approach is to use an agent that specialises in train travel. We’ve done this very successfully in the past using Byway Travel. They are brilliant. They will organise an Interrail card for you if necessary and they put you in your own WhatsApp group so you can ask them any questions you may have along the way, get help for cancellations and delays, and so on. Another key resource is the very helpful online ‘guru’ who goes under the name of The Man in Seat 61. He demystifies the quirks of train travel admirably and has probably traveled the route you are planning
The other, reported, issue is luggage security. We’ve never lost a bag but just before we set off on this trip we were alerted to the fact that luggage theft on trains was increasing. I imagine that this is only a problem on trips with multiple stops like the one we are on now between Lyon and Barcelona.
On this basis, I made up a cable before leaving home and bought a combination lock on the way through St Pancras and on this part of the trip our bag is locked to the rack.
Anyway, if you’ve not tried international train travel, I urge you to try it. Start with something simple like a trip to Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam on the Eurostar.
