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After not running for two years during the pandemic the Eurostar ski train returned, chartered by the Compagnie des Alpes and branded as the Travelski Express . Unfortunately it is only available as part of a package with Travelski Express, and Val Thorens is not one of the resorts they offer.

The Eurostar ski train/Travelski Express takes skiers to the French Alps by train from London St Pancras International to Moûtiers (for the resorts of the 3 Valleys) and Bourg-Saint-Maurice (for Les Arcs, Tignes, and Val d'Isère).

It is still possible to travel to the French Alps by train without booking a package, but only if you're prepared to change trains in Paris.

Read about ski trains to the French Alps here.

Eurostar Ski Train (Travelski Express) | Eurostar to Lyon | Eurostar to Paris or Lille | Tour Operators | Transfers

Ski Trains to the French Alps: Eurostar Ski Train

As mentioned above the Eurostar ski train , or Travelski Express, is only available as part of a package with Travelski Express . It sets off from London Saint Pancras International and stops in Moûtiers and Bourg-Saint-Maurice.

The service runs from 17th December 2022 to 15th April 2023.

The Eurostar ski train takes around 8 hours, which is a good deal longer than the journey by air, but the check-in time is less (60 minutes), and you arrive at a rail station that's closer to resort than any airport would be. It's certainly a good option if you live in or near London.

Train travel produces much lower CO2 emissions than flying, so it's a more environmentally friendly way to travel.

Ski Trains to the French Alps: Eurostar Ski Train - Outbound Route

Pancras station, by dvdlws , Licence CC BY

The Eurostar ski train sets off from St Pancras International; it no longer calls at Ashford. It then travels direct to the French Alps at around 186mph. The train stops:

at Moûtiers, for the resorts of the 3 Valleys

then Bourg St Maurice, for Les Arcs, La Rosière, Tignes and Val d' Isère

As mentioned above, Val Thorens is not one of the resorts offered by Travelski.

Ski Trains to the French Alps: Eurostar Ski Train - Return Route

The return route is simply the outbound route in reverse.

Ski Trains to the French Alps: Eurostar Ski Train - Night Train & Day Train

Eurostar trains , by Aubrey Morandarte, Licence CC BY-SA 2.0

There used to be two different direct Eurostar ski trains - the night train and the day train. Now the Travelski Express offers just one service.

Trains leave London St Pancras at 8.20am on Saturday, arriving on Saturday afternoon in the French Alps (4.45pm in Moûtiers and 5.23pm in Bourg-Saint Maurice).

The return is overnight Saturday, setting off on Saturday evening and arriving back to London St Pancras at 7.16am on Sunday.

Ski Trains to the French Alps: Eurostar Ski Train - Timetable

The service runs from 17th December 2022 to 15th April 2023. This is the approximate timetable in 2022/23.

Times from London to the French Alps 2022/23 Station Saturdays St Pancras 08.20 Moûtiers 16.45 Bourg St Maurice 17.23

Note: these are local times. (France is an hour ahead of the UK). Check in at least 60 minutes before departure.

Note 1: Two departures are on Friday nights not Saturday daytime. They are on the nights of Friday 23rd December 2022 and Friday 30th December 2022, arriving in the French Alps early on the Saturday mornings.

Note 2: The return trains on Saturday 24th December 2022 and Saturday 31st December 2022 are daytime trains, leaving the Alps on Saturday morning and reach St Pancras on Saturday evening.

Ski Trains to the French Alps: Eurostar Ski Train - Alcohol Policy

The Eurostar policy is not to sell alcohol on night ski trains, nor to allow people to bring their own alcohol. This would apply to the Saturday night trains on the way back.

Otherwise alcoholic beverages can be bought on the train, and Eurostar allow people to bring four cans of beer or one bottle of wine, but no spirits. This would apply to the Saturday day train on the way out.

Ski Trains to the French Alps: Eurostar ski train - Luggage

There's no weight limit for luggage , you just have to be able to carry your bags onto the train. An adult can take two bags (each up to 85cm long), one piece of hand luggage, and their skis or snowboard.

There are a number of banned items , including firearms, ammunition, military shells, grenades, tear gas, furniture, and perishable food like meat, fish and cheese!

Probably Eurostar are devotees of Jerome K. Jerome, and remember the anecdote he tells in Three Men in a Boat, in which the author takes two cheeses from Liverpool to London on the train, as a favour to a friend.

'Splendid cheeses they were, ripe and mellow, and with a two hundred horse-power scent about them that might have been warranted to carry three miles, and knock a man over at two hundred yards.'

He starts off sharing the carriage with seven other people, and ends up having it to himself. 'Cheese...makes too much of itself', he concludes.

Ski Trains to the French Alps: Eurostar to Lyon

Part-Dieu station , by Velvet , Licence BY-SA 3.0

Eurostar used to run a year-round service from London direct to Lyon Part-Dieu, which was a stop on the London-Provence route to Avignon and Marseille.

That now appears to have stopped. You can still travel from London to Lyon by train , but you have to change at Paris or Lille.

Eurostar promoted the direct route to Lyon as suitable for the resorts of Les 2 Alpes, Alpe d'Huez, and Chamrousse, although they are much closer to Grenoble than Lyon. Still, Lyon is within a reasonable distance of those resorts, as well as the resorts of the 3 Valleys, and La Plagne, Les Arcs, La Rosière, Tignes, and Val d'Isère.

From Lyon Part-Dieu, you can take a train, for example to Grenoble (for Les 2 Alpes, Alpe d'Huez, and Chamrousse), to Moûtiers (for the 3 Valleys resorts), to Aime-la-Plagne (for La Plagne), or to Bourg-Saint-Maurice (for Les Arcs, La Rosière, Tignes, and Val d'Isère) .

It is also possible to get a private transfer from Lyon Part-Dieu to your ski resort, or a hire car.

trains to the French Alps: Eurostar to Paris or Lille

Place la Concorde, Paris , by David Stanley , Licence BY 2.0

If you're prepared to change in Paris or Lille, you can travel by train to Moûtiers or Bourg-Saint-Maurice.

Ski trains to the French Alps: Tour Operators

Some UK tour operators have offered travel on the direct Eurostar ski train in the past, including Inghams Travel , and Crystal.

It appears that the tour operators do not have packages by train in Winter 2022/23.

Ski Trains to the French Alps: Transfers to the Ski Resorts

Once you arrive at Moûtiers, Aime-la-Plagne, or Bourg-Saint-Maurice, you take the bus , or a private transfer/taxi , to your resort. These are Eurostar's estimated transfer times:

Transfer times Resort Méribel Moûtiers 50 minutes La Tania Moûtiers 40 minutes Courchevel Moûtiers 60 minutes Val Thorens Moûtiers 1 hour 15 minutes Les Menuires Moûtiers 50 minutes Valmorel Moûtiers 45 minutes La Plagne Aime-la-Plagne 40 minutes Les Arcs Bourg-Saint-Maurice 60 minutes Val d'Isère Bourg-Saint-Maurice 60-90 minutes Tignes Bourg-Saint-Maurice 90-120 minutes

These transfer times are approximate, and reasonably generous. For example the transfer time to Val Thorens is given as 1 hour 15 minutes; it can be 45 minutes with good weather and clear roads; the longest transfer time in my experience was 6 hours, on a very snowy New Year's week Saturday.

Skiing Made Easy is a Kindle ebook and paperback. It's a practical guide to learning to ski, based on many happy seasons of ski teaching in Val Thorens.

'This is the book I wish I'd had when I started skiing' - Amazon reviewer.

Read more about Skiing Made Easy .

Buy the paperback direct or on Amazon . Buy the Kindle ebook .

The Old Snow Train

The old Snow Train was direct from Calais to the Alps. It had sleeper carriages and a disco car.

People used to arrive in resort either hung over, or bleary-eyed having been kept awake by revellers. Still it was an institution and a talking-point.

The old Snow Train stopped running in 2009.

BCA Transceiver

BCA Tracker 3 Avalanche Safety transceiver.

£364.30 on Amazon as at 19th October 2022.