France Montagnes & Atout France, In Conjunction With Snowcarbon Promote Train Travel To The Alps
France Montagnes and Atout France, in conjunction with Snowcarbon, have produced a dedicated Rail Ski press kit about travelling to the French mountains by train, comprising a unique map that illustrates the entire rail route network between London and the resorts, plus links to four rights-free image libraries of rail travel to the Alps and Pyrenees. With train tickets for the first month of the ski season on sale from SNCF since Wednesday 4 October, it’s time to plan your winter break.
The Rail Ski press kit, which can be browsed and downloaded here (PDF format), is a 32-page treasure trove of train-related information. In addition to the map and image library links, it lists the different rail options (daytime, stopover and sleeper) and includes example rail schedules, booking windows for independent travel, information on station-to-resort transfers and how to change stations in Paris. A page of ‘Did You Know?’ trivia, striking statistics on carbon emissions and other useful resources complete the kit.
The Rail Ski map is available within the press kit and as a standalone resource that can be downloaded here (multiple JPG, PNG and PDF formats – Credit: ‘Rail map courtesy of Snowcarbon, France Montagnes and Explore France’). With London St-Pancras as the starting point, it clearly illustrates all the rail routes to the French mountains via Paris and Lille, pairing groups of resorts in each ski domain with their nearest train station – and including connecting underground information for Paris. No other map of its kind is currently available.
The rights-free Rail Ski image libraries included in the press kit are for Rail Europe, Eurostar, ShowMeTheJourney and Snowcarbon. Further images are available on request from France Montagnes.
According to a recent survey of 1,033 travellers conducted by the Ski Club of Great Britain and the Mountain Trade Network, intention to travel by train to a ski resort this winter is at 12% – six times the figure for intended and actual travel during the 2022/23 season (2%) and double the figure from pre-Covid (6%).
“The Mountains of France are well connected to the UK by train. We need to take advantage of our geographical proximity and rail infrastructure to enable more people to get there in this way. It’s our responsibility to play our part in ensuring that holidaymakers can research, book and travel by train to France as easily as possible,” says Gwénaëlle Delos, Managing Director UK & Ireland of Atout France.
Jean-Luc Boch, President of France Montagnes, adds: “Climate change and sustainability are more critical topics than ever. Ski resort tourism offices, and all those who work in resorts, are increasingly aware of the impact of transport on the carbon emissions of winter holidays. Whether skiers are visiting the French Alps, the Pyrenees, the Jura, the Vosges or the Massif Central, rail travel is a fantastic option and we want to do our best to encourage and enable holidaymakers to travel this way. Not only is the most sustainable way of travelling; it’s also more comfortable and social, whether for families, couples or groups of friends.”
Train tickets for travel to the French mountains between 10 December 2023 and 9 January 2024 went on sale on the SNCF website last Wednesday. Please check the website for information on tickets for subsequent travel windows.
