Iglu Ski Research Shows Interest In Taking The Train To The Alps Has Increased By 35% Since January 2020

Research carried out by Iglu Ski into the popularity of the ski train has revealed the number of skiers interested in getting the train to the Alps increased by around 35% from January 2020 (pre-Covid) to January 2024. 

And in fact, the graph below shows the trend in Google searches for ‘train to the Alps’ has actually been increasing over the last 20 years (excluding Covid years), with interest in January 2024 exceeding January 2023 by about 24% YoY (note the two spikes).

Really bringing home the rise in ski train popularity is that the ski train exceeds the interest around driving to the Alps. Shown in red in the graph below, the term ‘drive to alps’ remains steady, as the term ‘train to the alps’ (in blue) increases.

As the interest around the ski train increases, Iglu Ski looked into why more skiers should be choosing the ski train for their journey to the Alps. The results of the research? 

1. It’s cheaper (up to £118 cheaper in some cases)

2. It’s more comfortable (offering up to 25% more leg room)

3. It’s less hassle and just as fast (less journey steps for more or less the same journey time)

4. It’s much cleaner - up to 100% less carbon emissions per journey

5. Loads of Europe’s top ski resorts are within 20km of a train station 

Save up to £118pp just by choosing the ski train!

Iglu compared multiple ski holiday packages to France to find out whether there is an obvious price difference between choosing to fly to the Alps vs the ski train. 

They added ski carriage (which is included at no additional cost when you choose the ski train) and airport parking as additional cost factors when it comes to flying.*

*Airport prices reflective of LGW Mid Stay North car park prices 15th-22nd March 2024/25. Accurate 20/01/25. Ski carriage reflective of EasyJet ski carriage prices accurate 20/01/2024. 

This shows that it’s always worth comparing the price of your ski holiday to the ski train, particularly if you’re looking to depart from a London airport.

You’ll get up to 25% percent more leg room + a table + a cafe

Standard Class in the TGV offers 36 inches of legroom. Compared to the standard legroom on a plane, you could be getting 25% more leg space!

Of the additional space, Iglu Ski team member Henry Dalton-Stone says:

“I went out to Tignes on the train and had a fantastic journey. The above is true - the leg room was noticeably very spacious, meaning I could really stretch out and be comfortably either chatting or sleeping. 

"Similarly, there were a lot more table seats than on British trains. This was even more the case on our train between Paris and Chambéry, which was really comfortable - we could get all our books and devices and card games out on the table. 

"One of my favourite parts of the journey was the cafe area, because it was a space where we could stand up and stretch our legs when we got a bit stiff. Taking up a whole carriage, it was very spacious and was a great place to socialise once the carriage downstairs quietened down. 

"It had some nice stools by the window to watch the landscape gradually become more mountainous, and the views were made all the more spectacular as we were on the upper deck of the double-decker train - something which you don’t get in the UK!”

And you’ll get a bit more wiggle room 

Standard TGV seats have a width of around 18 inches, which means you’ll have much more wiggle room than you would if you were on an EasyJet flight.

There’s only an hour in it, all things considered

Iglu looked at the journey stages and times for each stage for a flight to Les Arcs 1800 vs the train to Les Arcs 1800, and there’s only an hour in it. 

In fact, on the train, there’s a much quicker security check, then it’s one large block of smooth sailing to the mountains (bar a change at Paris or Lille).

That means kids can remain occupied (or asleep), you can stand for as long as you want, go for walks up and down the train to stretch your legs (for much longer than on a plane), and even go to the spacious cafe, which takes up an entire carriage.

And don’t forget, you’ll also be able to kick back, relax, enjoy the view, and even make friends with other people heading to the mountains.

Train vs plane travelling process

*Based on quickest journey time from St Pancras to Bourg St Maurice (departing every Saturday, 14th December-1st March at 9:01am) - subject to change.

For resorts like Val Thorens, where the transfer time from Geneva can be around 3 hours, there is little difference between flying or taking the train. 

*Based on quickest journey time from St Pancras to Moutiers (departing every Saturday, 21st December-1st March at 9:01am) - subject to change.

Henry says the travelling process really is as smooth as the above suggests:

“Our journey from London to Tignes was really smooth. Check in at St Pancras was unbelievably easy. 

“In the queue, there were probably 4 people in front of me. Check in was a quick scan of the barcode on my ticket and a passport check - about 30 seconds overall! I didn’t have to part ways with my suitcase either - there’s plenty of space onboard to put it, don’t worry. 

“Security was much quicker than the airport. I passed my suitcase and rucksack through a scanning machine, walked through the metal-detecting gate, and I was through to the waiting area - about 3 minutes at most. This was helped by getting an early train, and as we’ve suggested above, you should give an hour and a half for check in just in case any problems arise. 

“The waiting area had a Pret and another self-branded cafe, as well as water fountains, quite nice toilets and plenty of seats. 

“All the actual train travel flew by, while the 2-stop underground change between Paris’s main train stations (Gare du Nord to Gare du Lyon) took only about 20 minutes and was very easy to figure out - and was even on a cool double-decker underground train. 

(There are journeys available where you don’t change in Paris. The Eurostar also goes straight to Lille and you change there for either Bourg-Saint-Maurice or Moutiers.)

“Upon arrival at Bourg-Saint-Maurice train station, we were outside and finding our minibus transfer in 90 seconds. There was no passport control, no big queues, and no luggage to pick up as we had it with us the whole way.” 

It is almost 100% cleaner to travel by train, than by air or road

Iglu calculated the CO₂ emissions (in metric tonnes) for each stage of a journey to the following 4 resorts. The plane was an EasyJet Airbus 320, the transfer vehicle was a VW Transporter diesel engine, while the car was a BMW X3, which emits 171.7g/km of CO₂*.

They worked out that the CO₂ emissions of a journey to the Alps is 100% less when you travel by train, with a short road transfer, than by air with a long road transfer

*Carbon emissions worked out using carbonfootprint.com

Over 34% of Europe’s top ski resorts are within 20km of a train station

Iglu worked out the proximity of our top-selling resorts to a train station and the standout? 80% of Austria’s most popular ski resorts are within 20km of a train station.  

This compares to France, which had one with its own station (Les Arcs), and a couple under 20km (Méribel and La Plagne). 

Italy had five resorts that were reachable from the local train station in under about 40 minutes - including Sauze d’Oulx which is a mere 15-minute drive from Oulx station. 

Staff Insight:

“I would definitely recommend train travel for your skiing holiday - I certainly plan to do it again. 

“One of the most important aspects for me was comfort. I had more space to wriggle and stretch about than on a plane. The environment was really clean and looked after, and it was very quiet, meaning we could chat together on our big table, play card games and enjoy the views of France gradually change from the cityscape of Paris to the hills and mountains in the south-east. 

“Our train departed at 6:31am - an early start but worth it as we got to the resort in good time to be able to pick up our rented ski equipment in order to start straight away the next day. Also consider that the earlier the train, the less likely there’ll be queues - when I checked in I had 4 people in front of me 

“When I fancied stretching my legs, it was no hassle at all to walk around. I went up the stairs to the upper deck and along to the cafe, where I talked to others who had a similar idea and watched the scenery go by. 

“Getting out and seeing more of France made the whole thing feel like more of an adventure - the journey became part of the holiday, rather than a means to an end.”