Campaign launched to save Ski Train this winter
A campaign has been launched to save the Ski Train this winter after Eurostar announced it was cancelled.
Eurostar told customers that in the wake of the coronavirus and a challenging travel market, it had to make some changes to services, focusing on main routes with the highest demand.
The Save The Ski Train campaign hopes it can persuade Eurostar to reinstate this service, which has been running since 1997.
Daniel Elkan, founder of independent rail-ski guide Snowcarbon, says: "Skiers and snowboarders are gutted by the loss of this hugely popular train. Why would you spend an entire day navigating airport queues, sitting on cramped, gas-guzzling flights and on tedious, transfers when you could be smoothly, safely and scenically gliding by train to your ski resort?
"It’s the most magical start to a ski holiday. This cancellation is a damaging step backwards by Eurostar. While there are indirect train routes to the French Alps, these can’t compensate for the loss of the direct Ski Train."
Dominic Winter, manager of environmental charity Protect Our Winters UK, added: "The future of snow sports and the wider planet depend on us switching rapidly to more sustainable modes of transport. The loss of the Ski Train would be a huge blow to progress on climate change in outdoor sports."
The Save The Ski Train campaign, launched by Snowcarbon, Protect Our Winters, Ski Flight Free and SaveOurSnow, will create a voice for skiers, snowboarders and the ski industry together to try to persuade Eurostar to put the Ski Train back on.
"Eurostar’s decision is premature and seemingly made without any consultation of skiers or the ski industry", says Elkan. "There’s still time to think again."
The train runs twice weekly from London and Ashford throughout the season to the Tarentaise region of the French Alps, dropping 750 skiers each time at Moutiers, Aime la Plagne and Bourg St Maurice stations.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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