Train travel to and from UK and Europe for mountaineers.
By Jon Morgan, President, British Mountain Guides
This is a subject close to my heart as I made the decision in 2008 to stop flying. I am happy to own the criticism of hypocrite, as up until that point I had undoubtedly taken more international flights than 99% of people. Nonetheless, with no family outside Europe, and no particular love of deserts or jungles, I couldn’t see a particular need to fly any more.
This article has been written with help from many sources, mostly linked, but mainly from my own personal experience. Destinations in Europe I have travelled to by train in a day from Sheffield, in the last 18 years, include Barcelona, Annecy, Geneva (countless time on the way to the Alps), Zurich, Avignon etc. Further afield trips I have done by train include Prague, Istanbul, Marrakech (surprisingly possible in 48 hours from Sheffield).
Why bother get the train rather than fly?
Climate change is everywhere to be seen, and I believe personal action is needed, as well as system change, probably more importantly. But system change only happens from the collective beliefs and behaviours of individuals, scaled up into voting intentions and beliefs. And if very large numbers of people choose not to fly, for feasible train routes, that is less planes flying and greater market forces for investment in train travel.
It’s more than that though. Train travel is usually very pleasant, especially in Europe- there are many cool sleeper trains for longer journeys and the daytime trains are usually rapid, punctual, minimal check in hassles, no baggage allowance issues and very relaxing. How often do you get the chance to unwind and read a book for a day in your busy life? Obviously, you can easily work on you PC/phone on a train.
Isn’t it more expensive?
It can be, but not necessarily if you book early, particularly if you avoid peak days and times. Remember we are incentivised to fly- there is no tax on aviation fuel, so flights will often have artificially low entry level fares, where the real cost is actually to the planet. Also don’t forget those hidden costs to you of flying getting to/from the airport, baggage costs, airport parking etc.
Isn’t it slow?
It can be slow but usually most people take a day to get from their starting destination to their final destination within Europe if they fly, once you factor in getting to/from airports. It is 2h from Sheffield to London 2h 20 London to Paris, 3 hr Paris Geneva, so it is easily doable for me in a day. Most people who fly to Geneva don’t actually have enough spare time to do anything else that day, so any time saving is less useful than it might appear.
Why not just drive or get the bus?
Bus first- yes that is a much lower carbon footprint method of travel than flying and if buses are your thing, then yes, it’s a good thing to do. I just don’t personally enjoy bus travel, so it’s not the scope of this article as I don’t have the experience of it. If you are on a tight budget, don’t have access to a car and want to avoid flying then yes buses are probably the best solution.
Car- arguably a solo car journey is not much better than flying. That is only true if you are a solo occupant of the car and it is a petrol/diesel car. If you are in an electric car it is much better, and if you are car-sharing in almost any car it is also better than flying.
Can you put some numbers on the carbon footprint of these various methods of travel?
Sure. This is from an excellent article by Glyn Hudson, who has been flying the flag for low carbon travel for a long time, clearly demonstrating the really big difference that non-flying makes. He is happy for me to share this.
The full article is here https://blog.zerocarbonadventures.co.uk/2020/07/transport-carbon-emissions-which-is.html?utm_content=link1&utm_campaign=articles_id_12933&utm_medium=articles_post&utm_source=ukclimbing
His partner, Amy Underwood, another train enthusiast has written an excellent article published on UKC 5 years ago, again with her permission it is here. I have used their experience and mine to give you the following insights
Where do mountaineers want to go?
It strikes me that a very large number of people want to travel to/from Chamonix, Zermatt and Grindelwald, being the closest places to the 3 most sought-after summits in the Alps, so I will discuss each in turn.
I live in UK and I want to travel to Chamonix by train. What is the best way to do that?
In summary you need a train London to Paris, then from there either Annecy or Geneva, whichever is cheaper/more convenient, then bus/shared taxi transfer or car hire from there.
Can’t I go all the way to Chamonix on the train from UK
Yes, but it is much slower, with multiple changes and more expensive
OK tell me more about train to Chamonix from UK
So, all international train journeys start from St Pancras International. Depending on where you live you may want to consider travelling to London the night before and and stay with a friend, but for most people you can easily get from UK to Chamonix in a day.
The next question is will you be needing to hire a car when you get there, as this may affect where you end up travelling to. Car hire is very expensive in Geneva. Let’s assume you aren’t needing a car when you arrive. If that is the case the next leg of the journey is London St Pancras-Paris Gare du Nord on the Eurostar, followed by a 2 stop transfer across Paris, on the RER, from Gare du Nord to Gare du Lyon. From Gare du Nord you get a direct train to either Geneva (3h15) or Annecy (3h45).
I normally don’t need a car, so the vast majority of trips I have done have been from to/from Geneva. From there I have jumped in a shared taxi minibus with any of the numerous companies, eg Alpybus, MountainDropOffs. This involves the free 5 min train from Geneva central to Geneva Airport. A local bus from Geneva works well too.
You can obviously hire a car from Geneva Airport, but I have found it cheaper to travel to Annecy and hire one from many providers right outside Annecy station. Alternatively, if the timings work out the bus from Annecy to Chamonix is really cheap and easy, so depending on your timings it is worth exploring both possibilities. Here are two invaluable links:
London to Switzerland by train | 2025 times, fares & tickets
How to change stations in Paris by metro, bus or taxi
Typical time London to Geneva 7 hours, London to Annecy 8 hours
How difficult is it to get across Paris to change trains?
A lot of people worry about getting across Paris to change trains but it’s a really easy 2 stop subway ride between Gare du Nord (where you arrive from London) and Gare de Lyon (for your onward journey to the Alps). Again, the man in 61 has a really easy to follow How to change stations in Paris by metro, bus or taxi which includes a video showing where to go.
How about UK to Zermatt?
It is the same as far as Paris and then across Paris on the RER train to Gare du Lyon. The next legs are via changes in Lausanne and Visp, but like most places in Switzerland you can go by train all the way. Typical time London to Zermatt 12 hours
And UK to Grindelwald?
Ditto- it is the same as far as Paris and then across Paris on the RER train to Gare du Lyon. The next legs are via changes in Basel, then Interlaken. In some ways Zermatt and Grindelwald are easier to access than Chamonix as the local Swiss trains are so good. Typical time London to Grindelwald 10 hours.
Tell me about booking and general advice
OK, so there are a few key websites that I find invaluable. I usually book trains through this site Train tickets in Europe – Search & Book on Rail Europe
It is usually a one shop booking from UK start point to European end point so that is easy. I book both outward and returns usually at the same time, to minimise the booking fees.
For general advice the most nerdy and detailed website with absolutely everything you need is Seat 61. In fact, this website alone makes this entire article almost unnecessary. Having said that the level of detail is so immense it can be hard to see the wood from the trees, so hopefully my simple question-based approach will simplify it slightly.
The Man in Seat 61 | The train travel guide
Other train options
I mentioned sleeper trains. There are loads of cool sleepers to further away destinations and it really becomes a fun way to travel. Again Seat 61 will give you the low down here A guide to Nightjet sleeper trains | Tickets from €29.90 Another new start-up has some very competitive fares particularly to destinations further east Discover Europe by Night Train with European Sleeper | European Sleeper
If you want to go the Ecrins or other further away French destinations on a sleeper train then all the information you need is here.
A guide to French overnight trains | Intercités de Nuit
Interrail tickets.
Nope, these aren’t just for gap year students, it can be an affordable flexible way of travelling by train if you don’t want non-transferrable cheap tickets. I use them if I have multiple trips in a 1 or 2 month period, but unlikely to be of use for a single journey. Kids under 12 go free so I have friends with younger kids who use them quite a bit.
InterRail pass guide | How InterRail passes work | Prices, how to buy a pass
Pitfalls and hacks
Not booking early is the main one, so prices go up and up. In particular the Eurostar leg is common to all journeys. That is typically the pinch point with the most expensive fares of the entire journey to wherever you end up going in Europe. It is a Brexit problem- they used to be able to transport 2,200 people per hour on Eurostar, but now it is 1,500 since the obvious custom delays…
Theft on the transfer on the RER across Paris. This is real, as I guess it is in any transport hub, across the world. All the locals are on their phones on the trains, but as an obvious tourist with bags, in my experience this is a bad idea- you have been warned. My choice, to avoid theft, would be to buy the physical card they sell on the Eurostar, called the Navigo Easy smartcard, which comes preloaded with 2 journeys on the RER train. That way you can carry and use only that card between Gare du Nord and Gare du Lyon, with mobile well buried in your bag.
If you prefer an app for the journey the Bonjour RATP does the job. The old physical cardboard tickets are phased out from Dec ‘25.
Summary
Trains are generally great, but like every method of transport there are foibles. Everyone I talk to about flying moans about airports, so it doesn’t seem like flying is the perfect solution to international travel either.
But undeniably trains are a WAY lower carbon footprint method of travel, and the figures are clear on this- the biggest part of the carbon footprint of your trip to/from Europe is almost certainly how you got there and back. Unless you choose to go heliskiing I guess…
Jon Morgan, Sheffield, May ‘25