Hello UBC friend! I may have missed the first period, as we say in hockey, but I’m here to finish the game!
We’ve been traveling, and I couldn’t quite commit to writing, posting, or commenting while on the road. However, I gathered plenty of blog fodder along the way, and you get to read all about it now.
Colin, being the responsible and considerate teenager he is, refuses to fly if there’s a train. Remember his trip to Sweden?
That’s why we covered large parts of our journey by (high-speed) trains:
Home → Basel, Switzerland — about 90 km / 55 miles
Basel, Switzerland → Paris, France — about 530 km / 330 miles
Paris, France → London, England — about 490 km / 305 miles
London, England → Manchester — about 335 km / 210 miles
From there, we rented a car to explore Northern England and Scotland, adding roughly 2,600 km / 1,600 miles before returning the car in London. I then flew home while my husband and son retraced the train route above.
The journey from Basel to Paris by TGV (train à grande vitesse) takes just about three hours. The TGV Lyria reaches a top speed of 320 km/h (199 mph). The only catch? You arrive in Paris at Gare de Lyon but must transfer to Gare du Nord, either a pricey 40-minute taxi ride or an eight-minute direct Métro trip, bags in tow.
We postponed the problem by spending two days in Paris first. 😉 You may expect a post about it tomorrow!
Those of you familiar with European geography might ask, “Wait a minute — isn’t there a body of water between France and England? How did they travel by train?”
Good question! The English Channel (or La Manche, “the sleeve”) can be crossed via the Channel Tunnel, completed in the mid-1990s. The Eurostar connects Paris and London in just 2 hours and 17 minutes, which is pretty neat.
Eurostar trains reach up to 300 km/h (186 mph) on high-speed lines, though their speed is reduced inside the tunnel itself.
Once in London, you face another transfer: the Eurostar arrives at St. Pancras Station, a gorgeous building conveniently located for those staying in the city.
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| Photo by Frederic Köberl on Unsplash |
For us, heading to Manchester, it meant a short walk to Euston Station. Luckily, the weather cooperated, because hauling bags in the rain would not have made me a happy camper! There’s also a six-minute Underground connection, but honestly, the Tube isn’t ideal with large luggage.
The train rides themselves were comfortable and smooth. The London–Manchester trip took about 2½ hours on the Avanti West Coast Main Line, which reaches speeds up to 201 km/h (125 mph).
I’ll admit, though, I didn’t regret my slightly selfish decision to take the short way home: An hour from the London hotel to City Airport, a 90-minute flight, and another hour by public transport from Zurich Airport to our doorstep.
All in all, it’s wonderful to have the option of taking trains instead of planes, for environmental reasons or simply for the experience. I still remember an HR conference years ago at Starbucks’ European HQ in Amsterdam when air traffic was disrupted. My colleagues heading to France or England ended up taking trains home and arrived only a little later than scheduled flights.
Have you ever traveled long distances by train? How was your trip? And would you give up flying if there were good train connections? Let me know!
2 nights in Paris is a nice problem.
ReplyDeleteI haven't traveled by train for any long distance trips but definitely want to do it on day. While flying can get you to the final destination quicker you miss out on the experience of seeing the points in between.
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