Only 2 Snow Trains Remaining for the 2009/10 Season

What a season it's been. Superb conditions across most of the Alps from December through to April, but - just like the sound of the last orders bell in a bar - snow lovers are well aware that the season is coming to a close. As you read this, the hardcore skiiers and partygoers are having a drink on you and saying farewell to the 09/10 season in Mayrhofen.

BUT, before you pull out those speedos and bikinis remember there are still two snow train trips remaining!

The last Eurostar snow train weekend is the 17th April, so if you feel like one more session on the slopes, get it booked and have a vin chaud on us.

Fill in the search form on our Eurostar tickets page, and enjoy!

Eurostar Trains Cancelled

Ongoing bad weather conditions in Northern France have forced Eurostar to cancel it's services today for the third day in succession.

The first snow train to leave for the Alps was due to leave on Saturday, but with 2,000 passengers on five trains stuck in the Channel Tunnel over Friday and Saturday, thousands of other travellers had Christmas travel plans disrupted.

In the lastest statement released last night, Eurostar said:

"As we suspected, the acute weather conditions in northern France have caused the disruption.

Every year we carry out a ‘winterisation’ programme of the entire fleet which to date has successfully protected our trains. We now know, however, that we need to further enhance the snow screens and snow shields in the power cars of the trains.

We have already started making the modifications and to ensure that these new protection measures work effectively we are conducting a further series of test runs.

We sincerely regret having to take this decision and we understand how frustrated and disappointed travellers will be, particularly those who have been waiting to travel for the last two days.

We strongly advise passengers whose travel is non-essential to change their booking to a later date or claim a refund on their tickets.

For customers who have been unable to travel over the last few days, Eurostar will cover the cost of out-of pocket expenses, for example, hotels and taxis. Full details of our compensation policy are on www.eurostar.com”

Cheap Deals boost Eurostar Summer Sales

British holidaymakers heading to Europe on cheap deals helped boost Eurostar sales over the summer, the company has said. Eurostar said offers such as its £59 return helped to boost sales by 8%. Eurostar also said the 11% growth in outbound passengers outstripped a 7% increase in travellers inbound from Europe, with 2.6 million travellers using the train between July and September. All that despite a week pound against the Euro.

Many believe this is a sign of the start of an ecomonic recovery, although Eurostar Chief executive Richard Brown has a more cautious opinion. He said: "In recent weeks a number of our major corporate clients have eased their business travel restrictions...although it is early days, this may be a sign of an upturn."

With already more visitors, it could be a good winter for Eurostar. With Rail Europe having cancelled it's snow train for the upcoming season, ticket sales should be on the up over the next few months.

Eurostar tickets for snow trains to the Alps commence in just 2 months, and ticket sales for the ever popular snow train are already on sale for the 09/10 season.

Eurostar January Seat Sale - £59 Return

Eurostar's January sale is still in full flow. There are 200,000 seats available to Paris and Brussels from just £59 return.



There's just over 2 weeks left for the sale, so if you fancy a last minute jaunt to the continent, then book your Eurostar tickets online now!

Merry Christmas from Trainmountain!

Trainmountain wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

If you've visited the Alps over the last week you'll know they've got more snow than North America! Eurostar's snow train services commenced on Friday, so here's a reminder to book your Eurostar tickets early to get the best fares! Rails Europe's snow train service commences on the 16th January...so maybe see you on board!

I'm still undecided on which resort to visit in January. Any thoughts welcome. I've been to Tignes for the last 4 years, but I'm thinking variety is the spice of life, and I need a change. Where should I go? Answers on a postcard please :)

On Your Marks, Get Set, Snow!

The heavy snow forecast for the Alps late last week did not disappoint, with many of the lower altitude resorts getting a dump of snow.

I've been waiting for images like the ones below since the end of the last ski season, and it looks like the 2008/09 season is now upon us. Check out the images below, taken from the Ski Club site!

Zermatt at 2050m on Thursday;

Chamonix - top of the Montenvers railway on Thursday;

Even Scotland began it's ski season on Friday with the Lecht ski area opening up 3 lifts.

How exciting! Remember, Rail Europe's snow train service commences on the 16th January next year, so book early to avoid disappointment. Eurostar's day ski train service commences on 20th December, and the night snow train commences on Boxing Day. If you're looking for a slightly different Christmas present grab the snow train and head for the slopes between Christmas and New Year. Go to our Eurostar tickets page and have a look for train availability. Prices start from £179 return.

Animal Snowcamp goes Eco

Great to see the guys over at Animal Snowcamp pushing the cause for global warming for their camp in 2009. Not only are they providing a 5% discount if you travel by snow train this year (and free beer, of course) but they are also staying at the BoardnLodge EcoLodge in the Tarantaise region of the French Alps.

Believe it or not, the Animal pro team are also opening up their doors to skiiers for one week this year too. But for those thinking of joining the snowboard crew I'd suggest stocking up on your banter before heading over.

Animal snowcampers are being encouraged to grab the snow train from St.Pancras International on the Friday night so as to join up with the rest of the camp at their base in Bourg. St Maurice early on Saturday morning. You can travel by snow train with Rail Europe or grab some Eurostar tickets to get you there.

For more information about the event, which runs Saturday to Saturday 24th Jan - 31st Jan, 31st Jan - 7th Feb, then 14th Mar - 21st March and finally the mixed ski & snowboard week on 21st Mar - 28th March, then head to Animalsnowcamp.com.

Eurostar disruptions after Channel Tunnel Fire

Eurostar services are still being disrupted following the fire in the tunnel on September 11th.

Due to ongoing problems in the tunnel, Eurostar is currently running a reduced service. Customers are advised to check the Eurostar site for updates and should reschedule their travel to after 1st October, if possible.

Eurotunnel spokesman John Keefe said: "Once we have got two-thirds of the north tunnel back in operation, the number of people boarding trains and the number of trains running will be almost back to 100% on Eurostar."

Eurostar have increased the number of trains to Paris from 12 a day to 15 as of yesterday. Before the fire on September 11, Eurostar was running 17 trains a day to the French capital.

Trains are having to slow down when they divert to the south tunnel to navigate past the fire-damaged section of the north tunnel.

Eurostar adds more services between London and Paris

Eurostar has announced today that is it boosting its train service between London and Paris. The high speed train operator is set to increase the number of trains travelling between London and Paris to 18 from September this year.

Eurostar is also increasing it's weekend train service, with up to 20 trains on Fridays going to Paris, and 19 trains going to London, starting from 11th July this year.

And the reasons for the new services? Eurostar has attributed the increase in services due to the 'surging demand' from travellers. In April Eurostar announced an increase in passenger numbers, and the demand for high speed rail travel is obviously still thriving.

In December last year, Eurostar opened up it's ticking system which allows potential passengers to connect to St. Pancras International from 68 major towns and cities across the UK, and this strategy has paid dividends, with growth of more than 100% in some regions of north of London.

Simon Montague, Eurostar's Comms Director said that "the increase in services means we have 24,000 seats available between London and Paris on Mondays to Thursdays, and 30,000 seats on Fridays", so great news for all passengers.

So for the best fares for the new services, book your Eurostar tickets as early as possible!

Eurostar grabs more passengers from the airlines

Eurostar released their latest passenger figures yesterday, showing fantastic results.

Eurostar trains carried 2.17 million people between January and March this year, a 21.3% increase on the same period in 2007.

One of the undoubtable factors of this success was the switch between Waterloo station and St Pancras International. The new St Pancras station opened its doors to Eurostar passengers in mid-November last year, and saw passenger numbers increase in the first 2 months.

With journey times between London and the continent, regular flight commuters are turning towards the greener, more convenient Eurostar option. An early Easter, the Six Nations tournament and the introduction of through fares from 68 towns and cities across Britain has helped Eurostar ticket sales rise by more than 25% to £178.4 million.

Eurostar also reported fantastic punctuality figures. A record of 93.6% of Eurostar trains arrived on time, or less than 15 minutes late.

Good work guys!

Eurostar offers tickets to the rest of the UK

Eurostar has launched a service for passengers to buy tickets from 68 major towns and cities across the UK.

Eurostar's booking system is now linked with seven major UK train operators including Virgin Trains, First Capital Connect, National Express East Coast (formerly GNER), East Midlands Trains, Chiltern Railways, London Midland and Hull Trains.

The new through-fares now provide greater access for the UK population to reach destinations such as France, Belgium and the rest of Europe.

The new fares are available up to 84 days in advance and include travel on the tube in London for passengers who need to transfer to St. Pancras International.

To search for fares, use our Eurostar fare search on the Eurostar tickets page. Return fares start from £67.

Another good selling point for the new service is that if passengers miss a train due to a delayed connecting service, they will be able to travel on the next available Eurostar at no extra cost.

So now passengers looking to take a snow train to a ski destination in Europe have no excuse!

Happy travelling!

St. Pancras International Gets Festive

I finally had time to look around the new St Pancras International station on Saturday afternoon. I've been to London so many times over the last month, and finally had a couple of hours to spare, so thought I'd get some good pics of the festivities!

St. Pancras has a packed schedule of events running all the way through December, the theme of which centres around the Victorian history of the station.

As soon as I entered the station I could tell immediately it had been well received by the public - for Eurostar travellers and general tourists alike.

It was nice to be greeted by pick feather bower wearing choir, who entertained the crowds for most of the afternoon.













I also had to have a good look at Europe's longest champagne bar too, although I resisted the temptation to taste a tipple. I have posted a couple of photos of the bar at one of my previous posts about the champagne bar.













There was also a couple of Victorian characters to entertain the tourists, with one particularly talented Victorian footballer...






















All in all, a great place to go and visit when you're in London, regardless of whether you are about to buy a Eurostar ticket and head for Europe or not.

St. Pancras Opens its Doors

St Pancras International station opened it's doors to the first Eurostar trains today, following the move from London's Waterloo International station.

The Queen officially unveiled the £800 million station last week to great fanfare, and the officially opening to the public was held today. The first Eurostar train left St Pancras International for Paris just after 11am this morning.

The Eurostar train arrived in Paris at 1317 hours using the newly completed High Speed 1 line. Eurostar trains can now travel up to 186 miles per hour along the line, cutting the journey time down between the UK and the continent.

Eurostar commented that the new station makes Eurostar services "more accessible" to British travellers. St Pancras International station is next door to the main Kings Cross station, from which Virgin and GNER trains serve a large proportion of the UK.

The new High Speed 1 line is now the shining star of the UK's rail network, with the rest of the UK infrastruture creaking due to chronic conjestion and archaic lines.

For those travelling to the Alps this winter, the new opening provides more excitement, faster journey times and a greener method of travel via. the snow train.

For new timetables, Eurostar tickets or general information please visit our soon to be updated Eurostar tickets page.

Eurostar set new Brussels to London Record

Eurostar has broken yet another record, this time for the journey between Brussels and London St. Pancras International.

The 232-mile journey between London St Pancras and Brussels took 1 hour, 43 minutes, with the Eurostar travelling at speeds of more than 186 mph. Using the all new High Speed 1 line, this took 20 minutes off the time it currently takes to travel from Brussels to London Waterloo.

Only earlier this month, Eurostar broke the record for the fastest train journey between Paris and London. If Eurostar keeps going at this pace, they will have to fork out extra cash for more champagne!

The all new St Pancras International station provides easier connections throughout London and the rest of the UK, and from November travellers will be able to buy tickets to the continent from around 70 UK train stations for the first time.

Eurostar Smashes Paris to London Record

Britain has finally found the rail infrastructure it has been craving for years. The all new High Speed 1 line was put through it's paces earlier this month, with the inaugural journey between Paris Gare du Nord and the new St. Pancras International station in London.

With a train packed with journalists and VIPs, Eurostar were proud to announce that they broke the record for the fastest ever train journey between London and Paris.

A typical journey time between London and Paris takes around 2 hours 40 minutes, but using the High Speed 1 line, Eurostar made the journey in 2 hours, 3 minutes and 39 seconds. Eurostar were aiming for a sub 2 hours time, and it would have been achieved were it not for track maintenance work around Calais. Congratulations to all the Eurostar team!

For more information on Eurostar's record-breaking run have a look over the following sites;

• Eurostar's Blog
• BBC News
• BBC News Video of the Journey

Eurostar officially unveil the new High Speed 1 line on November 14th, 13 years after the first launch of the service at London Waterloo.

Book your Eurostar tickets for the new service today!

Travelling on the Eurostar.....right now!

I like Paris. On a business trip to France I thought it appropriate to travel back by Eurostar. How can you tell people how great it is without actually experiencing it for yourself?

Actually this is my second Eurostar journey, but the first from Gare du Nord. Fast check in, a 2 minute security check, then straight on the train.

When Eurostar makes the transition to the new High Speed 1 line, the airlines are definately going to struggle to compete with the speed and efficiency of the Eurostar service.

So my own personal rating? 9/10 - the only fault I could give (and this is being picky!) was the security checks are not as thorough as the airport checks, for valid reasons I guess.

This post was created by my Blackberry browser.

Rugby World Cup in France

It only seems like yesterday that Jonny Wilkinson kicked the drop goal that won the World Cup in Australia in 2003. But alas, that was 4 years ago and a new Rugby World Cup is upon us.

Time to drown the sorrows and put English rugby to rights over a few pints of French lager. Yes, the Rugby World Cup this year is being held in France and what better way to visit the continent than by Eurostar.

England kick off the campaign with a match against the USA on Saturday 8th September in Lens, with the crunch tie against South Africa in Saint-Denis on the 14th September. The penultimate game in Pool A is against Samoa on the 22nd September in Nantes.

The deciding game for England will take place in Paris against Tonga on the 28th September, so for a winning weekend why not extend your stay in Paris and lap up England's success!

Book your Eurostar tickets through Trainmountain.co.uk today! Good luck England!

Eurostar Announces Roaring Ticket Sales

Eurostar says its new High Speed 1 line has led to soaring ticket sales - with still 100 days to go before the new service opens. The firm said that two weeks after the new Eurostar tickets went on sale for its maiden voyages from St. Pancras International on Novemver 14th, more than 110,000 passengers had booked seats. The ticket boost also shows that more people are switching from planes to trains, helping the environment.

News from 6th August, 2007

Eurostar Publishes new High-Speed Rail Timetable

Eurostar has published a debut timetable for the new 'High Speed 1' lines from St. Pancras International. The new timetable benefits business commuters who, for the first time will be able to reach the centres of both Paris and Brussels before 9am local time. Using the new 186 mph line Eurostar say journey times between the UK and the Continent will be cut by at least 20 minutes. If you're changing at Paris to get a snow train, that means one less beer!

News from 18th July, 2007