Where to Ski And Snowboard - Campaign launched to save the ski train

Campaign launched to save the ski train

9th July 2020, by Abi Butcher

A campaign #SaveTheSkiTrain has been launched to urge Eurostar to reinstate direct services to the Alps

A petition has been launched in the wake of news yesterday that Eurostar will not run its direct Ski Train service for the 2020/21 ski season, due to Covid-19.

For decades, the Ski Train has run two weekly services from St Pancras down to the French Alps, a low-carbon mode of transport growing in popularity as travellers and skiers have become increasingly aware of the detrimental effects that air and road travel have on the environment.

Yesterday, Eurostar wrote an email to its customers informing them that its direct ski trains will not run for the 2020-21 ski season. Non-direct routes, changing at Paris, are still available.

“We’re sorry to get in touch with such disappointing news,” read the email. “This is a decision we’ve made with a great deal of sadness…But in the wake of the coronavirus and a challenging travel market, we’ve had to make some changes to our services, focusing on our main routes with the highest demand.”

In response rail travel website Snow Carbon and the environmental movement Protect Our Winters in both the UK and France, along with the website Ski Flight Free have launched a petition urging Eurostar to re-think its “disastrous move”, a decision that came as a surprise not only to customers but also the entire ski travel industry.

“We need more low-carbon ways to travel than ever before,” says the petition. “The Eurostar results in only a fraction of the emissions of an equivalent journey by plane or car. More and more travellers are cutting back on flights and looking for low-carbon transport, while many more are reluctant to fly in cramped cabins again due to Covid-19.”

The group urges: “While there are other train routes to the French Alps, the Ski Train is the most direct and easiest option for British travellers, encouraging many who would have flown to take a much more sustainable option.”

To add your name to the #SaveTheSkiTrain plea, visit change.org/savetheskitrain.