 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Annoyingly, it looks like it's only going to be available as a package, rather than being able to just book the train.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| sugarmoma666 wrote: |
| Annoyingly, it looks like it's only going to be available as a package, rather than being able to just book the train. |
Yep. Train, accommodation, ski pass, AND equipment hire all bundled in. Great if that's what you want. But, once again, it misses the mark for everyone who wants to book their own accommodation.
Looks like we'll be driving again next year.
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@Jonpim, @sugarmoma666, @doorman_tom,
Loads of people take the night train independently to here, Briancon.
https://www.lunatrain.com/en/nighttrains/paris-briancon/
We often see them getting on the bus to Briancon station circa 18:30 where they are then getting the night train to Paris.
Travel route
This night train takes you directly from Paris to the heart of the French Alps. You will depart from Paris Gare d'Austerlitz in the evening. There are no stops at night so that you can get sleep peacefully. Early in the morning the train reaches the French department of the Hautes-Alpes. The final station of the night train is Briançon, but there are also stops in the city of Gap and some smaller municipalities such as Embrun and L'Argentière-la-Bessée.
Target prices
Seat from €46 per person
Couchette (2nd class) from €69 per person
Couchette (1st class) from €140 per person
Private couchette cabin from € 180
Then there is the main TGV which is now back to stopping at Oulx offering even more options.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Weathercam wrote: |
@Jonpim, @sugarmoma666, @doorman_tom,
Loads of people take the night train independently to here, Briancon.
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Thanks. Tough to connect Briancon to Bourg SM, though!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Weathercam, I've looked at that one a few times but it's always a bit hard to tell in advance which weekends it won't run due to engineering works. It's also not that easy to get tickets as it's very popular. A shame really, as I like are Serre Chevalier.
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@doorman_tom, other ski areas are available 
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I slightly don't think that the whole train would be operating only for packages?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@sugarmoma666, I know that they had a relaunch of the line and would imagine that they know that the weekends is the one time when the line is used more than most!
It is VERY slow all the way up from GAP and running through behind Embrun / Lac Serre Poncon think the speed limit is only 30kph but spectacular scenery, though depends on the time of day obviously 
But the big news will be when the new TGV track is open all the way to Turin / Milan and then the new stop instead of Oulx I believe will be just outside Susa where they are building a massive terminal.
The tunnelling works are extensive*, and again I've heard second/third hand that trucks will be carried on trains a la Eurotunnel and that the time from Paris to Turin will be under 4hrs!
*The main operation is the Mont d’Ambin Base Tunnel, being the longest railway tunnel ever built!
More here
https://www.fsitaliane.it/content/fsitaliane/en/strategic-projects/turin-lyon-base-tunnel.html
The TGV service resumed to Turin, stopping at Oulx resumed back March 31st of this year
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sun 4-05-25 11:52; edited 1 time in total
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@under a new name, it does seem strange, and I'm sure I may have read something elsewhere as I don't read Connexion.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@under a new name, It does not seem strange to me at all. I recall when travel operators used to charter aircraft specifically to take their clients to a resort airport then transfer them to specific hotels where they would stay for a week. Other passengers were not permitted on the flights. They were called "package holidays". I see no difference in chartering a train for this purpose. In fact I believe it has been done in the past.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| under a new name wrote: |
| I slightly don't think that the whole train would be operating only for packages? |
That's what has been announced and what happened with the Travelski train from London, so I suspect it will only be a package at least the start with.
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| sugarmoma666 wrote: |
| under a new name wrote: |
| I slightly don't think that the whole train would be operating only for packages? |
That's what has been announced and what happened with the Travelski train from London, so I suspect it will only be a package at least the start with. |
I think the London service was package only for the first season, then opened up to sell train-only tickets in the second season? Although this didn’t really make sense to me as it’s not a true chartered service as both the London-Lille and Lille-BSM legs of the journey seem to be on regularly scheduled Eurostar trains. I used the London service this season and it’s a considerable downgrade over the old option, and significantly more expensive.
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You know it makes sense.
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@johnE, while that certainly happens with flights, the economics of chartering a whole night train seem unlikely.
(The economics of chartering winter planes are markedly different when ypu are e.g. TUI and your own fleet)
I suspect SNCF are just a bit slow announcing the route.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Ok I at least partially retract, it is bizarrely apparently a charter thru a company called Pegasus.
Filling 660 berths at a profitable capacity?
Still call me skeptical!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@under a new name, Pegasus ! Our local travel agency up here in 70s/80s were known as Callers Pegasus . I am still skepitcal too that they can fill the trains as a package deal.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@under a new name, considering how busy the Paris to Bourg day trains have been the last couple of years, I think this might work pretty well.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@sugarmoma666, I have not that specific experience, but e.g. early january?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| johnE wrote: |
| @under a new name, It does not seem strange to me at all. I recall when travel operators used to charter aircraft specifically to take their clients to a resort airport then transfer them to specific hotels where they would stay for a week. Other passengers were not permitted on the flights. They were called "package holidays". I see no difference in chartering a train for this purpose. In fact I believe it has been done in the past. |
There's a reason why even a jumbo jet carries only 400 odd passengers.
You're completely missing the per passenger operating cost of an aeroplane vs that of a train.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@under a new name, Travelski are a subsidiary of Compagnie des Alpes, who are the lift operators for Val d'Isere, Tignes, La Rosiere, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Meribel and Les Menuires (amongst others). Which is where they will offer accommodation. They only have to attract around 100 people per resort per week, split across self-catering apartments, hotels etc, to fill the train.
They started chartering trains after Eurostar stopped their direct train. Initially chartering a Eurostar train set to provide a replacement service from the UK. It is just a way of encouraging visitors to 'their' resorts.
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@ecureuil, yeah, I’d see that (but thanks all the same, also for expanding the reach re resorts) - I guess they think they know what they’re doing …
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| under a new name wrote: |
| @sugarmoma666, I have not that specific experience, but e.g. early january? |
January is nowhere near as quiet as it used to be from my experience and the trains are pretty full. Even for January we've been booking tickets on the morning of release to have any chance of cheap fares on the Paris to Bourg route. Cheap accommodation is also much harder to come by in January than it used to be and I've heard a couple of hotels saying they've been running at 100% occupancy through from late December to early April.
I'd love to use this new train but haven't found Travelski package offerings that appealing in the past.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| sugarmoma666 wrote: |
January is nowhere near as quiet as it used to be from my experience and the trains are pretty full. Even for January we've been booking tickets on the morning of release to have any chance of cheap fares on the Paris to Bourg route. Cheap accommodation is also much harder to come by in January than it used to be and I've heard a couple of hotels saying they've been running at 100% occupancy through from late December to early April.
I'd love to use this new train but haven't found Travelski package offerings that appealing in the past. |
Welcome to the new normal as climate change kills skiing below 1500 m and at the start and end of the season.
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| Hells Bells wrote: |
| @doorman_tom, other ski areas are available |
Ha ha, indeed!
As a family that drives from London to the northern French Alps, we'd be the perfect fit for the train. But the options in the last few years just don't work. 2 young kids so an overnight in seats - rather than couchettes - doesn't work. And none of the ski options run until Easter.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Macker13 wrote: |
https://planetski.eu/2025/05/02/new-overnight-ski-train-from-paris-to-the-french-alps/ non paywall
Seems a bit silly stopping the service prior to the Easter holidays when they would be busier. |
Agreed. The Paris - Bourg trains were full on the weekends around Easter (not helped by SNCF reducing the service down to 2 direct trains a day  )
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I used Travelski in 2023. I chose it because they offered a night train on the way out and it went to a resort and accom i knew and we got 7 days skiing. It worked out well because it was Easter holidays, train was half empty and it went from London to BSM direct. Travelski wasnt for a first time skier because you were really left on your own. They changed the service in 2024 and reduced the service to only about 10 weeks and it ended early March - so before the Easter school holidays - not sure why they stopped it so early but no use to me with those dates. They did the same in 2025 and offered an extra week or two but still not going at Easter holidays. This new option looks good - a night train with beds in a cabin. This train service does already exisit (theres been a night train from Paris to resorts with coucettes but its little known about). As someone has pointed out the main disadvantage here is you have to buy it as a Travel ski package. If you want the train only you maybe better 1) getting Eurostar to Paris and changing to TGV in the daytime either Fri or Sat 2) getting Eurostar to Paris mid afternoon Friday and getting the Night Train from Paris to resort etc Friday night. Its a shame Eurostar no longer does the "Ski Train" it used to run direct LOndon to BSM either overnight both ways (8 days skiing) or Saturday - Saturday daytime (6 days ski). It appears Eurostar gave up on Ski Train and sold the service to Travel Ski using Eurostar trains - not sure how Travelski made much profit cos the train was half full. So 2026 will be the 5th season Travelski have operated a train and every year has been different. We seem to have a worse ski train service now than in 1999
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You know it makes sense.
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@Charlie333, as far as I'm aware, these days the only couchette service useful for French resorts runs down to Briancon.
The day trains work pretty well but I'd quite like to go to sleep in Paris and wake up in the Tarentaise.
Lots of useful info here on catching the train to French ski resorts.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@sugarmoma666, I think there is still one to Latour de Carol, which is close to Pas de la Casa (okay, not actually a French resort, but close...)
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