How do I book tickets on the new ski train?

Controversially, the only way for skiers to buy tickets for the Travelski Express is as part of a Travelski package with train, accommodation, transfer and a seven-day ski pass. Tickets won’t be available to purchase independently, nor bookable with other ski tour operators. However, Travelski has confirmed that specialist travel agencies, such as Ski Solutions and SkiLine, selling packages on its behalf. Unfortunately, Eurostar vouchers from ski train journeys cancelled in March and April 2020 won’t be redeemable on the Travelski Express – potentially leaving thousands of skiers out of pocket.

Travelski Express packages, including accommodation, transfers and lift passes, start from £569 per person for a family of four. 

Which resorts does the ski train visit?

While Eurostar’s former ski train gave skiers access to 14 ski resorts in the Tarentaise region of the French Alps, skiers will only be able to buy packages to six resorts with the Travelski Express: La Plagne, Les Arcs, Les Menuires, Méribel, Tignes and Val d’Isère. That means that skiers wanting to travel by train to other popular resorts in the Tarentaise, such as Courchevel, La Rosiere and Val Thorens, will need to travel indirectly, combining a Eurostar to Paris with a TGV train to the Alps, for example.  

Guillaume de Marcillac, CEO of Travelski, defended the decision to offer only six resorts: “We have put a lot of money, energy and effort to make this direct train service to the French Alps possible this winter. We want to offer a high-level of service and need to combine this with operational efficiency, including being able to offer transfers that take guests directly from the train to their accommodation.  

“For that reason, we’ve limited our offer to the six CDA resorts for this winter. But this still benefits the entire Alpine ecosystem, and we envisage expanding the range of resorts in future seasons.”

Does this mean the end of the ski train being operated by Eurostar? No, says de Marcillac. “If this season is a success, this could help re-ignite Eurostar to offer their own normal ticket-only ski trains, with Travelski Express continuing to offer special trains.” 

Ski resort tourist offices, increasingly keen for skiers to come by train, welcomed the move. Guillaume Desrues, Mayor of Bourg Saint Maurice, said: “This is excellent news. The Travelski Express will allow our British friends to come to the Tarentaise and Les Arcs with a comfortable, low-carbon journey by train.”