Train not plane - Seat61 shows you how
Posted by DavidM in Transport | 12 May 2008
I had some time off work just over a year ago and wanted to visit a friend in southern Spain. Trying to be greener I decided not to take the easy option and book a cheap flight and instead used the internet to stitch together a train journey. However, after lots of hunting around the itinerary I came up with would take 2 days each way and cost a small fortune.
Seat61 may not make the journey shorter or cheaper but it is a great website to work out how to replace those short-haul European flights with a train ride. The site is pretty simple to use for trips to major cities, though if you want to get to a smaller town you'll need to add bits to the main legs of the trip.
As an example, I looked at a trip from London to Barcelona for two adults and two children. The journey would take from 4pm one day to just after 8am the next and would be from £760 for all of us. That's steep especially as I'd have to add on the train fare to and from London.
I love the idea of doing a long train trip. It's the difference between travelling to get to a holiday and travelling being part of the holiday. But with prices like that it's hard to see many people foregoing their Easyjet flight.
Mark Smith - the man behind Seat61 - is publishing a book to compliment the website. 'The seat in seat 61' comes out in June and will give advice on train journeys across different countries to help you cut out those short-haul plane journeys.
It's a great idea and a helpful website, but while airlines can get you there so much cheaper it's going to remain for the relatively few.
