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France "Citizen's Climate Convention"

In my experience, changing planes is worse than trains (and I always have to do it – only short haul from the island).

For example, going to Spain, fly into Gatwick – you need to leave a layover of at least two hours (even if your luggage is checked all the way through) because of the unreliability of the flights. Even British Rail at its worst had better on-time performance. You have to go through security again, and it takes at least an hour to go from the landed inbound flight to get back into the departure lounge. Most times I can’t check my luggage all the way through, so if I have any I have to go through the whole bag drop process again (in that case I need a 3 hour layover).

Most of the time we do it by going the evening before and staying in a hotel.

I don’t know why we don’t allow the ‘stopping services’ like Southwest do in the USA. I overheard my easyJet crew talking about their next sector with the aircraft, which was to Barcelona, where I was going. I could have been in Barcelona some 14 hours earlier if we allowed Southwest-style stopping services.

Andreas IOM

alioth wrote:

You have to go through security again, and it takes at least an hour to go from the landed inbound flight to get back into the departure lounge. Most times I can’t check my luggage all the way through, so if I have any I have to go through the whole bag drop process again (in that case I need a 3 hour layover).

Unless you are booking “point to point” low cost airline tickets, then all of the above should not happen. You should not even have to leave “airside” which means no security re-check. There was a time that Birmingham made you exit airside then go back through security, but that was down to renovation work.

Im interested to find out who would today take a train over an aeroplane or an aeroplane over a train in this post C19 world, as opposed to past experiences.

Regards, SD..

skydriller wrote:

You should not even have to leave “airside” which means no security re-check

Unfortunately this doesn’t seem to be the case. None of the airport hubs in the UK seem to currently allow you to stay airside for a flight connection into the CTA.

skydriller wrote:

Unless you are booking “point to point” low cost airline tickets, then all of the above should not happen

It’s extremely difficult to find through tickets from where I live. BA used to do them, but since the collapse of flybe (which usually codeshared) this is a thing of the past – unless you go via London City which usually implies having to cross London to get to Heathrow.

Andreas IOM

skydriller wrote:

Im interested to find out who would today take a train over an aeroplane or an aeroplane over a train in this post C19 world, as opposed to past experiences.

I travel fairly regularly Amsterdam – Frankfurt. I hate driving. Airlines are a major hassle so for €62.00 each way I go first class on DB ICE

EHLE / Lelystad, Netherlands, Netherlands

Have you tried taking a train from, say, Quimper to Bordeaux? Or even driving it? What about Bairritz to Strasbourg? Or even Rennes to Bordeaux, which is an easier drive. How about Nantes to Marsilles?

I thought France had a fantastic train system. Or are the above connections where no trains run?

If France was like the UK, most trains will radiate out of Paris (like London, the centre of the known universe, 150 years ago) and if that’s no good, you are a bit stuffed.

Politically speaking, you could deal with this proposal by putting a tax on short haul airline tickets.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Trains are the best way to haul heavy freight, keep trucks off the road, and in that way reduce pollution and noise that has a meaningful effect on people.

Quimper – Nantes or Rennes is 300+ kilometers. There is TGV direct to Rennes and then onto Paris. It’s a good service, clean comfortable trains, easy to work on
If going onto Bordeaux from Rennes you would have to change at Nantes
Again the trains are clean, comfortable and space to work.
I do this trip regularly starting a bit further away at Brest and travelling through on the NANTES- Bordeaux intercity to La Roche sur Yon.
The service is good but it takes time (about 4 hours depending on the timetable and connections
I can book my ticket online I get up to 75% discount with my seniors voyage card ,turn up just before the train leaves and barring strikes the trains are usually on time.
As the reason I am in Brest is usually an appointment at the airport it would be easier to fly CAT but the nearest destination airport from Brest is Bordeaux and if I went that way the journey home would take at least 3 hours longer and cost at least three times as much.
It’s an ideal route to fly myself and takes just about 2 hours door to door. I am able to go one way sometimes if I am lucky enough to ferry an aircraft to or from maintenance
I keep looking at buying another IFR plane but I’m not sure I can really justify it and non IFR has the problem of dispatch rate.
Nantes – Marseilles is more convenient by CAT because although there is a TGV service all the way it is not yet a fast line all the way.
Lille – Marseilles on the other hand has a line where the TGV can travel at 300+mph all the way (I think) so the train might be a quicker bet.
So like in any country you pays your money and you takes your choice.

France

Here is the French train map as defined by the time it takes rather than distance
Marseille is way closer than Toulouse
Lille is basically in Paris (most convenient way to go from London to Paris is GA to Lille & TGV to Gare du Nord IMO, took me 2h30 from middle of Essex to Bastille last time I went this route but I was luck to catch TGV train 2min before it closes it’s door)

Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

I thought France had a fantastic train system. Or are the above connections where no trains run?

It does – as long as you go to or come from Paris and there are no strikes. Any cross-country trips tend to be a nightmare. Try getting from Poitiers to Nice. Good luck. Prob90 you’ll have to go through Paris and, to make matters much, much worse, change train stations there (Gare Montparnasse > Gare de Lyon).

gallois wrote:

It’s a good service, clean comfortable trains, easy to work on

If you’re in 1st Class, perhaps.

On a more general Covid-19 note: no, I will definitely not take any train on my next trip to Europe (whenever that may be), but travel locally by rental car.

I am with 172 driver on this one. Covid may well.kill the trains. I certainly will refuse travelling one one as long as this is still an issue.

LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland
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