Eurostar Ski Trains connect London St Pancras and Ashford stations in England with Moûtiers, La Plagne and Bourg St Maurice near French ski resorts on winter weekends.
Eurostar’s ski trains offer direct connections on winter weekends between London and the most popular ski resorts in France. The direct ski trains, which cut out the cumbersome transfer between trains and different stations in Paris, connect London St Pancras and Ashford International in England with Moûtiers, Aime La Plagne and Bourg St Maurice in France. These stations are within less than half an hour’s transfer time to popular French ski resorts such as Meribel, La Tania, Courchevel, Val Thorens, Les Menuires, La Plagne, Les Arcs, Sainte Foy, Val d’lsère, and Tignes.
Eurostar’s Ski Train Schedules
The ski train operates on weekends during the French ski season that generally runs from around Christmas time to mid-April. Two trains – one daytime and one overnight – are available most weekends in each direction.
Eurostar ski trains generally depart from London on Friday nights and Saturday mornings and return from France to London on Saturdays. On vacation weekends, schedules can be somewhat altered with trains running on Sundays too.
Traveling time on the ski train from London to Bourg St Maurice train can be as fast as seven hours for the day train, which is not bad for central London skiers who would otherwise spent time traveling to airports in London and at least two to three hours on the bus transfer from Geneva Airport to French ski resorts. The overnight ski trains can take up to ten hours but allow for an additional full day of skiing.
Check-in times for the Ski Train is usually 60 minutes prior to departure and not half an hour as is common for normal Eurostar trains.
Eurostar’s Ski Train Timetables from London to France
Two Eurostar ski trains run weekly from London to ski resorts in France:
- The overnight Eurostar ski trains depart London St Pancras International on Friday evening at around 7:30 pm, stop at Ashford International in Kent 45 minutes later and then continue non-stop to France to arrive at around 6:00 am in Moûtiers, at 6.20 am in Aime La Plagne, and at 6:40 am in Bourg St Maurice.
- The day Eurostar ski trains depart London St Pancras International on Saturday mornings at 10 am and after a stop at Ashford continue to the French Alps to reach Moûtiers at around 6:15 pm, Aime La Plagne at 6:30 pm, and Bourg St Maurice at 6:50 pm.
Eurostar’s Ski Train Timetables from France to London
Trains from the French Alps to London generally run on Saturdays.
- The day ski trains depart Bourg St Maurice at around 10 am and Moûtiers at 10:30 am to reach Ashford International at around 3:30 pm and London St Pancras just after 4 pm.
- The night Eurostar ski trains depart from Bourg St Maurice at around 10 pm and Moûtiers just before 11 pm to reach Ashford the next morning at 6:30 am and London just after 7 am.
Note that on the return journeys from the French Alps to England, the Ski Train does not stop at Aime La Plagne.
The Ski Train can be booked in Britain via Rail Europe UK.
British skiers traveling on the Eurostar Ski Train can take advantage of direct connections, fewer baggage restrictions, and convenient stations with very short transfer times to ski resorts. However, British skiers can also take advantage of numerous further TGV train connections via Paris or cheap flights to French Alpine ski resorts on low-cost airlines from various British and London airports.