Direct Train to Europe: London to the Mediterranean
1–10 of 75 posts
Re: Direct Train to Europe: London to the Mediterranean
#2"After 9/11 air travel started to become far more time-consuming - for reasons of security which no one would ever criticise. People used to say no-one wanted to be on a train for more than three hours but I think four would now be more accurate."
I'm with you on the 4 hours, but I would be happy to criticize the security theater after 9/11.
Re: Direct Train to Europe: London to the Mediterranean
#3Heathrow (and perhaps UK airport security as a whole) is also more restrictive in my experience than US/Canada/Schengen airports, so there's another point for the train.
(Seized contact lens solution bottle, I'm looking at you!)
Re: Direct Train to Europe: London to the Mediterranean
#4Well not joining Schengen is stupid, and easily fixed.
Re: Direct Train to Europe: London to the Mediterranean
#5Well not joining Schengen is stupid, and easily fixed.
Doubt it will happen in my lifetime.
Re: Direct Train to Europe: London to the Mediterranean
#6Seems like unification of signaling systems across European railways might help alleviate some of these problems. It would be interesting to see if they're actually legitimately dissimilar or more just similar but incompatible for historical reasons.
Re: Direct Train to Europe: London to the Mediterranean
#7"Passengers ... will need to get off at Lille, go up to the customs hall and in effect start their journey again.
...
Even some of those who knew of the Lille stop were surprised to find they had to carry their luggage throughout"
Who would want to do that?
Not only that, the Marseille train leaves London at 07:19! Great for people in London, not so great if you live outside. Firstly, it might not be possible to get in that early, and secondly, mid-week, peak fares in to London are extortionate.
I checked a fare in October (Fri-Fri, before half term): £178. Sat-Sat in October: £129.
Flying: £110 return with Easyjet, including baggage. Or from Heathrow with BA: £114. At more reasonable times of day. It's a 2 hour flight.
Re: Direct Train to Europe: London to the Mediterranean
#8Heathrow (and perhaps UK airport security as a whole) is also more restrictive in my experience than US/Canada/Schengen airports, so there's another point for the train. (Seized contact lens solution bottle, I'm looking at you!)
Not if you're just transiting. Sterile transit just plain doesn't exist at US airports (or at least, didn't when I last checked, which was a few years ago - maybe things are different now?), so changing planes takes bloody hours instead of minutes, and requires going through exit procedures and then coming back through security.
Re: Direct Train to Europe: London to the Mediterranean
#9"After 9/11 air travel started to become far more time-consuming - for reasons of security which no one would ever criticise. People used to say no-one wanted to be on a train for more than three hours but I think four would now be more accurate." I'm with you on the 4 hours, but I would be happy to criticize the security theater after 9/11.
Its become even more of a farce with Global Entry/TSA Precheck. While $100 (per 5 years) isn't unaffordable to those that fly regularly, the entire program contradicts a lot of the security claims made between 2001 and today.
Re: Direct Train to Europe: London to the Mediterranean
#10"After 9/11 air travel started to become far more time-consuming - for reasons of security which no one would ever criticise. People used to say no-one wanted to be on a train for more than three hours but I think four would now be more accurate." I'm with you on the 4 hours, but I would be happy to criticize the security theater after 9/11.
I agree. And theater is the right word. I just don't believe that all those procedures, such as taking out your laptop, bagging liquids, and removing your shoes, are actually useful in improving safety.
It's also incredibly stressful for the staff. I was in line in the US once and one lady had a meltdown. She saw the queue of people going around the corner and basically just threw her hands up and quit. The face on her only colleague was priceless.
Add to that the fact that there seem to be some shortcuts taken. I was told if you miss a connection, they take your bag off for obvious reasons. Well, I actually missed a connection once, and the bag went on the plane and I got to pick it up when I caught up.