Higher-Speed Eurostar
The Eurostar travelled the distance between Paris and London in record time yesterday, thanks to the new high-speed track on the British side. Of course, within London the Tube wasn't breaking any records thanks to the bloody strike that was on. Cue suppressed sniggers on the other side of the Channel.
Considering how often I travel on the Eurostar, a reduction in travel time is great news. However, some people still express surprise that I prefer the train to flying. Yes, believe it or not, there are people out there who haven't heard my repeated lectures on being green. :-) Anyway, a big misconception is that the Eurostar is very expensive. However, I can generally get the cheapest return to Brussels, 59 quid, by booking as close as two weeks beforehand. If I compare that to a budget airline ticket and how much it costs to get to and from the airports, there's little difference in price. But if you're booking two days beforehand then it gets difficult.
When I'm travelling to the Netherlands, it can take about half an hour longer to get to Den Haag by train, depending on the connection in Brussels. But I'd rather sit in the train a bit longer if it gets me out of standing in horrible queues for airport security. So, for me, the choice to take the Eurostar is a very easy one and I encourage habitual flyers to give it a go.
(Note for carriers of Leathermen. Last time a security officer who admired our leet packing skills explained why Wingnut kept getting stopped: his Leatherman couldn't be identified on the scanner because it was lying the wrong way. She advised Wingnut to put the tool in the top of the bag to speed up the process. She then got a bit superior about how much more thorough the English security were compared with the Belgians. Beside us, two elderly nuns were having their bags searched...)
Considering how often I travel on the Eurostar, a reduction in travel time is great news. However, some people still express surprise that I prefer the train to flying. Yes, believe it or not, there are people out there who haven't heard my repeated lectures on being green. :-) Anyway, a big misconception is that the Eurostar is very expensive. However, I can generally get the cheapest return to Brussels, 59 quid, by booking as close as two weeks beforehand. If I compare that to a budget airline ticket and how much it costs to get to and from the airports, there's little difference in price. But if you're booking two days beforehand then it gets difficult.
When I'm travelling to the Netherlands, it can take about half an hour longer to get to Den Haag by train, depending on the connection in Brussels. But I'd rather sit in the train a bit longer if it gets me out of standing in horrible queues for airport security. So, for me, the choice to take the Eurostar is a very easy one and I encourage habitual flyers to give it a go.
(Note for carriers of Leathermen. Last time a security officer who admired our leet packing skills explained why Wingnut kept getting stopped: his Leatherman couldn't be identified on the scanner because it was lying the wrong way. She advised Wingnut to put the tool in the top of the bag to speed up the process. She then got a bit superior about how much more thorough the English security were compared with the Belgians. Beside us, two elderly nuns were having their bags searched...)