Travel: Train v plane - the race to Paris
Dec 16 2009 By Paul Fulford and Phil Vinter
When the people from Eurostar suggested a train v plane race between Birmingham and Paris, the wise money was on air travel clocking the fastest time. Rail travel might be more comfortable, of course. And less stressful. But surely flying to Paris would be a whole lot quicker than jumping on a train from New Street Station and spending hours trundling along the tracks? Think again.
Our writer Paul Fulford let the train take the strain while colleague Phil Vinter flew. Both set off from New Street at roughly the same time – Paul heading to Euston and Phil to Birmingham International. Neither faced any delays as they made the trip – and Paul arrived first. Just. He got to the Hotel Mercure in historic Montmartre in the heart of the French capital two minutes before Phil. Here, each of them describes their journey.
Phil’s journey by air.
GONE are the days when taking a short haul flight abroad meant a long, tortuous pre-flight journey by bus or car to Heathrow or Gatwick.
There are scores of small airports now and if you live in Birmingham flying to Paris is a painless process. Trains leave New Street for Birmingham International every ten minutes and after a short walk from my flat in the Jewellery Quarter to New Street Station I synchronised watches with my rival and the race was on.
A standard return ticket from New Street to Birmingham International is £6.50 and I just had time to buy a paper before I squeezed on to the 7.30am train to Birmingham International.
I arrived at the station just before 8am and following a short signposted walk I hopped straight aboard the two-minute sky shuttle to the airport. Once in the terminal building I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was no queue at all at my check-in desk and I walked straight up to the counter, confirmed that I wasn’t a terrorist, put my bag on the scales, picked up my boarding card and was off to security inside three minutes.
Unrobing belts, shoes and jackets and digging deep into pockets to try to scoop out that pesky penny which is setting the metal detector off is, let’s face it, an annoyance, and there always seems to be a bit of a queue at this stage of proceedings, but it has got to be done. The one gripe I have is that there isn’t a reminder about carrying liquids aboard the plane when you check-in – it would actually be a useful question to ask.
Before I went through security I had time to grab a coffee and a bite of breakfast in the upstairs plaza.
I boarded my Air France plane 20 minutes before its scheduled 9.20am take-off and had good leg room in my window seat on the very back row. After the usual self-explanatory talk about how to put a seatbelt on and what to do if there is a sudden loss of air pressure we took to the skies bang on time. The small, dirty, double-glazed plane portholes are no match for the expansive vistas you can enjoy through train windows, but I always find that taking in an overhead view of a city is a privileged experience.
Being such a short flight there was no on-board entertainment and the only refreshment I was offered was a drink. Also I tried to do some video filming aboard the plane but was refused permission because it was an electronic device.
In just one hour and 35 minutes the flight was over. With the time difference that meant I landed at 11.55am. Going through passport control and picking up my baggage from the carousel could not have gone smoother. I walked straight up to the counter at passport control and my bag was the first to come round.
One of the major drawbacks of arriving by plane is that Charles de Gaulle airport is about 30 minutes away from the city centre. I did waste some time trying to master the train ticket machine (it doesn’t like BarclayCards) and a return is not cheap (17 euros) but the shuttle train to the city centre is very well signposted in both French and English.
Through the window of the train the outskirts of Paris were drizzly and grey and the journey from the airport to Gare du Nord is not the prettiest for scenery. Fortunately I got chatting to a friendly Parisian who told me the quickest Metro route to my hotel near the Place de Clichy station.
When I arrived at Gare Du Nord it was surprisingly easy to find my way to the Metro station and usefully my ticket from the airport also included an underground journey.
On board the Metro I spoke to Paul who told me he was in a taxi from Gare Du Nord heading to our rendezvous point at La Mercure Hotel. I was amazed at how quickly he had got here.
A quick change at Belleville and I ran for the Metro to Place de Clichy. When I arrived I dashed through the gates and up the stairs and shoved my map at a group of Frenchmen.
In textbook stereotypical style they all shrugged their shoulders. Fortunately the next person I thrust the map at was more helpful and pointed me in the right direction. Within three minutes I saw La Mecure ahead of me.
My jaw dropped in amazement, however, when I peered through the glass front doors to see Mr Fulford stood at the front desk grinning like a Cheshire Cat. “What took ya?” he said.
He’d beaten me by all of two minutes!
Paul’s journey by train.
THERE’S something exciting and agreeable about travelling by train.
Exciting because it gives you a sense of distances being covered and landscapes changing as you trundle along.
Agreeable because you can stretch your legs and hop straight on and off a train – unlike flying when seats are generally cramped and there’s the hassle of checking in at the airport and enduring the security checks.
Nor, with trains, is there the frustrating wait for luggage.
Not to mention the convenience that rail travel offers because, unlike airports, stations are located in city centres.
Thus I looked forward with eager anticipation to my journey from Birmingham to Paris, first by the Virgin service to Euston then by Eurostar from St Pancras to the Gard du Nord.
True, the gloomy, grimy conditions at New Street didn’t enrapture me as I arrived bleary-eyed at seven o’clock on a midweek morning to catch the 7.10am train to London.
But once on board and settled in my seat in a first class coach, I soon relaxed. Even more so as I tucked into a bacon roll from a breakfast menu served on a complementary basis to first class passengers.
The train arrived bang on time at 8.34am and I set off on the ten-minute stroll along the Euston Road to the magnificent St Pancras station.
Collecting my tickets, checking in and passing through passport control and security couldn’t have been easier – a simple process that took minutes and involved virtually no queues.
One of the many Eurostar stewards pointed me in the direction of my coach.
The carriage was clean and comfortable and I was able to sprawl as the train rolled through the lush Kent countryside.
Soon all was darkness as we entered the Channel Tunnel then, 20 minutes later, we arrived in France before continuing to Paris.
A perfectly decent coffee and flaky, buttery croissant from the buffet car provided refreshment.
The train was probably two-thirds full, but there was no undue noise to distract me as I read or dozed.
I glanced at my watch as the train approached the outskirts of Paris and was impressed that it seemed to be making good time.
Even more so when it pulled into the cavernous Gard du Nord at 12.47pm, bang on time.
I grabbed my bag from behind my seat and, within seconds, was on the station’s concourse.
A glance at the heavy rain outside persuaded me to queue for a cab rather than walk or travel by Metro – a mistake because the queue was a long one.
As 20 minutes passsed I expected Phil would be waiting for me when I got to the hotel.
My cab eventually dropped me at the Hotel Mercure and I walked into the lobby expecting to see him grinning smugly. But there was no sign of him.
Then, two minutes later, in he rushed, dumbfounded that I was there already.
It’s always good to win a race. Plus I glowed with green satisfaction when I checked the stats – provided by Eurostar, admittedly – and learned travelling by train to Paris causes just a tenth of the carbon emissions that flying would.
* The Verdicts
* Cost: Phil – Air France flight £315, but no-frills flights avalable for under £100. Paul – £73 return first class from New Street to Euston; Eurostar return from London to Paris from £59; taxi fare Gard du Nord five Euros.
* Journey time: Phil – Six hours and a bit. Paul - Six hours.
* Experience at the airport/station: Phil - Birmingham International and Charles De Gaulle are relatively new airports – both are clean and airy with easily enough refreshment opportunities. Paul – Swift, friendly, enjoyable.
* Convenience: Phil – Fairly painless. Paul – Faultless stations well located and transfers easy.
* Comfort/cleaniness: Phil – plane was extremely comfortable and clean. Paul - Absolutely.
* On-board food: Phil – No food was provided on board. Paul – Decent quality.
* Easy to work: Phil – Not easy to work aboard a plane. Paul - Perfectly.
* Frequency of services: Phil – Several flights a day from Birmingham International, with a choice of carriers. Paul – Regularly.
* Friendliness of staff: Phil – Extremely friendly. Paul - Very.
* Overall experience: Phil - 3/5. Paul - 5/5
* Getting There
* Visit Eurostar.com (or by calling 08705 186 186) or from www.virgintrains.co.uk
* Birmingham Mail Reader Travel offers a variety of breaks to Paris travelling by both train and plane. For more information call 0121 234 5583 or see www.holidays-midlands.com
