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| Title: | Rail Breaks - Why many people are turning their backs on flying. |
| Author: | Robin Richmond |
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According to statistics supplied by Great Rail Journeys (GRJ) –
one of the UK’s premier holiday companies that specialise in
rail - an amazing 40,000 Britons are taking package rail
holidays every year. These figures would have been hard to
believe some five to ten years ago when the phrase “British
Rail” was synonymous with poor service and unreliable transport.
However, as we will learn taking a holiday via train has become
increasing popular amongst persons who prefer a more comfortable
and yet adventurous way of travelling.
Traditional railway holidays were very much the norm in 50’s
Britain. Be it short breaks to cities such as London, York or
Edinburgh or exciting trips across continental Europe many
Briton’s grew up with the rail package holiday. It is perhaps as
a result of this that the back bone of the rail holiday industry
in the UK is couples in their sixties and seventies reliving the
vacations of their youth. Be it rushing to make tight connecting
flights, crowed airports or a simple fear of flying – many
travellers today simply don’t want to get from a to b on an
airplane. The very fact you have allocated more time out of your
schedule to travel by rail ensures the whole experience can be a
great deal calmer – which is one of the key reasons why it is
popular with the elderly market
However, this trend is certainly changing slowly – with more
younger travellers choosing rail over flying. One popular type
of rail holiday is EuRail trips across Europe. Often associated
with backpackers, the Eurailpass is one of the most convenient
ways to see Europe as the ticket offers unlimited train travel
throughout 18 countries on their network – including the whole
of Scandinavia. With frequent departures on busy routes, it is
often the case that the train is a faster option than flying
when you consider the commuting time it takes to reach most
European airports on the edge of busy cities. This is especially
the case when using fast train services such as the German ICE,
French TGV or indeed the Eurostar which connects France with
London.
Perhaps one of the biggest drawbacks to rail travel (at least
outside the UK) is that it can be remarkably difficult to find
information and actually book tickets. The large majority of
travel agents no longer sell rail package deals and companies
such as EuroStar have little information available once they get
you as far as Paris or Brussels. In fact until very recently
there were very few websites where anyone could gleam
information about train journeys, times and bookings. Luckily
there are a number of sites available now with a plethora of
information such as Seat 61
which - despite being run as a hobby rather than a business – is
a tremendous resource for anyone wanting to plan a foreign
railway journey.
Domestically in the UK short weekend breaks on the train are
becoming extremely popular. Be it a shopping trip to Glasgow or
taking in a west end show in London, package deals which include
two nights accommodation and rail tickets are becoming more
available. Recently travel and rail companies Superbreak and GNER have teamed up to provide
short break package deals to five UK cities – London, Leeds,
York, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Prices are competitive and they
provide a real alternative to driving to these destinations on
crowded motorways.
Certainly this renaissance of rail travel is surprising to an
extent. With the advent of budget airlines making air travel
more accessible and price competitive many felt that this would
be one competitor too many for the rail industry to remain an
active part of the holiday market. However, it would appear that
rail holidays have certainly found their niche and are likely to
remain an active part of the UK travel market for years to come.
Released by Bigmouthmedia
About the author:
Robin works in Edinburgh for Bigmouthmedia,
occasionally writing for TravelTips and carrying
out bizarre experiments using stress balls and cups of water.
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