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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 www.seat61.com 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 www.superbreak.com
and www.gner.co.uk 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.
Further Information:
Superbreak
GNER
Robin lives in Edinburgh, occasionally
writing for TravelTips(http://www.travel-tips.co.uk/)
and carrying out bizarre experiments
using foam stress balls and cups
of water.
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