In the winter there there are two options for train travel to the Austrian Alps. Firstly get on a Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris, then you can take either a day train to Austria usually via Munich to Innsbruck. You can leave in the morning and arrive in resort in the evening after a relaxing day on the train. Some day services may require you to spend a night in a German / Swiss city, it may be worth considering the night train below, unless you fancy a night in a city.

However perhaps the most stressfree option is to get an overnight train to Austria from Paris.  Leave St Pancras on the Eurostar about 4pm in the evening and get on an overnighter from Paris that will deposit you in the Austrian mountains the following morning. There are usually two options for an overnight train, seats and couchettes. Unless you’re on a really strict budget then couchettes are a must, you get a bed and hopefully a good nights sleep in that case. In the Winter there is a direct overnight train from Paris to Innsbruck, stopping at Munich and this is perhaps the easiest way to travel to any of the following ski areas. The overnight train will also enable you to get an extra two days skiing by skiing the day you arrive and skiing the day you leave giving you up to 8 days skiing.

Below is a quick list of the main ski resorts in Austria and the train station you need to alight at. Visit Rail Europe to check the actual journey that you need to take on your required dates.

Ski resorts in Austria and their nearest train station if train travel is an option.

Innsbruck train station – for the Stubai Glacier and other areas

Get off at Woergl for Ski Welt areas Soll, Ellmau, Westendorf, Brixen im Thale,  Scheffau, Going, Hopfgarten and Alpbach.

Change at Woergl for Zell am See train station, Saalbach (alight at Zell am See, then taxi), Kitzbuhel train station (although a taxi will only take half an hour if the connections don’t work).

Seefield in Tirol has it’s own train station

St Anton train station (St Anton am Arlberg) – changing at Innsbruck usually

Lech – alight at St Anton Am Arlberg train station, take a 30 minute taxi or the free resort buses

Bad Hofgastein – change at Munich and alight at Bad Hofgastein train station

Schladming train station – change at Munich usually

You can book tickets for trains up to 3 months in advance, so today you can book tickets up until 14th January 2010. For journeys after this date, go online and book them “exactly” 3 months before you return journey date.

The way the ski train tickets work is that you go to Paris on the Eurostar from St Pancras, also bookable through Rail Europe, then you change trains to a French network train that whisks you to the Alps.

Resort Destinations with a ski train from Paris

Get off the ski train at Moutiers for the following ski resorts (transfer times in brackets).

Courchevel (30 minutes), Les Menuires (40 mins),  Meribel (20 mins),  Valmorel  (40 mins) and Val Thorens (35 mins).

Get off the ski train at Aime La Plagne for La Plagne ski resort (30 minutes).

Get off the ski train at Bourg St Maurice for the following ski resorts:

Les Arcs (35 minutes), La Rosiere (40 mins), Tignes (25 mins) Les Arcs provides perhaps the easiest transfer with a short funicular ride from Bourg St Maurice station up to Les Arcs 1600. All other resorts are accessible via public transport links, or taxi.

The above are the major well known resorts that people know they can travel to using the French ski train services. However skiiers often don’t realise that you can also get to other ski resorts easily by train.  These destinations also tend to be cheaper than tickets to Bourg St Maurice or Moutiers.

Get the ski train to Oulx for ski resorts Sauze d’Oulx, Sestriere, Montgenevre and Claviere.

Get the ski train to Briancon for ski resorts Serre Chevalier, Puy St Vincent and Pelvoux.

Get the ski train to St Jean de Maurienne for ski resorts Les Sybelles, Valloire and Valmenier

Get the ski train to Grenoble for ski resorts Alpe d’Huez, Les Deux Alpes and La Grave amongst others.

Most of these ski train destinations offer daily services in about 4 hours from Paris or overnight services in about 7/8 hours. If you take the overnight service then it works the same way as the old, now defunct, Snow Train you will be able to ski for 8 full days.

Book your ski train tickets now.

When the ski train tickets to France are available to buy online is one of the most popular questions at the moment. Well basically Rail Europe are going to release the ski train tickets to France on 14th October for all sk trains up until 14th January. After that you can book your ski train tickets 3 months before your travel date.

Click here to book your ski train tickets online.

Rail Europe have just announced that the Snow Train will not run this season. Their website says “Unfortunately, the current economic climate and poor exchange rates along with an increase in our operating costs, has meant that the service would not be financially viable”.

I’m sure everyone who preferred the snow train to the long drive, or flying will be thinking oh no now I have to do the Eurostar overnight ski train or day ski train. Of course this is an option, but 9 hours in a train seat to the Alps is never a favourite start to your ski holiday (a weekend trip to Les Arcs via Eurostar overnight train I’m sure will be blogged about at some point.)

But don’t dispair, all the Snow Train was was a chartered  TGV. I’ve been on this service once and it’s only notable for its extremely sticky floored disco car. In recent years I’ve booked my ski train tickets independently, so I’ve booked a ticket via Eurostar to Paris and then the TGV/Artesia secion seperately from Paris to the Alps, you can book through Rail Europe.  Don’t worry you get overnight couchettes on these ski trains too.

Trains run from Paris Austerlitz or Gare du Lyon on a regular basis to Bourg St Maurice, several during the day and one overnight every evening in peak season.  Note the overnight train is a Corail Lunea which has the couchette options like the Snow Train.

Fares can be cheap, especially outside peak season. Last season I got tickets from London to Bourg St Maurice for less than £120 all in, £75 for a Eurostar return and £45 for Paris to Bourg St Maurice via Chambery. A taxi for the half an hour drive to Tignes ski resort cost 15 euros each (for 7), and it worked out much cheaper than flying even with budget airline prices. You can book at Rail Europe.

The cheapest way to get ski train tickets to the Alps is to book as far in advance as you can, tickets on the French network go on sale 3 months before the date of travel, so get online “exactly” 3 months before and get your tickets booked.

One thing that skiiers often don’t realise is that you can also get to other ski resorts easily by train.  These destinations also tend to be cheaper than tickets to Bourg St Maurice or Moutiers.

Get the ski train to Oulx for ski resorts Sauze d’Oulx, Sestriere, Montgenevre and Claviere.

Get the ski train to Briancon for ski resorts Serre Chevalier, Puy St Vincent and Pelvoux.

Get the ski train to St Jean de Maurienne for ski resorts Les Sybelles, Valloire and Valmenier

Get the ski train to Grenoble for ski resorts Alpe D’huez, Les Deux Alpes and La Grave amongst others.

Most of these ski train destinations offer daily services in about 4 hours from Paris or overnight services in about 7/8 hours. If you take the overnight service then it works the same way as the Snow Train you will be able to ski for 8 full days.

Book all these ski train journeys in minutes online at Rail Europe.

My final tip – if you are willing to sacrifice comfort for price, many of these ski train services offer reclining seats over couchettes, they’re often as cheap as 40 euros return from Paris, and you get a lot more leg room than on a plane (and much more than the Eurostar!)