Fast track to the sun

With the opening of the first section of the Rhine-Rhone TGV enabling double-decker trains to race eastwards from Dijon to Besancon and Belfort, and eventually to Mulhouse, France now has almost 1,200 miles of TGV track.

Train holidays specialist Treyn and its sister company Great Rail Journeys claim sales through travel agents have surged by 80 per cent since last year and in 2012, more than 50,000 travellers will travel with the two companies.

Alex Roberts, marketing director for both firms, says: “People want ways of going on holiday to Europe which don’t involve air travel. Incidents such as last year’s ash cloud boosted our sector.”

It has actually taken more than 30 years to piece together the current framework of high speed lines (HSLs) across Europe; beginning with the so-called Rail Concorde linking Paris and Lyon in September 1981.

Germany joined in the early 1990s, then Spain, which now has more miles of high-speed track than France. Britain only joined the club with the opening of the second section of the Channel Tunnel-St Pancras line in November 2007.

Today, London-Cologne is only a four-and-a-half hour journey via Brussels, while London-Berlin takes just over nine hours. Giles Latham at Treyn says the Dordogne region of south-west France, and Tuscany are two of his biggest sellers for spring/summer 2012.

“Travellers fearful of eurozone prices see a five-night train holiday in the Dordogne in the £500-600 bracket as great value, including four-course dinners and excursions,” he says.

At French Travel Service (FTS), specialising in tailor-made rail tours and city breaks by Eurostar and TGV, and “great little trains” in lesser-known regions of the country, managing director Bill Smallwood says: “Eurostar and the fast-expanding TGV network are revolutionising the short-haul holiday market.”

“When people say it only takes two hours to get to the Med by a budget airline, they forget the two-hour check-in time at the airport and lengthy transfer at the other end.

“Few resorts boast their own airport, while all have a railway station, so the train delivers you direct to your final destination.”