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Car on the train


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ErnieY have done Calais to Narbonne, Calais to Nice Calais to Avignon etc.  Done them all including some from Paris through to Rome and the like.

However not sure if the system is total in from the UK direct?  Do not think so.

My experiences have been on balance good but most of the service do not have restaurant cars so its either a picknick or a good meal beforehand.  In the summer students run as guards and let you have some wine and beer and the like and where they make a few pennies.

As to accommodation is a bit cramped and there are no shower facilities (or least they were not any when I travelled) but there is a hand basis.  We used to take a whole couchette type of cabin with four beds but just for the two of us for more room.

The costs may now have come down but its not too cheap but saying that with the cost of fuel at the moment I suppose its now a good way of getting there.

Its a bit funny driving your car on (they tend at times to drive it for you) then give your keys to someone you have never met in your life and then spend part of the night worrying if the car turns up the following morning at the same place.

You can have rustic breakfast on the train but most prefer to take it at the station of arrival.  Beware the train and the cars can arrive at differing stations and you might be coached the rest of the way.

 

Take care

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Hi Ernie.

We have done it twice, Calais, to Avignon the last time, it was fantastic, we worked out the cost to get the MG to Grasse, as I do not push the old car I recond it would take me three days to get there, petrol, hotels meals, there was nothing in it.

When we arrived at Avignon, it was a bright sunny morning, and breakfast was set out on the station for us, it was really good, after breakfast ,we had  I believe about a three hour drive to get to the site, all in all a good experiance.

That was a few year ago, sorry do not remember the cost.

 

Colin

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I have mentioned this before and keep hoping that it may have changed, but you have to careful when you book that your party is all in the same compartment. We shared with friends going, but coming back there were four of us and a couple. A lady I met on the station while waiting for our car to be unloaded, shared with her daughter plus an elderly couple, their grand daughter, who was a baby, a dog and cat (complete with litter tray......)

Our friends who traveled back separately also had a bad experience as their daughter was unwell and the couple they were with kept switching off the light making it difficult for them to get to the toilet along the corridor, then get her settled etc......

Having said that, when it goes well its really pleasant......

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Hi Ernie

We used the motorail 3 times for holidays before we moved to France, so it's 6 or 7 years ago now. We went to Tarbes from Calais and to Bologna and Rome, and on one trip we took the motorbike. We thought it was excellent, but it was expensive! You have to weigh the cost against time/fuel saved.

I can recommend the Railsavers people (link already supplied previously) they are very helpful.

Some services did have a restaurant car and in this case you need to book a meal immediately you board. Breakfast was also served in the dining car. 

We always had our own cabin and these come in several types; for 2 of us we preferred the 'T2 uppers' (see the website for an explanation) and you get a washbasin but no toilet, although it appears the German ones now have WC and shower.

The journey is usually made overnight, often with frequent stops in the middle of nowhere, presumably to tie-in with existing rail schedules.

It's great to open the blind in the morning to see the sun (hopefully!) rising over the countryside as you speed through it.

Sid 

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Although it is quite an easy drive down. Paris can be alright with a Sat Nav but easier to go via Pouen and Chartres (for route finding the RAC seem to be the best for this - some of the others also include Paris in the route).

The motorways are quite, especially when you get below Orleans and there are plenty of Aires to rest at.

Plus parts of the journey are very scenic and perhaps places that it would be nice to stop the night at if you wished to do the journey over a couple of days.

Paul

 

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I'm afraid the relevance of your reply to the topic rather escapes me Paul [8-)]

I'm pretty certain that virtually everyone here will have driven to their place in France enough times to appreciate everything you say and also know the route, or routes, which work for them.

Without question taking a leisurely drive has much to recommend it, if however one's purpose is a little more focussed on getting to the destination, i.e. our house in The Lot, then a straight 1000km drive from Calais in an MG Midget falls somewhat short of qualifying as a pleasure, even for my daughter !

The motives behind the enquiry were to explore the relative cost's and logistics of putting the car on the train rather than undertaking that drive but considering that the train journey actually begins at Calais then unfortunately it looks to be completely prohibitive on cost alone [:(]

 

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[quote user="ErnieY"]

I'm afraid the relevance of your reply to the topic rather escapes me Paul [8-)]

I'm pretty certain that virtually everyone here will have driven to their place in France enough times to appreciate everything you say and also know the route, or routes, which work for them.

Without question taking a leisurely drive has much to recommend it, if however one's purpose is a little more focussed on getting to the destination, i.e. our house in The Lot, then a straight 1000km drive from Calais in an MG Midget falls somewhat short of qualifying as a pleasure, even for my daughter !

The motives behind the enquiry were to explore the relative cost's and logistics of putting the car on the train rather than undertaking that drive but considering that the train journey actually begins at Calais then unfortunately it looks to be completely prohibitive on cost alone [:(]

[/quote]

Ernie, yes probably most people have driven, but your post referred to your daughter, who I thought might have been worried about such a long drive and I was trying to give some reassurance that it is not such a bad drive - sorry for trying to be helpful.

But, now you have clarified matters that it is an MG Midget then personally..........

Paul

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[quote user="Russethouse"]

I have mentioned this before and keep hoping that it may have changed, but you have to careful when you book that your party is all in the same compartment. We shared with friends going, but coming back there were four of us and a couple. A lady I met on the station while waiting for our car to be unloaded, shared with her daughter plus an elderly couple, their grand daughter, who was a baby, a dog and cat (complete with litter tray......)

Our friends who traveled back separately also had a bad experience as their daughter was unwell and the couple they were with kept switching off the light making it difficult for them to get to the toilet along the corridor, then get her settled etc......

Having said that, when it goes well its really pleasant......

[/quote]

I believe that they now guarantee that you won't have to share a compartment with strangers.

It's several years since we did it (since buying our holiday home in Normandy we've not been south) but always found it a good experience. Expensive - yes, but ideal if you've only got one driver and limited time.

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  • 3 months later...
Hi

My boyfriend and I used the Motorail to get to and from Narbonne last year. You do get a compartment/couchette just for the two of you (or whatever size of your party - up to 6 in a compartment) they are a bit old and shabby but OK . You have seats which fold into beds and are provide with a sheet and pillow. Each carriage - of a few couchettes has a toilet at each end. It's an expensive way to travel though unless there are 4 or 6 of you as you pay for the couchete rather than per person.

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Hi Ernie.

Yes we have done it twice,it was super, one of the trips, we got up in the morning on arriving at the station in Avignon, to find breakfast all laid out on the station for us, we sat in the sun, it was glorious, would not have missed it for the world, after this we drove to Grasse for a weeks holiday, we were driving a Rover 2000 P6 this time. Recommended.

 

Colin

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We did it (motorail Narbonne-Calais) last June.

We knew it would be expensive but it seemed to suit the occasion because:

1.We didnt want to drive all that way (we are old fogeys now)

2.We had a car full of wine boxes for our joint 60th birthday party back in old Blighty (didnt want them nicked in the parking at a formula 1 en route)

3. We were leaving the car over there , donating it to our daughter and had a really cheap flight back home to Perpignan.

Unfortunately, there was a power cut shortly after we left Narbonne.

This meant that the compartment we shared had no air conditioning and was stifling.

It also meant that there was no lighting at all during the night so you couldnt read for example and going down the corridor to the toilet would have been difficult.

We had a long exchange of letters after we got home.

It took several months but eventually we received the princely sum of £25 compensation!!!

Added to that, we found out that the price of the journey had been reduced by 50% the week before we travelled.

Might pay you to delay booking until the last minute. I dont think they ever are fully booked.

If that works, I look forward to a cut !

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An interesting take on how you see yourselves, 'we are old fogeys now' but you hadn't had your 60th birthday.

I can't really see 59 years old as 'old fogey' territory.

Personnally, I might consider 70+ as that but I doubt it, unless I really fall apart. [:P]

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[quote user="powerdesal"]An interesting take on how you see yourselves, 'we are old fogeys now' but you hadn't had your 60th birthday.

I can't really see 59 years old as 'old fogey' territory.

Personnally, I might consider 70+ as that but I doubt it, unless I really fall apart. [:P]

[/quote]

Sixty is not old it is the new forty![:)]

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[quote user="Cendrillon"][quote user="powerdesal"]An interesting take on how you see yourselves, 'we are old fogeys now' but you hadn't had your 60th birthday.
I can't really see 59 years old as 'old fogey' territory.
Personnally, I might consider 70+ as that but I doubt it, unless I really fall apart. [:P]
[/quote]

Sixty is not old it is the new forty![:)]
[/quote]

Funny that as you get older so the age at which you are old moves away such that you never catch up with that age :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

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