2008-8-15 10:40am
THERE is much talk at the moment of people taking the train to France due to the increased cost of flights but also to help reduce a traveller's carbon footprint.
For many years the Motorail service was a popular method of getting to France, but as low-cost airlines took to the skies the service began to struggle.
And it seems the rail service is still playing catch-up if a piece in the Daily Telegraph is anything to go by.
Robert Chesshyre writes about his experience of travelling to the South of France with his wife, and how he remembered the Motorail service of yesteryear, but he wasn't expecting it to still be living in those times though.
The double-glazing had totally “blown”, and not just in ours but in virtually every compartment the length of the train — and along the corridors. Fifteen hours on the train lay ahead and all those expectations of watching France slip past and that first impression of Provence and the sparkling sea vanished. I travelled on trains behind the then Iron Curtain in better conditions than we were being offered: at least one could see out of a Soviet carriage.
He concludes that it is sad that a once popular service is in such a state of disrepair and whilst the Daily Telegraph asked French Railways, SNCF, for their thoughts on the piece, the statement doesn't fill you with much hope.
Have you travelled on the French Motorail service this summer, what were your experiences? Please feel free to leave a comment below.
