Full disclosure – I love trains so choose rail travel whenever I can, but being a northerner, I also have to be objective that sometimes, flying is quicker. Or is it?

Eurostar is a fantastic service. Not only do you avoid the stress and hassle of airports, you don’t need to arrive at the station half a day before your train. You get to enjoy wonderful scenery, can walk and move around the train much easier than you can on a plane and when you get to your destination, you’re bang in the middle of the city, have no wait for your luggage and no queue at passport control (did you know that border checks are done at the departure point on Eurostar?). It’s altogether much nicer than being stuck in a tiny seat, elbow to elbow with your neighbour.

I had to go to Paris for a meeting and my default would usually be to fly. However, with upgrades happening on the TransPennine route, I no longer have a direct train to Manchester Airport. Multiple changes and a journey of over 2 hours felt like way more hassle than a direct train to London.

Because of the times of the trains to London, I had 2 hours to kill at St Pancras which was quite a bit more than the 75 minutes Eurostar recommends. Depending on which class you’re travelling, you could arrive as close as 30 minutes before, and if you’re travelling Business Premier or have top tier status with Eurostar, I’ve known them to usher people through much closer!

Whilst I was travelling Eurostar Standard, I wasn’t bothered about being at the station so early as I get access to Eurostar’s wonderful Business Premier lounge with my Amex Platinum card, so was able to grab a breakfast of pastries and coffee. Passing through security, British and French border control took all of 5 minutes. Good luck doing that at Manchester Airport!

The one annoyance about Eurostar is the terrible wifi. The seats, even in Standard, are plenty spacious enough to work, with big fold down tables from the seat in front, but getting online can be frustrating. I usually tether to my phone and found that my recent switch to EE was a good move as had excellent signal for most of the journey – even in the tunnel.

When I got to Paris Gare du Nord station, I hopped on the Metro and was at my hotel within about 30 minutes. If I’d have been at Charles de Gaulle Airport, I’d probably have still been taxiing to the gate or in a queue for passport control. With it being 4pm, I’d probably have got stuck in traffic getting into the city, or would have got on the train and ended up at Gare du Nord station anyway.

Time wise, getting the Eurostar was about 30 minutes quicker than flying, but what about the cost?

Eurostar has no competition in the tunnel and whilst they do compete with airlines on the same routes, fares can sometimes look high in comparison to flying. In my case, the cost was comparable, once I’d added on bags and seats to the flight booking (no such extra charges on Eurostar) and factored in costs of getting to/from the airports/stations. The absolute beauty of Eurostar is the experience and whilst I might be a little biased, I’d happily pay a bit more for Eurostar than flying. This would be especially true in Eurostar Plus or Eurostar Premier as I love the dining experience.

On my return journey, there was a medical emergency and my train from Gare de Lyon to Gare du Nord was delayed. I had to quickly hop off and jump on the metro. Rushing up to departures at Gare du Nord, there was no queue for passport or security and I was through in minutes, making back some of the delay and leaving just enough time to grab a cuppa in the Business Premier lounge before boarding. Good luck getting to the airport 20 minutes before boarding and still making your flight!  

Eurostar now allows time changes up to an hour before departure so had I got really worried, I could have simply changed my ticket in the Eurostar app and got a later train (at a cost, of course). You can also change your seats in the app so, if like me, you prefer not to sit with a stranger if you can help it, you can change your seats right up to an hour before departure.  

Packing for my Berlin trip, having to think about Ryanair’s strict baggage sizes and airport liquid limits just reiterated that travelling by rail is so much easier. So much less stressful, even if there’s a delay, easy on the pocket and way better for the planet.

Speaking of Ryanair, this’ll be my first time flying with them in 22 years. Lets see how that goes…