Tour specific travel advice to cut carbon emissions – for your tour in Briancon
The Eagles now has a target to emit net zero carbon from its activities within two full seasons, by cutting emissions by swapping from air to train, for example; and by offsetting. At the moment, we estimate net annual emissions to be 280 tonnes. (To keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees by 2100, each person should emit on average no more than 1.5 tonnes per year.) If you would like to help reach the club’s target, there are two main things you can do:
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Offset your travel (by whatever mode) by buying from the Club’s emissions offset scheme at a cost of around £3.50 for an average return flight within Europe and less for other modes.
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Choose lower emission mode(s) of transport for all or part of your trip. (Taking a direct flight from say Edinburgh to Munich then continuing to Innsbruck by train, instead of taking connecting flights, will still cut emissions. Or travel by train in one direction and plane the other.)
Per passenger, the rough CO2 emissions for a return from London to Geneva are as follows
Direct flight, Economy Class 400kg
Large car, 4 passengers 160kg
Small car, 4 passengers 80kg
Coach 50kg
Train (e.g. Eurostar ) 25kg
(Source of data: here)
This document gives a few tips on booking lower carbon travel from London to the start point(s) of your tour, Briancon. The nearest main stations are Grenoble and Oulx-Cesana (Italy). Bus services between Grenoble, Oulx and Briancon are operated by https://www.autocars-resalp.com/ - times and prices are on that site. (Travel by rail to Briancon from Paris is possible but very slow.)
Train. Grenoble is around 8-9 hours and Oulx 10½ hours by train from London St Pancras, with a change in Paris (from Gare du Nord to Gare du Lyon, using one fast metro line; tickets are sold at the Eurostar buffet car). For train times see www.bahn.co.uk – just enter London and your final destination, pretty much anywhere in Europe.
As well as day trains, there is a night train from Paris Austerlitz to Briancon, see www.sncf-connect.com, offering seated and couchette accommodation.
Eurostar does not offer through London to Grenoble or Oulx tickets. Instead, you have to buy a ticket to Paris on www.eurostar.com, and another onwards from Paris at www.sncf.co.uk or www.oui.sncf.com. To be on the safe side allow 60 minutes in Paris if you don’t have a through ticket. Booked well ahead Eurostar charge around £60 for a single from London to Paris; SNCF charge about the same for a single from Paris to Grenoble (slightly less to Oulx).
Eurostar and German Rail (DB) tickets go on sale 6 months in advance and SNCF 4 months. More info at https://www.eagleskiclub.org.uk/plan-your-trip/low-carbon-travel/train-travel-tips-and-hints.
Bus. You can travel from London to Paris and then onwards to Grenoble or Oulx in a total of about 16-18 hours and for around £60, booking ahead at www.flixbus.co.uk
Car. The Michelin route planner www.viamichelin.com suggests a drive time from London to Nevache of 13 hours, a distance of 1150 km/720 miles and tolls of €126 one way (via Oulx) or €76 (via Grenoble). It also calculates fuel costs for your car, though not Euroshuttle.
Carshare. Car sharing is available via Blablacar, the carsharing app. You pay for a lift – details at www.blablacar.com. If driving, register your trip details to get paying passengers – e.g. €70 for Calais-Lyon. You can search for lifts as a passenger (although they are often posted only a few days in advance). It is heavily used in France and Spain.
Travelling from outside London? Apologies if this info all seems a bit London-centric but pretty much all rail and bus travel from the UK to the continent is via London, though when driving, the Hull-Zeebrugge ferry may be a good alternative to Euroshuttle. By train, it is possible to return as far north as Edinburgh in one day from some stations in the western Alps (Modane, for example; or from Zurich), though more difficult on the outward due to the time difference. See www.bahn.co.uk