BackNew shared transfers from Moutiers to Meribel
It was a crazy situation.
Every Saturday last season, the direct Eurostar Ski Train would arrive at Moutiers station at 18:13. Alighting there would be hundreds of skiers, many bound for the resort of Meribel and looking forward to dinner on the first night of their holiday.
To make the 20-minute journey from Moutiers station to the resort, these skiers had a choice: public bus or taxi. Except they didn't. Because the last public bus for Moutiers would depart each Saturday at 18:00, exactly 13 minutes before the Eurostar arrived. Nuts!
That left skiers with only one option - a private taxi. That's fine if there's a few of you, but for singles and couples it is a bit of a waste of money, not to mention space in a vehicle, petrol etc.
So an enterprising transfer company, Three Vallee Transfers, has lauched - in partnership with Snowcarbon and 3 Vallees Association - a shared transfer service to meet this train each week.
The service - the first of its kind - means that skiers arriving on the daytime Eurostar Ski Train can be met by a dedicated, shared transfer from Moutiers station that delivers them to the door of their hotel or chalet for a fixed cost of €20 to anywhere in the Méribel valley. The service is also available for the journey from Meribel to Moutiers, to connect with the returning daytime Eurostar Ski Train, every Saturday from 5th January until 13th April.
Christophe Gernigon, director of Méribel ski resort in France, says: “Méribel is one of the most convenient ski resorts by train, and these shared transfers will help us encourage more skiers to travel from the UK to Méribel by train and make the journey part of the holiday.”
Vincent Lalanne, director of 3 Vallées Association says: “Les 3 Vallées prides itself on helping skiers get around the extensive ski domain easily and helping them arrive comfortably is just as important. So we are keen to pioneer these improvements in train access, beginning with Méribel and later we hope for the whole 3 Vallées.”
While there are plenty of shared services from airports, these are the first of their kind from train stations. “Every week we see private taxis carrying one or two people up the hill to resorts from Moutiers,” says John Simcock, founder of Three Vallee Transfers. “Skiers have had shared transfers from airports for years, so this will give them the same benefit from train stations. For solos or couples particularly, shared transfers save money, provide a comfortable journey and by the time they reach the door of their chalet they may have made some new friends on the way.”
This is a very positive step forward in terms of making things easier for skiers and snowboarders to travel to ski resorts by train, and as this first shared route takes off, other routes will follow for other stations and resorts.
You can book these transfers on Three Vallee Transfers website.