Rail travel in France (Rail travel in Europe)

You can often save money with a rail pass. Europe wide consider the Inter-rail pass or the Euro Domino Pass. In France they have cards that give reductions of 25 to 50% on normal fares. Examples you may want to consider include; Senior Card, Child Plus Card, Youth Card, Discovery for Two Card, Séjour (return 200km, must include a Saturday night), J8 (if you reserve from 2 months to 8 days before), and the J30 (if you reserve from 2 months to 30 days before). They can run from 3 to 9 days for travel taken within one month.

Inter Rail passes allow unlimited travel for a month through 27 European countries (and Morocco), but does not include your home country. Consider a regional pass if you can as its much cheaper. There are supplements for all high speed services (www.raileurope.com ).

Eurodomino passes are flexible passes allowing unlimited travel in the relevant country for between three and eight days in a one month period. High speed trains are normally included in the price, but do not include seat reservations (www.raileurope.com ).

More about travel passes in France

- Eurostar. Travel from London to Paris, Brussels, Lille and most major cities in France. Tel: 08705 186 186. Bus and coach transfers to ski stations

 - RATP French Railway company. Tel: 0033 1 4468 2020. Local bus, metro and railway services in and around Paris. www.ratp.fr

 - www.raileurope.com (The U.K. subsidiary of SNCF). For rail travel in France including Eurostar and the TGV. TIP; Buy a France Railpass or a France Youthpass giving you the option of travel on any three to nine days within a one month period. You can stop where you like, it is valid on all trains on the national network including TGV's. SKI trains - Travel outbound overnight on Friday evening and return overnight the following Saturday evening. Services start on mid December and continue until early April. Travel to; Chambery, Albertville, Moutiers, Aime La Plagne, Bourg St Maurice.

- SNCF / TER French Railways. The SNCF is divided into five systems (East, North, West, Southeast and Southwest), and provides transporttaion within France's 22 regions. More about SNCF and to book a fare. www.sncf.fr

- TGV French Railways. With the TGV (train à grande vitesse) once you get to Lille, you can travel onto Paris, Lyons, Marseilles, Nîmes, Bordeaux and Nantes. More about the TGV and to book a fare

- French Motorail. Calais to Brive, Toulouse, Narbonne, Avignon and Nice.

Eurostar provides two direct services a week to Bourg St Maurice, both calling en route at Moûtiers and Aime-La-Plagne, with the overnight service allowing skiers to enjoy more time on the slopes. The trains offer access to a variety of ski destinations in the French Alps such as Courchevel, La Plagne, Tignes, Méribel, Les Arcs and allow advanced skiers, families or beginners to select a resort tailored to their needs.

Eurostar timetable for 2008-2009 ski season: UK to France Overnight Service (Depart Friday, arrives Saturday):

London St Pancras International - 8.31pm / Ashford International - 9.15pm / Moutiers - 5.37am / Aime La Plagne - 6.05am / Bourg St Maurice - 6.27am

Bourg St Maurice - 10.15pm / Moutiers - 11.09pm / Ashford International - 6.34am / London St Pancras International - 7.16am

London St Pancras International - 10am / Ashford International - 10.47am / Moutiers - 5.30pm / Aime La Plagne - 6.02pm / Bourg St Maurice - 6.20pm

Bourg St Maurice - 10.04am / Moutiers - 10.45am / Ashford International - 3.36pm / London St Pancras International - 4.11pm