233: Mark Smith, 'The Man in Seat 61', on train travel to the Alps

233: Mark Smith, 'The Man in Seat 61', on train travel to the Alps

Today is a special interview with Mark Smith – the train travel expert also known as ‘The Man in Seat 61’.

We discuss his background; how he came to set up his website seat61.com; his views on the best routes to the Alps by train; the trend towards night trains; plus whether there will ever be competition for Eurostar on the cross-channel line.

Intersport Ski Hire Discount Code
If you’re heading to the Alps this winter, then you can save money on your ski hire by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ at intersportrent.com, or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout.

SHOW NOTES

Seat61.com is a multiple award-winning website with more than 1m visitors per month (2:00)
Why is it called ‘Seat 61’? (2:30)
What prompted you to start the site in 2001? (4:15)
Mark has worked full time on Seat61.com since 2007 (7:00)
Iain took the ‘Flight Free Pledge’ to take no flights in 2024 (8:45)
Why should people travel by train? (9:00)
Come for the carbon savings, stay for the joy of travelling by train (9:15)

“We're in danger of creating a world where every single journey is an identical non-experience at 30,000 feet and life's too short not to grab every experience when you get the chance.” (11:30)

Listen to Iain’s report on the Eurostar Snow Train (13:00)
Will Eurostar ever bring back that direct service? (13:30)
Or that they might increase the number of rotations? (15:45)
Will we see competition to Eurostar on the cross-channel HS1 line? (18:00)
Virgin are interested in starting as a competitor to Eurostar (18:30)
When will the line from Paris to Turin open again? (21:00)
Taking the train to Italian ski resorts (23:00)
Taking the train to Austria (24:00)
Taking the train to Norway (25:00)
The Caledonian Sleeper is ‘Best train in the UK’ according to Mark (26:00)
Simon Calder and Mark raced to Edinburgh in a plane v. train race (27:30)
Night trains are becoming more popular (28:30)
OBB’s ‘Nightjet’ service is the biggest operator of night trains in Europe (29:30)
The Nightjet to Innsbruck departs from Amsterdam (31:00)
Listen to Iain’s interview with Chris Engelsman, co-founder of European Sleeper (31:30)
Mark will be on the inaugural European Sleeper service (32:30)
Boutique operators include Snälltåget and European Sleeper (33:30)
How do you keep the costs of train travel down? (35:00)
When is Interrail better value than point-to-point tickets? (37:00)
Why do you have to wait to three months beforehand until you can book trains? (38:30)
Iain will be travelling to Sicily on the only train ferry left in Europe (40:45)
Is it possible to travel from Portugal to Singapore by train? (42:00)
Take the plunge, you’ll love it! (44:00)

“Collectively we are racing through spectacular landscapes, covering a mile every 40 seconds, using Victorian infrastructure to the full and causing minimal environment harm. The rail traveller is in touch with the world.”

Feedback
I enjoy all feedback about the show, I’m always interested to hear what you think, so please do contact me on social @theskipodcast or by email theskipodcast@gmail.com

Dan Trapp: "Keep up the great work. And have a great season!"
Alex Nevill (BMAC): "Love this podcast, always gets me in the mood for the ski season"

There are now 245 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with and a whopping 202 of those were listened to in the last week.

There is so much to listen to in our back catalog, just go to theskipodcast.com and have a look around - you’re bound to find something that sparks your interest.

If you like the podcast, there are three things you can do to help:

1) Follow us. Just take a look for that button and press it now
2) Give us a review or just leave a comment on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
3) Book your ski hire with Intersport Rent using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ or take this link

You can follow Iain @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast

Jaksot(285)

5: Powdair, Courchevel and Human Curling

5: Powdair, Courchevel and Human Curling

In this episode we chat to longterm seasonnaire Alex Irwin about his 20 years in Courchevel, making Genepi and human curling. We also talk about how Powdair the dedicated airline for skiers won't be hitting the slopes this winter. On top of that, we look at how our athletes are getting on in the build-up to the Winter Olympics, the new Aldi ski range and a portable broom. To subscribe to Alex's youtube channel got to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrYz48gTOY_l542GySjWVcA.

30 Marras 201735min

4: Jamie Barrow talks about his snowboard trip to North Korea

4: Jamie Barrow talks about his snowboard trip to North Korea

In this episode the Uk's fastest snowboarder, Jamie Barrow drops in for a chat about his recent adventure to ride the new ski resort in North Korea. We also discuss the launch of ski airline Powdair, chat about Ed Sheeran's new music video and look at ski poles that you can fill up with booze.

15 Marras 201734min

3: London Ski Show 2017 Special, with Graham Bell and Ed Leigh

3: London Ski Show 2017 Special, with Graham Bell and Ed Leigh

The ski show special. In this episode, we look at The Telegraph Ski & Snowboard show 2017 and get opinion from Ed Leigh, Emily Sarsfield, Chris Moran, Simon Shaw, Rosie Barcroft, Alan Morgan, Cat Weakley & snowboarder Jamie Barrow. We find out what Graham Bells favourite ski run would be and we also allow the inventor of Tip Tap Touch to pitch his Ideas to us in our Wasp den.

1 Marras 201735min

2: Planes, trains and no mention of Snowmobiles

2: Planes, trains and no mention of Snowmobiles

In this edition, Iain and Jim look at the collapse of Monarch and how it could affect your ski holiday. We also ask the question are all ski resort basically the same? Bust some myths about eating cake after skiing, finding out if your boot needs a glove and chatting to our guest Dave from Ifyouski about selling ski holiday.

17 Loka 201731min

1: The Jump, London Ski Show & LISTEX

1: The Jump, London Ski Show & LISTEX

In the first episode of the Knowledge is Powder podcast Iain reveals that the name is absolutely nonsensical which is a great start and probably a sign of what is to come. We also get some inside knowledge on the temporary axing of Channel 4's The Jump. There is chat about the upcoming ski show and we talk about the 2018 Winter Olympics. We would love to know if you are looking forward to the winter games and you can tell us by leaving a comment on the podcast.

3 Loka 201727min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
aikalisa
kolme-kaannekohtaa
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
sita
olipa-kerran-otsikko
i-dont-like-mondays
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
kaksi-aitia
rss-murhan-anatomia
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
meidan-pitais-puhua
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
terapeuttiville-qa
mamma-mia
joku-tietaa-jotain-2
lahko
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
rss-haudattu