Enthusiasts, connoisseurs and plain ol’ drinkers of wine: this one’s for you. A new direct train service could soon launch that’ll take you from London direct to Bordeaux. From as soon as 2026, you may be able to get from the UK all the way down to southwest France without having to change trains. Dreamy, right?
Currently, if travellers want to get from London to Bordeaux they’re required to get at least two trains. One is the Eurostar, which goes from St Pancras to Paris’ Gare du Nord, while the other is a speedy TGV service from Paris’ Montparnasse station to Bordeaux. It’s not that much of a faff – but it’s certainly far from as hassle-free as a direct service.
As yet, a new London-Bordeaux route is very much still in the planning stages. However, British high-speed rail execs reckon the new route could (at a push) be up and running by 2026 and that it should take about five hours each way.
It’s all part of wider campaigns to make rail travel more attractive across Europe. In part due to rail travel being so much greener (as well as better all round) than air travel, the continent has seen a huge resurgence in rail routes, from sleeper trains to affordable high-speed lines.
And, excitingly. Bordeaux isn’t the only Europe destination being eyed-up by Eurostar. According to The Drinks Business, the new train for wine fans could be followed by other direct routes between London and destinations such as Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva, Marseille and Toulouse.
So if you’re a big fan of both wine and trains, there could be some very exciting times ahead! Keep an eye on this page – we’ll update it with any developments.
Did you see that Spain now has (another) dazzling high-speed train route?
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