Eurostar Snow will return this month with winter ski trains to the Alps

Skiers can reach Val Thorens, Val d’Isère and Courchevel on the high-speed service through Lille

Eurostar’s winter ski trains to the Alps will return later this month.

Eurostar Snow, a high-speed rail service connecting London St Pancras to Lille and beyond, is set to run for 16 weeks from 20 December.

After changing trains at Lille, passengers can disembark at Chambéry, Albertville, Moûtiers, Aime-La-Plagne, Landry and Bourg-Saint-Maurice.

From Bourg-Saint-Maurice station, coaches will ferry skiers to popular resorts including Val Thorens, Val d’Isère, Courchevel, La Tania, Tignes, Meribel or Les Menuires.

Fares for the service started at £99 each way when they went on sale in July.

The journey from London to Bourg-Saint-Maurice takes just under eight hours, with the return journey nine hours long. Trains depart London St Pancras on Saturday mornings at 9.01am.

According to Eurostar, the “more sustainable way to reach the Alps” offers passengers a generous luggage allowance, including two suitcases, one piece of hand luggage, and skis or a snowboard at no extra cost.

Between London and Lille, there is also a Eurostar Café on board for light bites and drinks.

The international train service is also introducing a seven-day return option for the 2025 season.

Travellers headed for the pistes will be able to depart on Saturdays, returning the following weekend on Saturday or Sunday until 4 April.

In October, Virgin Trains announced it would soon be able to run passenger services through the Channel Tunnel, challenging Eurostar’s decades-long monopoly.

According to the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), Sir Richard Branson’s company will be able to operate from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.

Eurostar has exclusively run passenger trains in the Channel Tunnel since its inception in 1994. But the government ruling means that Virgin can use Temple Mills, an east London train depot, to maintain and store its trains.

The move is set to bring better services and lower fares on trains to the continent – but not until 2030.

Read more: Why you should take the rebooted snow train to the French Alps