London 2012 blog

As one might imagine, there is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between London and the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is probably no surprise either that the usual means of travel is by air between London and Geneva. But is there a better way?

This week I'm at the annual meeting of the IOC’s Sport and Environment Commission, in Lausanne and felt this was an ideal opportunity to try the overland route by train. I knew the high-speed leg to Paris would be fine; for starters it is always a pleasure to see the new St Pancras International station. Within a handful of minutes we are speeding past the Olympic Park site at Stratford – a brief glimpse of daylight as we flash through the future Stratford International station before emerging beside the large wind turbines at Dagenham. Into a tunnel again, under the Thames and a brief stop at the new Ebbsfleet International, and then we really get going – flying without taking off; within less than two and a half hours from leaving London we are in Paris.

The next bit is not ideal but the RER trains across Paris to the Gare de Lyon are at least frequent and quick. Within an hour I am leaving on the TGV via Dijon, Frasne, Vallorbe and final destination Lausanne.

All aboard at the Gare de Lyon:

It was super fast to Dijon and thereafter the route was the most splendid trundle through forested hills, farmland and picturesque villages of Burgundy, Franche Comté and the Jura. With my mobile office – laptop plugged in, and 3G broadband card picking up signal most of the way - it was almost like being at my desk but without the interruptions. Well the emails kept coming but in between I could gaze out over flower-rich meadows and watch buzzards and red kites hawking over the fields. Now this beats flying hands down.

My mobile office:



We pulled into Lausanne just before 5pm and it was only a five minute walk to the hotel. Overall journey time from central London was within seven and a half hours. A colleague from the Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee, who had stopped off in London before continuing by plane to Lausanne, had ‘beaten’ me there by a couple of hours. But weighing up journey time versus comfort and ability to work, we agreed the train wins, even at this length. Not only was I feeling environmentally smug, but I had had a more productive and pleasant journey.

And the cost? Well discounted airfares these days are hard to beat, but with some planning ahead and accepting a non-flexible ticket, the train is not so far behind. This is certainly one example where being greener is more stylish.