Motorail

[Rainman]

I don't want another jaunt down through france on straight roads next spring - I want to get down there & have some fun. I don't have lots of time.....go motorail I'm told. How much does it cost I ask?
Who's done it & how much, Narbonne/Nice?

 

[Shurv]

I've done calais to nice in the summer. For 2 bikes and 4 people it was about £ 400. How much for a solo bike I don't know. It stops only in 2 places, nice is best as you can blast around the south coast within easy reach of the mountains. The phone number is 08702 415415.It's a great way to get there without the 750 motorway miles .

Marcus.

 

[Tobers]

A group of us did Nice to Calais on Motorail on the way back this year. I have to say that I wouldn't ride back ever again, as the Motorail thing makes a long trip so much easier.

Some basics:

- They have 2 person cabins called "couchettes". These are quite diddy but comfortable. Unfortunately ours stank as our sweat soaked leathers and boots gradually fermented.
- There is a buffet car but it is really naff - take your own food & drink
- It departed Nice at about 6pm and was in Calais at about 9am
- There was what appeared to be a disproportionate amount of arsing about to load and unload the bikes. Whilst the strapping down etc was v.efficiently done, getting to the point where you actually load the thing onto the wagon was a pain as there was v.little information and lots of hanging around. At the other end (Calais), we were shepherded into a building to have breakfast (whether we liked it or not) whilst cars were unloaded. Bikes were last on and last off
- The cost for the one-way trip was about £175 pp i.e. £350 for two bikes and two people sharing a two-berth couchette. I'm sure we could have got it cheaper if we'd tried. The train was pretty quiet, not too many on board except some loony classic car buffs.

We saved the cost of fuel, tolls, hotel accom (we were going to split the return journey into 2 days), mind-numbing autoroutes (yes I know you can take little roads but we wanted to go home!), and about 25% of a rear tyre (all on Aprilia RSVs). That about equates to the cost of the Motorail trip.

Overall, despite the arsing about at each end, the trip itself was excellent. Go to sleep and wake up in Calais, roll off the train and trundle round to the ferry port.

Here's a pic of the bikes being loaded in Nice.

 

[guitarman]

I've used Motorail a few times both on the bike and in the car.

There is, as Tobers says, an inordinate amount of faffing about. The staff are the most unhelpful group of people I think I've ever dealt with (and that includes British Rail). We were given no help in finding out where to go, when to load, when we'd be unloaded, how to find our carriage (not as easy as it sounds - I've heard of people getting on the wrong train and not finding out until the ticket inspector passes by). I wish I could put it down to an isolated incident but I've used it four times over the course of the past 15 years and it's been the same each time. The concept of customer service hasn't reached Motorail yet.

Having said that it does make the trip a lot easier in some respects although I certainly didn't wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go but then again I'm not a morning person We saved a day and a lot of riding but there was no significant cost saving. 175pp against £70 petrol, £30 hotel, £30 tolls and 750 miles worth of depreciation.

Each to their own but I think I'll stick with the boring straight roads (pervert that I am).

Cheers

Dick

 

[Invicta Moto]

The argument between Motorail and riding down is always going to be subjective.... Depending on the time of year the decision can be made for you.

I delivered my ex's XJ900 to Murcia a few year's back in February. The frost and ice extended across France and I was just by the big hotel in the middle of the motor way at barcelone before the sun shone and the roads cleared and I could de-layer. SO the choice to go by Motorail from paris to Narbonne looked like a good one.

Another consideration is whether you want to use the ride down as part of the holiday, or a necessary evil to get to Spain (or wherever). After 25 years of beating down their by car and mostly by bike, anything to cut out France is a good thing.

I was going to recommend considering Belgian Motorail, but by coincidence I got an email today from SNCB to say that they have packed in motorail. Their route to Narbonne in 2001 was the best I have been on and the only problem was the surly and untrained Narbonnais SNCF tam that had no idea how to strap down bikes on the return leg!

Over the years I have used the Calais-Narbonne service once and Paris to Nice or Narbonne or Biarritz quite a few times. Even the defunct Paris to Mardid route once. I also used the Koln-Salzgurg route on Deutsche Bahn one year!

Paris gives more options and a lot more services including day time trains to most destinations. You can book them through Rail Europe in Piccadilly and thwey are generally cheaper than Calais.

The rates from Calais seem to add the premium of being for the English rather than for the French themselves. Last time they posted me the brochure they were charging the same for bikes as for cars.....

Not had the same problems as Dick with finding the right train and compartment although narbonne station is a bit of an arseh*le at night finding the right platform through the tunnels under them!

The only problem at the Paris end has been that you load either first or last, and they think that up on the spot! The local railmen won't load or unload a bike so you either have to be at Tolbiac (for Austerlitz departures) before they open the loading! It does mean you get to have an afternoon in Paris....

have to agree with Dick, I have never woken up bright and breezy after an overnight in a stuffy couchette, expeciall ynot when stuck in a six-berth with an English family!

 

[Rod Souter]

Try
http:\\www.railsavers.com
for rates etc.

Rod