International Rail services

Rail Travel Options to Chatel.

There are several rail travel options. We have described below some of the more direct:

NEAREST STATIONS

Several Swiss and French railway stations are within a reasonable driving distance of the club chalet in Chatel. The nearest stations are just over the border in Switzerland at Monthey, Bex and Aigle. Stations at Thonon and Evian in France involve longer and slower transfers although they do connect with the SAT Chatel bus link.

Of the three stations in Switzerland Aigle is probably the best choice, as it is served by fast and frequent services from Geneva Airport, and entails a 40 minute transfer. Bex is nearer (30 minutes transfer) but is predominantly served by infrequent stopping services. Ticket office staff in Geneva Airport station speak excellent English so you will have no difficulty purchasing tickets. Once you have collected your ticket simply head for the platform they recommend and wait the train will depart on time! If necessary you may need to change trains in Geneva central (the first stop for all trains departing from the airport) or in Lausanne.

Finally the determined rail traveller can book a combined rail/tram/bus ticket to Morgins. After the swift mainline service to Aigle you switch to the local tram up to Monthey - which is both sedate and spectacular - finally the railway bus service will take you all the way to Morgins. Whilst this will add at least another 85 minutes to the journey and reduces the minibus transfer to Chatel to just 20 minutes.

INTERNATIONAL SERVICES

During Winter months there is an overnight motorail services direct from Brussels Midi station to Brig in Switzerland. Brig is about 1 hour drive from Chatel. The outward service leaves late Friday, arriving mid morning on Saturday.The return journey leaves late Saturday arriving Sunday morning in Brussels. Please note they will not carry any vehicles with roofboxes as these have been know to fly off at 200KPH. Although primarily intended as a motorail service, it is also open to normal foot passengers, and offers a choice of Sleeper or couchette accomodation.

From Brig it is possible to catch local SBB service towards Geneva calling Aigle/Bex. It is normally possible to book seats for the service in connection with Waterloo/Brussels Eurostar Services. However as timings of the motorail service seem to vary every year so it is important to check with a rail travel agent. You should also allow plenty of time to pass through two sets of passport control checks in Brussels (one to arrive in Belgium from the UK and one to leave Belgium for Switzerland).

The nearest railway station in France is Thonon which is about 45 minutes drive from Chatel. Evian is on the same line and slightly further by road and has no bus links. Neither station is particularly convenient for visitors to Chatel, as they are largely served by slow and infrequent local services. Thonon does however have a regular bus link to Chatel, and with a couple of changes can be reached from Geneva airport. Please note (1) you can buy a through train/bus ticket to Chatel at the Geneva airport railway station and pay in pretty well any currency you care to offer. (2) The first stop for all trains leaving Geneva Airport is Geneva Central so always head for the first train out. (3) When you get to Geneva Central you will be on the Swiss side of the station, so for services to Chatel you need to go down the underpass through the border checks into the French side of the railway station. Simply follow the signs for France and have your passport ready. (4) Most trains for Chatel involve a change at Bellegarde so you will generally find your need to catch a "Ten" service to Bellegarde. You may then need to cross platforms for the service to Thonon/Evian. At Thonon the station staff will show you where to find the Chatel bus-link (operated by SAT) it stops pretty well outside the station door. (5) Provided the bus is not running late, and you don't have vast amounts of luggage stuffed in the hold, most drivers are happy to stop their "non-stop" service and drop you off outside the Carlina Hotel - which is opposite the Chalet. Otherwise you will end up at the main bus station in Chatel facing a long walk, cab ride or waiting til the chalet staff can pick you up in the mini-bus.

For those on a budget it is worth noting that the "Beyond Eurostar" fare packages, which offer cheap onward travel by TGV services to various destinations in France. However Lyon is currently the nearest destination offered under the deal, and further fares are payable for the local service from Lyon to Thonon. From 2004 Eurostar services have been dramatically re-timed with the new very early departure from Waterloo now allowing travellers to get to Bellegarde (or Lyon) very quickly indeed, and using local connecting services easily complete your journey via Thonon to Chatel on the same day.

Check the SAT website for the current bus timetable to Chatel from Geneva and Thonon.