Malaga to Birmingham by train??

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olive
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Malaga to Birmingham by train??

Postby olive » Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:26 pm

Now that Spain has high speed trains and Eurostar goes from the Midlands to Paris, oh and the French have High speed trains, how practical is it to do the journey by train?

How much would it cost and how long would it take? How many changes of train?

olive

A final point is baggage. Is it scanned for "bombs" and are there limits on what you can take? Presumably if you can carry it on board you are fine?

katy
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Postby katy » Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:32 pm

Friends used to come down by motorail. I think they did Paris - Madrid - malaga.

Don

Postby Don » Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:34 pm

Quite practical even without the full high speed service.
Get to Madrid, overnight sleeper to Paris and Eurostar to London.

There was a thread about it a while back.

laclotte
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Postby laclotte » Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:44 pm

:cry: maybe okay, as long as the French railways are not on strike :twisted: :cry:
- You don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note -

palmtrees
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Postby palmtrees » Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:00 pm

I have done Málaga to UK loads by train.

It is much dearer than a cheap plane. I did Málaga to Madrid. Madrid to Austerlitz (shared sleeper, cost around 100€ it will be more now). Cross Paris and then go to Calais for quick ferry crossing. Didn't do Eurostar. I have also crossed from Cherbourg to Poole.

Or you can go to the top end of Spain and get one of the ferries to Portsmouth or Plymouth (good for Birmingham yes?).

There is a sleeper on Sunday from Málaga to Bilbao. But I got off at Burgos and got a bus connection to Santander for ferry same day.

When I went, the only luggage scanning was at Málaga. But things have changed and there is heavy scanning at Atocha these days too. (I didn't use Atocha previously). Don't see what the problem is with baggage being scanned. I actually got the Zaragoza train to Charmartin - but this doesn't seem to be around any more.

Anyway to go back to any overnight sleeper there is no limit on luggage that I have noticed. Just get in first. :lol:

Why do you want to do it? It is not cheap, it is quite nice. It suited me. Happy to fish out more info about what I did if you are interested. Sounds like you want to do - Málaga/Madrid, Madrid/Paris, CROSS PARIS Paris/Midlands. Are you happy to share in a four-berthed couchette with other women for the Madrid/Paris sleeper? Or do you want your own compartment?

If you want to do it more cheaply - bus prices are far less.

JAWG
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Postby JAWG » Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:06 pm

maybe okay, as long as the French railways are not on strike
Are you saying that the French Railways are prone to strike? Or just that the workers are usually prone? :lol: :lol: :wink:
John G
Ottawa, ON, Canada

David Jones
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Postby David Jones » Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:42 pm

Do you want New street, Snow Hill or Moor street?

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gus
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Postby gus » Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:46 pm

As Don said, there was a thread some time ago and I "saved" the link to a website that covers the practicalities of travelling from London to Spain........
hope this works
http://seat61.com/Spain.htm#Granada
good luck

Gus

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Retro P
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Postby Retro P » Sat Nov 24, 2007 2:14 pm

It's not cheap but my preferred route is: drive from Nueva Andalucia to Madrid, sleeper to Paris (your car goes on a different train and is waiting for you when you get there) drive from Paris to Calais, not at all cheap but a pleasant journey and you avoid most of the cretinous french traffic police.
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