Cambridge to Berwang by Rail: Was the Train Better Than Flying?
As a professor of sustainable materials and manufacturing, I felt I ought to explore the possibility of travelling by train—and, before committing, compare the cost with making the same journey by air.
Once I factored in an overnight stay at a very nice four-star hotel in Brussels, plus taxis, station transfers and airport travel, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the two options cost roughly the same. Flying only came out clearly cheaper if I travelled with a small carry-on bag—impossible for more than a week away with music and five recorders in tow.
When I checked, Lufthansa was priced similarly to Ryanair, although it meant travelling to Gatwick. Once a checked bag was included, Lufthansa was actually cheaper. I also decided early on that, if I was going by rail, I might as well travel first class. That added £65 to the fare—a worthwhile upgrade, as it turned out.
Cambridge to Berwang By Rail - Worth the Journey?
What Did the Journey Really Cost?
My actual rail journey cost £564. That included £131 for the Brussels hotel and £65 for the first-class upgrade, so there was plenty of scope to spend less if budget were the priority.
The cheapest flights I found in early June were £257 without checked luggage. Add roughly £65 from Cambridge to Gatwick and around £90 from Munich to Berwang, and the total rose above £400 before local travel to and from Cambridge station. A checked bag pushed the flight itself to almost £380, bringing the overall cost to about £532, plus perhaps £20 for taxis. In other words, the difference was only around £15.
Had I chosen one of the Brussels hotels available for about £80 per night with breakfast, and travelled second class, the rail journey would have cost around £450—roughly £100 less than the Lufthansa option. And, of course, there was no limit on the weight of my luggage.
Planning with Interrail
For cross-border rail travel in Europe, Interrail is now the obvious place to start. Eurail was combined with Interrail in September, and I found the system remarkably straightforward—far easier than juggling the multiple agencies and operators involved in many UK journeys. The table below shows current pass prices, although it may be worth waiting: Black Friday offers can apparently reduce them by as much as 25%.
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Children must be accompanied by a Youth, Adult or Senior ticket holder
Planning the route was simple. You can do it on the Interrail website or in the mobile app. You will need the app anyway: it holds your individual pass, which you show alongside any required seat reservations. To buy a pass, you provide a travel-document number, name, date of birth and address; I used my passport. You do not need to purchase the pass before deciding on a route. I used the “Plan your trip” menu on the website and created an Interrail account, which meant everything was saved and available on my phone later.
Why Brussels rather than Paris? One simple reason: no change of station. Going via Paris would have meant crossing the city between stations, depending on the route. Brussels made the journey much easier.
Why take two days on the outward journey? Interrail passes are only valid on certain Eurostar services, and availability shrinks as the travel date approaches—rather like advance tickets on the UK rail network. By the time I booked, my options were limited. Leaving on Saturday would also have put me into Berwang after 22:00, too late for the opening meal. In the end, taking two days made the journey feel relaxed rather than rushed. The pass included at least four travel days; I used only three and later realised I could even have visited friends in Germany at no extra travel cost, without pre-booking.
Seat reservations cost extra. They are compulsory on Eurostar and some European high-speed services, including the TGV and AVE, and the price depends on whether you travel first or second class. I spent just under £50 on reservations for the outward journey and just under £80 on the return. Optional reservations were usually around £6 in the Interrail app. Booking elsewhere could be more expensive and attract extra fees, while my first-class Eurostar reservation was about £35. The first-class fare also included a meal—and alcohol—on Eurostar Plus.
