Nice Ville station to Marseille St Charles station on the SNCF TER Regional Express train, with a scheduled time of two hours and 34 minutes. I’m in Standard Class, where seats are not assigned. First Class passengers enjoy more spacious seats with power sockets, reading lights and retractable tables.
They can choose their seat preference, including the quiet area, a solo seat or a facing duo. When booked in advance, first class tickets generally cost 50 per cent more than standard class tickets. According to the SNCF Connect website, CO2 emissions for TER journeys are calculated at 29.
2 grams of CO2 per kilometre travelled. For this 160-kilometre trip, 4.67 kilos of emissions are produced.
SNCF is trialling new methods to cut their direct carbon emissions to zero by 2050. Last year, hybrid TERs were tested. It’s estimated they use 20 per cent less energy than their predecessors.
Here’s where things get interesting. I type “Nice train station” into the “Where to?” box in the Uber app and hit the first suggestion that comes up. What I don’t know is there are three train stations in Nice.
I head off to Nice St Augustin (a charmless, barren two-track hub with no working lifts today), when I should have gone to Nice Ville. The train heading to Marseille will be stopping at this station, so it shouldn’t be a big deal, except it is. The station mix-up discombobulates me and I jump on the next train that comes along, the local, instead of the Regional Express.
It w.
