From Paris to Budapest by train with Arthur Aubœuf

Written by Sophie Renassia

Published on October 15, 2023, modified on January 9, 2025

Looking for practical advice, feedback and inspiration for your next train journey? Make yourself comfortable and put your headphones in your ears: board now for “Je t'offre un rail?”, the podcast that will get you hooked on trains!

Heading for Hungary by train via Switzerland and Germany

In this episode, Tolt turns his microphone over to Arthur Aubœuf, co-founder of Team for the Planet, big fan of nature and “spirited” (and humorous) ferrofile. Aboard the legendary 16 train, he talks to us about his relationship with trains, his vision of travel, the luxury of slowing down and his solo journey to Hungary to join his friends (who had flown in).

His itinerary: Geneva-Zurich, Zurich-Munich and finally Munich-Budapest via Vienna. A journey punctuated by breathtaking landscapes all along the Alpine arc - for lake and mountain lovers - and unexpected encounters!

Episode summary

• His relationship with trains, from his return trips to his grandparents in Lyon when he was 12, to his vision of low-carbon travel, including a welcome reminder of the orders of magnitude.
• Why planes are so much cheaper than trains, and what he thinks of train prices.
• His journey to Budapest, from his friends' reaction when he found out he wouldn't be joining them by plane, to the memorable evening (complete with dental scaling) he spent after missing a connection in Germany...
• His crazy ideas for getting the trip back on track!
• And other nuggets we'll let you discover by clicking right here 👇

“The train is pretty comfortable, you don't kill the climate too much as it's the most efficient mode of transport, and what's more, you can enjoy the scenery. (...) And we don't realize it today, but we're talking about a machine that travels at 300 Km / hour, which is an unimaginable luxury when you think about it!”

“I'm convinced that slowing down is the thing we need most. So if I can at least do it when I travel, I want to do it.”

“In fact, we don't love France enough. A lifetime wouldn't be enough to explore and marvel at France. Sometimes a trip an hour from home is more of a change of scenery than a trip to the other side of the world: sometimes I get monumentally slapped in the face in Haute-Savoie!”

On the rails of the future: Arthur's little pleasures and crazy ideas

Whether it's his own travels or his business trips, the same simple pleasures come up again and again:

• Looking at the scenery: “On a plane, you look for two minutes at take-off and landing, whereas on a train you can spend the whole journey looking out of the window!”
• Appreciate the adventure: “The train lets you realize that you're traveling, and gives you a different temporality. It adds even more flavor to your vacation.”
• Take the time and have the luxury of slowing down (even at 300 km/h)!

His company Team for the Planet, whose mission is to detect and deploy 100 global innovations against greenhouse gases, is itself driven by a strong conviction. That “it starts with the imagination” and that “it has to be stylish”.

“If the transition looks sh*tty, it won't work. It has to look BETTER.” And to make the train even more stylish, Arthur already has a few ideas, including:

• The reopening of small lines to get away from the “all-car” mentality,
• Theme cars (such as “gym cars”) to make travel even more enjoyable! A great idea for the railways, don't you think?

To get inspired by our guests, don't hesitate to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite listening platforms. Thanks to our partner SNCF Connect, the benchmark application for train travel and sustainable mobility, which accompanies over 15 million users on their journeys in France and Europe!