08 February 2023 , 16:13
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Two travellers put European transport to the test with a race from the heart of London to Brussels.
Nicky Kelvin and Liam Spencer of The Points Guy wanted to see whether the British and European parliaments were linked up better by rail or air.
While MEPs no longer have to make the journey between the two cities post-Brexit, Brussels remains one of the most readily accessible cities on the Continent with a long and intriguing history.
The completion began with the two racers running across Westminster Bridge into the underground, where Liam headed to St Pancras International and Nicky went west to Heathrow.
Liam managed to get through security and passport check at the station due to the "essentially non existent" queue for Business Premiere tickets.
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Liam praised Eurostar for being reliable and green (Youtube/@ThePointsGuyUK)He praised the lounge once through the other side, noting the complimentary coffee and beer on hand for guests.
Nicky had less of a good time racing for his plane, criticising the Heathrow Express experience and then finding himself short of time and confronted by a large security queue once at the airport.
Luckily he made it onto the plane before take-off, with enough time to enjoy the "comfortable but quite basic" seat which had a "decent" amount of legroom and reclined slightly.
"One of the benefits of going by Eurostar rather than plane is that it's so much more reliable," Liam said while sat in his seat.
He drew attention to the large tray table, personal light and charging point, as well as decent amount of leg room he was enjoying.
Nicky did not enjoy his trip to the airport (Youtube/@ThePointsGuyUK)Liam was particularly impressed with the three course meal with silver cutlery which came his way, describing it as "proper luxury".
One flight to Paris is the equivalent of 14 Eurostar rides from London to the same city, the rail traveller notes, making it by far the greener option.
Unfortunately for Liam his train was held for 15 to 20 minutes before arriving at the station, causing a number of German travellers to miss their connection and his chances to winning the race to slip.
It turned out the delay was too much for him to make up, with Nicky making it to the European Parliament 15 minutes before Liam.
The Eurostar ended up losing the race (AFP via Getty Images)The air traveller was not so complimentary of the ride though, noting how uncomfortable and squished he was.
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The two also compared the costs of their travels.
Nicky, who travelled by air, had a total of cost of £208.60 which included his flight, trains and a taxi, while Liam had a total cost of £288.60 including his Business Premier ticket on the Eurostar.
Of course it's worth noting that if you want to travel by train, you could keep an eye out on Eurostar's sales - the high speed rail service regularly has offers which can include tickets from £39 each way in its standard carriages.
Do you prefer to travel by plane or train? Let us know in the comments below.