How to take the train to… London Gallery Weekend
The fourth edition of London Gallery Weekend begins on Friday 31st May, and as part of our ongoing Climate Conscious Travel campaign, GCC is encouraging everyone who is able to take the #TraintoLGW2024.
Choosing train travel over car or a flight will significantly reduce your carbon emissions, and if as many people as possible choose to travel by public transport it could make a substantial difference.
Read on to find out how choosing the train can dramatically reduce the environmental impact of your visit, and how you can plan your train journey to and around London.
Climate Conscious Travel
At GCC we advocate for climate conscious travel. This means seriously considering the impact of our journeys, and, importantly, addressing the amount that we fly.
This is because stepping on a plane is the single most carbon-polluting action we can take as an individual in our everyday lives. The data we’ve collected through GCC’s carbon calculator shows that air travel is typically one of the biggest contributors to most galleries’ carbon footprints.
We acknowledge that the art sector is an international community built on connection, and it’s not always realistic for us to stop travelling entirely. But by taking advantage of the public transport connections that already exist, particularly within Europe, we can reduce or remove our reliance on flights, stay on track to meet 2030 emissions reductions targets, and continue to meet and connect with each other.
In other words, taking the train instead of flying is one major way that we can all reduce our impact, now.
London Gallery Weekend 2024
London Gallery Weekend is the world’s largest event of its kind. The fourth edition will take place from 31st May - 2nd June 2024 and is free to attend. The weekend’s programme will include talks, family workshops and special events.
For those visiting London for the event, there are many realistic alternatives to flying or road transport, particularly for those travelling within the UK and Europe.
If you’re able, GCC encourages everyone to take the #TrainToLGW2024. Rail travel is the fastest and most practical alternative to getting on a plane or taking the car.
While the journey time may be longer, inter-city train journeys that take you from centre to centre can save time spent travelling to and from airports, time spent in transit, or time sat in traffic. For some routes, the overall difference is negligible.
It’s also worth considering how we think about our journeys. With more comfortable seating, extra space, WiFi connectivity, and power sockets, train journeys can be treated as a more scenic day in the office.
Meanwhile, stopovers and connections can be a chance to take in other cities and connect with colleagues—if you’re travelling to London from Venice, for example, you could plan some meetings or an exhibition visit in Paris, Zürich or Madrid en route.
Most importantly, the carbon savings we make by taking the train are huge. We’ve compared emissions generated by a single journey by train and plane between Paris and London – and you can see what a difference it makes:
Tips for travel
Whether you’re travelling from within the UK, mainland Europe, or beyond, there are plenty of resources available to help you plan and book your journey.
Trips can be planned and booked using websites like Rail Europe or Trainline, while The Man in Seat 61 has published a wealth of in-depth guides to train travel all over the world, including hundreds of routes within Europe and the UK.
London is easily accessible by train from anywhere in the UK: there are around 62 trains a day connecting Edinburgh and London, 54 between Manchester and London, and 137 linking Birmingham with the capital.
For those travelling from further afield, the Eurostar connections between Paris and Brussels and London makes travel from across Europe straightforward and accessible. The train from Paris takes as little as 2 hours and 20 minutes and there are 17 trains a day to choose from.
Travelling from Brussels will take just under two hours, with ten trains every day connecting the two cities. Visitors from as far afield as Milan, Berlin, and Venice can reach London by train in under 24 hours.
Once in the city, visitors to London Gallery Weekend can use this useful map to plot their route across the capital by foot or by bike, taking in all of their chosen galleries.
While much of central London is accessible on foot, the Transport for London (TfL) network connects the rest of the city with underground, overground, rail, and bike connections.
Changing the culture
It might seem that one less flight or car journey won’t make much of a difference, but together, the collective impact could be transformative.
The arts sector isn’t alone in needing to address its travel habits: many industries rely on frequent, high-impact travel. It’s time for all of us to consider how we can change long-held norms and create a new climate conscious culture, and taking the train is one way you can play your part.
Sharing tips and ideas is another way to help everyone in the community make meaningful changes. So, if you’re travelling to or around London this weekend, GCC encourages everyone who is able to take the #TrainToLGW and share your travel plans. Tag us in your posts and stories, or reach out to share your journey so that we can feature your trip as a member case study!
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This blog is part of our wider Climate Conscious Travel campaign, which encourages everyone to take action to reduce the carbon impact of their journeys. For more inspiration, see our previous blogs on travel to Art Basel, Frieze London, ARCOmadrid, STAGE Bregenz, TEFAF Maastricht, and the Venice Biennale, or visit GCC’s best practice guidelines on Travel.
