For several years, YouTuber Tolt, aka Benjamin Martinie, has been sharing his big and small low-carbon adventures on social networks. On October 29, 2024, he published a collective book entitled Traveling by train with Hourrail, published by Hachette. Founder of Hurray a media dedicated to responsible travel, this “travel director” shares 45 itineraries to discover France, Europe and North Africa, without taking a plane or a car. Encounter.
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How did you construct this work?
It offers 45 itineraries, without plane or car, which can suit all tastes. From Paris, there are still 10 foreign countries that are accessible by direct train: so we said to ourselves that it was interesting to have distant destinations. But we also chose itineraries in France, doable by train and by bike, with friends, with an emphasis on the high-speed rail network. The idea is also to show that there is no need to travel far or for a long time to dream or escape. Beyond these itineraries, we also said to ourselves that it was important to include a “practical notebook”, in which we find advice on reserving train tickets, the different pass in Europe etc.
Your itineraries also offer some portions of sailing or ferry travel…
As soon as there is a possible sailing option, we favor this one, this is the case for Belle-Île-en-Mer for example. That said, it’s true that sometimes the ferry is inevitable… Obviously, it cannot be considered an ecological mode of transport. This type of mobility also greatly disrupts marine life. However, the ferry remains interesting in that it is a slower concept of travel. Also note that the travel portions offered by ferry are as short as possible.
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It is also a multimedia book…
We have in fact designed this book so that it complements the content we offer on our site. The big flaw of a book – unless it is republished – is that it cannot be updated, but the railway system is constantly changing… To overcome this difficulty, we therefore had the idea of inserting QR codes. Readers can thus ensure that the information is up to date, but also access other content related to the routes.
What do you hope to inspire in your readers?
The first objective is to attract curiosity and spark discussion. To say to yourself “Oh hey, I didn’t know that I could go by train to Sicily, or to Morocco, without a plane! ». Then, once it has made its way into the person’s head, the idea is that they can find keys through the work to take action.
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And you, what about your favorite itineraries?
There is Sicily (Italy). We go there by night train, leaving from Milan (accessible by TGV from Paris and Lyon) and we wake up the next morning, in Calabria, where the train is loaded onto a ferry to cross the Strait of Messina to the ‘island. The other itinerary, even more original, is the sailing trip to Corsica. You can observe dolphins and whales, admire the starry sky, or even wake up in the middle of the Mediterranean and see the snow-capped peaks of Corsica appear in the distance… For me, it’s an experience to live at least once in his life. In terms of experience, dreams and magic, it’s still something else than going to the airport to catch a plane.
