Taking the Train to Bordeaux for OHBM

My journey started at St Pancras station, where passport control and security checks went smoothly. Once on board, I settled in for the trip to Paris before changing trains and travelling onwards to Bordeaux. The first leg of the journey passed quickly. While it would have been a great opportunity to catch up on work, with plenty of table space and plug sockets available, I decided instead to relax and read my book ahead of five full-on days at the conference. It was nice to watch the world go by outside the window, and before I knew it, we were pulling into the station in Paris.

When we arrived in Paris, I needed to change train stations. This turned out to be straightforward, and before long I was seated on my next train to Bordeaux. I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable both trains were, making for a stress-free journey. Both trains also felt a lot more spacious than a flight, with my train from Paris to Bordeaux being half full at most. Many fellow passengers were also carrying poster tubes, having also opted for the more sustainable travel option.

Once I had arrived at Bordeaux St Jean, I was able to walk just five minutes to my hotel and had checked in within 20 minutes of leaving the train. This was a nice change from the usual airport transfers! One of the best parts of getting the train was leaving and arriving in the centre of town. It is easy to forget how much extra time travelling to and from the airport adds to a plane journey. By this point it was around 9:30 pm, and I was just in time to meet some colleagues for a glass of wine by the cathedral.

The next five days were spent immersed in all things human brain mapping, alongside exploring the beautiful city of Bordeaux. The days were full of talks, poster presentations, symposia, and networking, and after the final day I got the train back to London the next morning, and was glad to be back in London just after lunchtime, having had another smooth journey.

With 3,000-4,000 people attending the conference from all over the world, it was a lovely gathering of the community. However, the environmental cost that a conference of this size inevitably entails is clear, with most attendees arriving by plane. I felt fortunate to have been able to travel by train, but I was also very aware of the financial barriers involved. While most of my colleagues were able to fly to Bordeaux for less than £50, the train tickets would have been unaffordable on a postdoc budget without Iguana’s support.

I hope that options like taking the train rather than flying can become more accessible to more people in the future, and I am very grateful that this initiative was in place to help me attend one of my favourite conferences in a more sustainable way. Whilst it won’t be possible for me to get the train to OHBM next year, as it’s in Toronto, Canada, I will definitely try to take the train over flying as often as possible when travelling to conferences in future. I also hope to visit Bordeaux again on holiday, and it was nice to see how easily this journey can be done by train.