Rail versus air in race for Paris

James and Spencer's race featured trains, planes and automobiles

Eurostar services to the continent have started from the new Channel Tunnel rail terminal at St Pancras, following the London station's £800m transformation.

BBC Radio's James Alexander and Spencer Stokes set out on a race from Leeds to Paris, with a rendezvous beneath the Eiffel Tower - one travelling by plane and the other by train.

JAMES ALEXANDER CATCHES A FLIGHT

There was a time when flying seemed an impossibly glamorous way to travel.

Boys dreamed of becoming pilots and flying off to exotic lands. Girls dreamed of becoming air hostesses - symbols of style and sophistication.

The romance of the skies seems a long way off on a cold Wednesday morning at Leeds-Bradford Airport.

It feels a bit like entering a maximum security prison. You have to take off your shoes and your jacket to be screened. If you have a bottle of water, it has to go in the bin.

Yes, it's cheap. My budget airline ticket to Paris cost just 99p. But there are hidden costs.

Add in taxes, a charge for checking in bags, and the expense of getting to and from the airport at either end, and you're looking at £50 or more for a one-way trip.

Luckily the flight is only a quarter full, so there's plenty of space on board and we arrive on time.

After leaving Leeds city centre at 0830 GMT, I'm at Charles de Gaulle Airport picking up my bags by 1215 GMT. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, getting from the airport to the city centre is more of a challenge.

There's a French transport strike on, and there are very few buses or trains in operation.

Those that are running are besieged by huge queues of people as soon as they pull in.

After an hour and a half waiting, I finally manage to catch a coach to the Arc de Triomphe.

From there, it's a 15-minute walk to our rendezvous point beneath the Eiffel Tower.

I eventually arrive, later than expected, at 1500 GMT and I am half an hour ahead of Spencer.

That said, I am feeling more harassed than happy.

SPENCER STOKES TAKES TO THE RAILS

My 0905 GNER service to King's Cross snakes out of the station right on time.

Whilst I'm heading south at speeds of up to 125mph, James is no doubt threading a route north to the airport where he'll have to grapple with security before getting anywhere near airborne.

We pull into London two-and-a-half hours later and within minutes I am taking in the grandly-restored St Pancras, which lies next door.

The 1868 terminus is bright and airy - bathed in pale blue light that streams through the arching glass roof.

I pass through security where bags and coats are X-rayed, but the whole process seems easier than at an airport.

On board the train there's a sense of anticipation and at 1230 GMT exactly the first Eurostar departure over the new High Speed 1 tracks glides out.

When we emerge from the darkness of the 12-mile tunnel that runs below north London we eat up the miles of English countryside, hitting speeds of 186mph.

While I know James is probably close behind by now, I comfort myself in the knowledge that my carbon emissions are almost insignificant compared to those of his low-cost flight.

As the train dives beneath the Channel at a few minutes after 1300 GMT, free champagne is served to mark the historic journey.

Once in France the countryside flashes by and I relax knowing that my city centre destination lies an hour or so down the same stretch of track.

By 1445 GMT Eurostar has arrived. Gare de Nord doesn't match up with St Pancras, but there's little time to linger in comparisons.

A strike by French workers has hit the Metro, so I jump into a taxi and head straight into snarling traffic.

The Eiffel Tower looms into view but it's another 15 minutes before I arrive at the foot of the iconic Parisian landmark.

Waiting for me is a weary plane traveller. It's 1530 GMT and James has been at the tower for 30 minutes. It seems that for travellers from the north, the plane does beat the train - but only just.

And when it comes to measuring the relaxation factor of the journey, the train comes up trumps.

James seems to agree, as he is joining me on the Eurostar for our return to Leeds.