I understand the criticism but to be fair high speed trains are better in many cases:
Paris - Lyon by airplane: 1h15 plus travel to and from airport, plus security, boarding etc
Paris - Lyon by train: 2h30, city center to city center, no security checks. This might actually be faster!
Personally when traveling between London and Paris I choose the high speed train. It's usually more expensive but just the fact it removes traveling to and from airports (especially in London!) adds so much comfort that you realize the extra £50-70 are totally worth it. The overall travel time is also comparable.
Paris - Lyon by airplane: 1h15 plus travel to and from airport, plus security, boarding etc
Paris - Lyon by train: 2h30, city center to city center, no security checks. This might actually be faster!
Personally when traveling between London and Paris I choose the high speed train. It's usually more expensive but just the fact it removes traveling to and from airports (especially in London!) adds so much comfort that you realize the extra £50-70 are totally worth it. The overall travel time is also comparable.