2023-07-20 04:51:00
The observation has already been pointed out many times: traveling by train is more expensive than by train, even on short journeys. To hit the nail on the head once more, while southern Europe is ablaze under a dome of heat which is not unrelated to climate change, Greenpeace publishes a comparison of intra-European journeys between the train and the plane. The result posed by the NGO is clear: on average, a train connection costs twice as much as its equivalent by plane.
Greenpeace has analyzed 112 routes linking major European cities. Capitals, but also cities of a certain importance where travelers flock less than 1,500 kilometers away. “We looked at prices at nine different times. Three days in the short term (a few days before departure), three days in the medium term (one month in advance) and three days in the long term (three months). This allows us to avoid the randomness of dynamic airline prices. And also to see if the train can prove to be more advantageous depending on the booking deadlines”, explains Lorelei Limousin, campaign manager for Greenpeace Europe, who participated in the study. The analysis period extends from last April to last week.
The holiday game: train, car or plane? The rail is unfortunately to be banned, unless you have the time… and the budget
More expensive and longer
The analysis shows that for 79 journeys out of the 112 analysed, the train remains more expensive than the plane. With cases that show how much there is still a long way to go to bridge the gap between the two means of transport: connecting London to Barcelona will cost up to 30 times more if you choose rail.
The comparison carried out by the NGO focused on the price criterion. But the duration or the comfort of the journey can also intervene. Because crossing Europe by train often requires many changes of convoy and a multiplication of tickets depending on the territories crossed. Only 23 trips are cheaper by train than by plane, according to the comparison made by Greenpeace. But “only half of them are decent, the others have a very poor or very slow rail link,” the report says. It should be noted that 16 of these 23 routes where the train is more advantageous do not benefit from a low cost air link.
Regarding Belgium, the report indicates that Brussels (the only Belgian city studied in the analysis) can be connected with the majority of major European cities by plane and by train. As for most European countries, it is the low cost companies that offer the cheapest journeys. Thus, it will cost less for the traveler to opt for flying if he wants to fly to Bratislava on the day Ryanair flies. But when you have to take a national company, the train can be more competitive. Conversely, the Brussels-Madrid rail link offers one of the worst ratios since it is up to fifteen times more expensive than its equivalent by air.
A European climate ticket
”79% of the least expensive air journeys are provided by low cost companies. However, they are the ones who bear the responsibility for such low airfares, because of an aggressive or unfair pricing strategy. If we find today plane tickets at 10 euros, it is because the workers and the taxpayers pay the price. Air transport benefits from tax advantages which amount to tens of billions of euros, such as the exemption from the taxation of kerosene, the exemption from VAT on plane tickets or the numerous subsidies offered by countries to airports and airlines. But if we want the train to be the cheapest option, we have to reverse the trend at all costs”, defends Lorelei Limousin. And Greenpeace to plead in favor of incentive measures, like a “climate ticket” on a European scale. “Abolish air subsidies or set up taxes that take into account the climate impact of air travel would generate resources that would make it possible to set up climate tickets or even investments that would develop infrastructure”.
Brussels-Vienna: since 2019, the Austrian company OBB connects Brussels to Vienna via the night train three times a week. If this offer has a certain popularity, it remains much more expensive than the plane. Ryanair connects the two capitals from 15.75 euros. For a night train ticket, it takes between 111.9 and 149.7 euros and ten hours of travel.
Brussels-Zurich: only national companies operate the air link between the two cities. And this means of transport remains the most advantageous (financially) for medium and short-term reservations even if, for the latter, it is necessary to plan a stopover via Majorca, the Greek island of Kos or Warsaw. But if booked well in advance, the train can be the most competitive. However, it takes more than six hours to travel. Count 157 kg of greenhouse gas emissions per person for the plane, once morest almost nothing for the train since it runs mainly on renewable energies on this link, according to Greenpeace.
Brussels-London: There is no low-cost flight between London and Brussels. To fly at the cheapest, you will have to go through Dublin or Copenhagen. It costs little (from 36.83 euros), but it takes more time. Conversely, the Eurostar connects the two capitals in a good two hours, but the ticket costs on average one hundred euros per trip. The train option also emits 92% less CO2 emissions than its equivalent by air.
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