While there are plenty of websites that make it easy to book flights across Europe, finding the same journey by train is a bit of a puzzle. This is often because there are no direct train journeys where you want to travel and get services where all train operators are coordinated, but you have to change in different cities and book tickets through different train companies. In the event of delays on one of the many train journeys, you risk missing the next train connection, without any right to financial compensation. Unfortunately, this means that many people make the choice to take the flight instead.
Train routes that can replace flying in Europe
According to a new report from Greenpeace, it is six times easier to find journeys without changes by plane compared to trains. At the same time, the report shows that the railway does not even need to be expanded to triple the number of direct journeys by train in Europe. Of the 990 routes that have been analyzed, 42 percent, i.e. 419 different routes, could easily have direct journeys by train using the railway tracks that already exist.
Unfortunately, it is only on 27 percent of these routes that direct journeys by train are actually offered. This means that almost three quarters of all routes that have reasonable conditions for direct journeys by train have not been completed. Today, you as a traveler have to change one, two, or maybe three or four times before you reach your final destination.
According to the report, from Stockholm (via Malmö and on to the continent) there are 17 potential routes for direct journeys by train under 18 hours. Nevertheless, it is only on four of these routes that direct journeys by train are offered.
Why can't we, for example, travel with one and the same train all the way from Stockholm to Amsterdam, Brussels or Paris? It goes to Berlin, it goes to Hamburg - routes that are popular at a time when more and more people are choosing climate-smart alternatives. We are convinced that significantly more people would choose the train - which can have 80 times the climate impact of flying - if there were better conditions.
How did it get like this?
Politicians continue to support aviation
For too long, the governments of several European countries have prioritized air and road over rail. The Swedish government is no exception. They are more interested in investing in aviation through continued billions in support and government subsidies. When the spring budget was presented, the government's support for aviation was the first investment presented. Why is more of the taxpayers' money invested in keeping the aviation industry under control instead of equipping and expanding the railway, which today is grossly neglected? The Swedish Transport Administration also states that the demand for rail traffic is expected to increase sharply in the coming years.
Time to invest in sustainable travel
If we are to have a sustainable and fair future, our decision makers must stop favoring air and road over rail. It is completely the wrong priority in a climate crisis and we at Greenpeace believe that it is high time that we break this trend.
Do you agree? Sign our petition. Right now we have over 15,000 signatures, all of which demand that the government must make it easier and cheaper to travel sustainably.
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Unfortunately Eurostar fares have shot up thanks to the Paris Olympics, just when the Cloudstrike outage has shown us how much we need alternatives to air travel. :-(
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Governments keep on supporting aviation because they do not want to walk around, take trains, bus rides and or use mass transport systems that the general public used. It is despicable. Trains should be prioritised more
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26 w
We should evaluate the means of transports and that which is more sustainable should be used.
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@rosebellendiritu And it is time we greened all forms of transportation, from vehicular to planes and even ships. The way to beat transport emissions is to cut them out
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26 w
It's about time we invest in more sustainable means of transport so as to reduce the amounts of pollution.
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@jane_wangui I agree. We've seen several people come up with hydrogen powered planes, we'd like to see more research at sustainable flying conducted as this may be our Hail Mary out of plane emissions.
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Agree! We need to prioritize sustainable travel
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Dear Sven Nilson Your climate warning has received over 50 agrees! We have reached out to Regeringskansliet by email and requested a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! To reach more people and increase the chance of a response, click the Share button above to share the review on your social accounts. For every new member that joins We Don't Have Time from your network, we will plant a tree and attribute it to you! /Matin, We Don't Have Time
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Governments should embrace Railway transport more so, shifting to electric trains.
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Most politicians' continued support for aviation overlooks the significant challenges of train travel in Europe, that is why we must elect climate conscious leaders!
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Yes! 100% we need to invest in trains not in flights
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@sarah_chabane_874 But we must also consider improving flight efficiency & reducing aviation's environmental impact to create a balanced & sustainable travel network.