Flying Within Europe is Still Much Cheaper Than Traveling by Train, While It is Much More Polluting. Taxes and EXPENSIVE Infrastructure mean that it is of more advantageous to take the plane. Experts believe that this can and must change.
At the moment, the choice between the plane or the train within Europe is of Made Quickly. Flying of Saves Time and Money. People Themselves Have To Make The Trade-Off: Does the Wallet or the Climate Weigh More Heavily?
Greenpeace Compared the tickets of 142 Domestic and International Routes by Train and Plane. The Organization Looked at Different Distances, Travel Times and Travel Dates. The Conclusion is that flying – Despite recently price increeases – is still cheaper, just though the impact of flying on the climate is known.
The Footprint of Flying is many Times Greater Than that of Trains. Walking and cycling have the smallest footprint. If that is not Possible, The Train is Almost Always The Most Environmentally Friendly Option. By Taking the Train Instead of A (Domestic) Flight, You Reduce Your Environmental Impact by 86 percent. That was calculated by our world in Data Based on British Figures (See Below).
Train from Paris to Copenhagen 21 Times More Expective Than Flight
Yet International Travel in Europe is Cheaper by Plane, Accordination to the Greenpeace Analysis. In Spain, France and the United Kingdom, Train Ticket Prices Are Most Often Higher Than For Flights. Accordance to Greenpeace, The Train from Paris to Copenhagen is 21 Times as Exensive As the plane.
On Domestic Routes, 70 percent Were Cheaper by Train. In The Baltic States, Train tickets Were Always Cheaper than the plane.
Professor of Transport Economics Erik Verhoef Recognizes That Picture. The Fact That Flying is Still Cheaper Has Several Causes, Including The Expensive Infrastructure of Railways. “Another Important Reason is the Missing Excise Duty on Kerosene and the Fact that is no barrel on airline tickets,” Says Verhoef. Train tickets and the electricity used to run trains are taxed.
Cheap Flying is Therefore Stimulated Through Tax Exemptions. “The Iony is that with the sustainability goals in Mind, you would expect the opposite,” Says Verhoef. Accordance to the professor, that is a political choice. Cleaner Aircraft Alone Will Not Solve The Climate Crisis, Trains Will also Have To Be Encouraged.
Few Dutch People opt for the train
Recent figures from a survey commissioned by the general Dutch Association of Travel Companies (ANVR) Show That Few Dutch People opt for the train. Only 3 percent go on holiday by train. More than half of the Dutch Take the plane every year. Accordance to the Mobility Knowledge Center, This Amounts to Fifteen Million Flights. 34 percent opt for the car.
The Netherlands is in the Top ten of Countries with the Best Prices for the (International) Train in The Greenpeace Survey. Or the nine international routes from Amsterdam, the train was cheaper in more than half of the cases. MoreOover, in the Netherlands you have paying an aviation tax or 29.40 euros per flight Since 2021.
From Maastricht to Madrid? Not for now
Accordance to Verhoef, IT is Logical that People, Especiate if they have a tight budget, are more inclined to take the plane. Booking A Train Can Be Daunting. If not because of the price, then because of the different providers, transfers and timetables. The Travel Information is also not very accessible. That should be Different, Says Verhoef.
Will there come a day when you get on a high-speed train in Maastricht in the morning to arrive in Madrid in the Evening? Verhoef Expects the Market to Pick Up More. If the eu continues to adhere to its own climate goals, Rail Will Most Likely Receive More Priority, He Thinks.
And if there is More Demand, More Will Be Invested in that Type of International Rail Networks and Booking Platforms and Prices Will Fall. “Technically it is Possible Anyway.”