With the exception of a certain sleigh pulled by reindeer, the train is the climate-friendliest way to travel long distances in Europe. Rail travel produces 80% less carbon pollution per person per kilometre than flying on average.
Hundreds of thousands of people travel from Brussels to other European cities to visit loved ones every holiday season.
We chose three dates in December and compared the cost of travelling by train and plane from Brussels to 20 destinations in the rest of Europe on those dates. The results (PDF) paint a picture of a transport system that is still heavily skewed in favour of flying (in planes, not sleighs).
On average, the price of a ticket to travel by train between Brussels and the 20 destinations we analysed was three times more than making the same journey by plane.
Only four of these destinations had a direct train service from Brussels, while all twenty had direct flights at least three days a week. It was possible to buy plane tickets three months before travelling to any of these destinations, but in most cases train tickets only became available for purchase one or two months in advance.
Governments and the EU should make it simpler and much more affordable to take the train from one European country to another. The cost and hassle of booking an international train trip are political choices which place barriers in the way of more sustainable travel, benefit the airline industry, and contribute to climate breakdown.
Transport is the only sector in the EU where climate-damaging carbon emissions have increased compared to 1990. In order to bring emissions down, governments must urgently prioritise rail over polluting planes, by slashing tax benefits for aviation, expanding and improving railway daytime and nighttime connections across Europe, streamlining train ticket booking systems, financing accessible climate tickets for all European residents, and bolstering green transportation infrastructure to enable seamless cross-border rail travel.
Contacts:
Lorelei Limousin, senior climate campaigner for Greenpeace EU: +32 477 79 04 15 ; [email protected]
Herwig Schuster, transport campaigner for the Mobility For All campaign, Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe: +43 664 431 92 14, [email protected]
Greenpeace EU pressdesk: +32 (0)2 274 1911, [email protected]