When traveling within Europe, according to Greenpeace, it is often cheaper to fly than take the train. The environmental organization compared prices on 112 European routes at different booking times and came to the conclusion that the train was more expensive than the plane in 71 percent of the cases. The train can only offer cheaper tickets on 23 routes.
Due to its central location in Europe and the frequent international train connections, Germany is comparatively well connected, explained Greenpeace on Thursday. Nevertheless, routes within, from and to Germany are on average 51 percent more expensive than flights.
However, there may be exceptions on individual routes. For example, travelers from Brussels to Hamburg never get cheaper by plane. Train tickets from Hamburg to Munich and Luxembourg were also cheaper than corresponding flights at all times in the study.
On the other hand, the prices for train tickets from Berlin to Paris and from the capital to London, Brussels and Copenhagen are always more expensive than the plane. The prices for train passengers rise particularly sharply for short-term bookings.
Greenpeace registered the largest price difference on the comparatively long route from Barcelona to London, which is separated by a sea. Here the train ticket cost 30 times as much as the flight at the same time of booking. While travelers could fly for 12.99 euros, the trip by train cost 384 euros.
In the course of the publication, Greenpeace travel expert Marissa Reiserer called for a Europe-wide kerosene tax of 50 cents per liter. That would bring in around 46 billion euros in revenue annually, she explained. “More and more people want to travel by train and do without flights, but the lack of a kerosene tax and other climate-damaging subsidies for the airline industry are distorting prices.”
The Deutsche Bahn (DB) reacted to the study and referred to good domestic German connections, which are often cheaper than the plane. In addition, the DB is “significantly cheaper than the plane when it comes to taking children and luggage with you”. The study by Greenpeace does not take this into account. Train travelers can often save themselves transport from the airport to the city center.
