Flying is cheap as chips–but new report says train is up to 26 TIMES more expensive
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The Europe-wide study, covering 142 international routes across 31 countries, found that flying is cheaper than taking the train on more than half of all cross-border journeys. And when it comes to the UK, the situation is among the worst in Europe: trains are more expensive than flights on a staggering 95% of routes to and from Britain.
Low-cost carriers like Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air dominate the skies with fares that often come in at less than the price of the bus to the airport. Greenpeace points out that this is only possible because aviation fuel is tax-free and airline tickets escape VAT—while rail operators are clobbered with full VAT, rocketing energy costs and sky-high track access charges.
The result? Families hoping to make climate-friendly choices are effectively punished for trying. As the report highlights, a flight from Barcelona to London can cost just €15—while the train on the same route is an eye-watering €389.
Brits priced out of green travel: Flying is cheap as chips–but new report says train is up to 26 TIMES more expensive
Greenpeace slams “rigged system” as Brussels lets budget airlines keep fares rock-bottom while rail passengers foot the bill
(www.ourfairfuture.org)
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The Europe-wide study, covering 142 international routes across 31 countries, found that flying is cheaper than taking the train on more than half of all cross-border journeys. And when it comes to the UK, the situation is among the worst in Europe: trains are more expensive than flights on a staggering 95% of routes to and from Britain.
Low-cost carriers like Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air dominate the skies with fares that often come in at less than the price of the bus to the airport. Greenpeace points out that this is only possible because aviation fuel is tax-free and airline tickets escape VAT—while rail operators are clobbered with full VAT, rocketing energy costs and sky-high track access charges.
The result? Families hoping to make climate-friendly choices are effectively punished for trying. As the report highlights, a flight from Barcelona to London can cost just €15—while the train on the same route is an eye-watering €389.
Brits priced out of green travel: Flying is cheap as chips–but new report says train is up to 26 TIMES more expensive
Greenpeace slams “rigged system” as Brussels lets budget airlines keep fares rock-bottom while rail passengers foot the bill
(www.ourfairfuture.org)
There was a great youtube video explaining the reason for this (Wendover maybe?).
In short, planes are cheaper for mid to long haul because the amount of time passengers sit in them a substantially less time. Meaning the same equipment (plane or train) serviced by a single crew (pilots/flight attendants or engineer/rail attendants) can more many more passengers by plane that by rail.
A hyperbolic example of this is a cross country/continent trip. It may take a day to three to cross in train while there has only been one set of passenger tickets sold, but the train is not able to be used again until that trip ends. Further, there need to be multiple crews working around the clock for that one set of tickets sold. While a plane can sell many more tickets in the same amount of time.