Travel by Train Quicker than Plane

Omio, a leading European platform for booking travel by train, bus and plane, has come up with a list of 25 of Europe’s most popular routes they say are faster to travel by train or bus than by plane.

As the Flygskam or Flightshaming movement is taking off (pun intended) across Europe, travellers are increasingly considering the impact on the environment of their travel – but cost and time are still the key motivators when deciding which mode of transport to choose, research by Omio revealed.

With more than half of Europeans interviewed saying they would choose travel by train over taking a plane if it would save them time, Omio has come up with a list of 25 of Europe’s most popular routes that are faster to travel by train or bus than by plane. They not only calculated the time that could be gained by ditching the plane, but also the amount of climate-heating carbon emissions saved.

If you have no alternative but to fly, read our article on How to Reduce your Carbon Footprint When Flying and our guide on How to Carbon Offset your trip.

At least a third of all European respondents said they’d choose travel by train or bus over flying if the former were cheaper.

In a similar spirit, Spain’s national train operator Renfe has revealed a new budget brand called Avlo on the high-speed route between Madrid and Barcelona. Starting on 6 April 2020, this new service would be at significantly lower fares.

Bertrand Etienne, Omio’s Regional Director, said, “The common perception that flying is always the fastest way to get from A to B doesn’t necessarily hold true once you consider the additional time required to get to the airport, queue at the check-in or security and wait to board or retrieve baggage.” He also pointed out that long-distance trains and coaches across Europe generally offer a high standard of accommodation, including comfortable seats, WiFi, a range of refreshments, tables, plug sockets and a bigger allowance for luggage.

Some examples in Omio’s list include travel by train from London to Brussels that would save more than three hours of door-to-door travel time compared to flying, while CO2 emissions would be 55% less. Similarly, travel by train from Paris to London would be three hours faster than by plane and also save 55% on CO2 emissions.

Read our article climate change and tourism comparing travel by train, plane, car and boat.

Omio’s list of top 25 journeys faster overland than by plane are:

Click here for more details of the routes included in the research. Journey time is calculated from city’s central railway station.