More emphasis on trains in Europe to replace flights
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More emphasis on trains in Europe to replace flights
1–10 of 207 posts
Re: More emphasis on trains in Europe to replace flights
#2Glad that they’re working on it, right now flying is just cheaper on many cases.
Need to go from Zurich to Paris? The TGV Train will cost you almost twice as much as a short direct flight. Berlin to Munich? Also cheaper by plane.
Being a student with a limited budget, this very much affects my decision.
Re: More emphasis on trains in Europe to replace flights
#3Public transportation is eventually going to have to replace both cars and planes. Yes, it will cost a lot. Yes, it probably wont make profit. This is fine, it's a moral duty we have as a society and at the end of the day railways are far safer than roads. In the long run a densely populated city benefits tremendously from trains, as seen in any major city.
Re: More emphasis on trains in Europe to replace flights
#4Glad that they’re working on it, right now flying is just cheaper on many cases. Need to go from Zurich to Paris? The TGV Train will cost you almost twice as much as a short direct flight. Berlin to Munich? Also cheaper by plane. Being a student with a limited budget, this very much affects my decision.
Yes, this is crazy!! We need action on this immediately. I suspect aviation subsides are to blame.
Re: More emphasis on trains in Europe to replace flights
#5As a European I love this.
Not only because it's better for the environment but I really like trains. They are confy, fast and cheap. There's no need to pay extra for your baggage, you just hop in with your stuff, take a seat, read, watch a movie, listen to a podcast or sleep for a while and you're already at your destination.
Re: More emphasis on trains in Europe to replace flights
#6Glad that they’re working on it, right now flying is just cheaper on many cases. Need to go from Zurich to Paris? The TGV Train will cost you almost twice as much as a short direct flight. Berlin to Munich? Also cheaper by plane. Being a student with a limited budget, this very much affects my decision.
I often find using interrail.eu to be a good option.
Much more elastic, and can quickly get financially interesting, even more so for multi-hop travels.
Re: More emphasis on trains in Europe to replace flights
#7As a former weekly train traveler, I fully support this. Plane travel has become a loathing, humiliating nuisance that absolutely nobody is excited about (sometimes not even airlines, considering the kind of service they provide).
Re: More emphasis on trains in Europe to replace flights
#8As a European I love this. Not only because it's better for the environment but I really like trains. They are confy, fast and cheap. There's no need to pay extra for your baggage, you just hop in with your stuff, take a seat, read, watch a movie, listen to a podcast or sleep for a while and you're already at your destination.
They are not that comfortable. Sure you've got slightly more leg space than Ryanair, but difference is minimal. The only train I've really ever liked was Amtrak, but unsure whether I was somehow upgraded to their premium seats. Taking Canadian train after that was a torture.
Also they are much more expensive. Which makes sense as tech itself is legacy. The cost of maintaining, lack of competition (especially with buses) is killing them.
Honestly I don't see how we can't replace trains with electric buses...
Re: More emphasis on trains in Europe to replace flights
#9Last weekend, I took the night train from Briancon to Paris, step in at ~21:00, step out at 07:00 the next morning. My first time in a night train, pretty surreal but pleasant experience. I had to take a semi connecting train from Paris to the Netherlands (where I live), so it would be so awesome just to wake up on destination.
I'm considering if it's a good idea to tax air travel inside the EU to help the trains move forward. I believe air travel is not taxed at all. The resulting money could be spent on climate change reducing policies.
Re: More emphasis on trains in Europe to replace flights
#10Public transportation is eventually going to have to replace both cars and planes. Yes, it will cost a lot. Yes, it probably wont make profit. This is fine, it's a moral duty we have as a society and at the end of the day railways are far safer than roads. In the long run a densely populated city benefits tremendously from trains, as seen in any major city.
> Public transportation is eventually going to have to replace both cars and planes.
...but commercial airline planes are public transportation.