Four times more direct plane routes than train links from Brussels

Six times more people who set off from Brussels to another European destination are taking a plane instead of a train to get there, according to research by Greenpeace. Greenpeace’s analysis revealed that European cities are still much better connect

By: xpats.com

Jul 04 2024
35
3557 Views

Four times more direct plane r

Six times more people who set off from Brussels to another European destination are taking a plane instead of a train to get there, according to research by Greenpeace.

Greenpeace’s analysis revealed that European cities are still much better connected by air than by rail, with 41 of the 44 cities surveyed able to be reached by direct flight from Brussels, compared to only 11 by train.

“For years, Europe has rolled out the red carpet for climate-damaging air travel and showered them with tax breaks, while trains and rail infrastructure continue to rot,” said Joeri Thijs, spokesperson for Greenpeace Belgium.

“European governments and the EU must correct this historical imbalance by improving train connectivity and comfort and ending the unfair advantages of the airline industry.”

The organisation analysed 990 routes between 45 major European cities and found that only 12% of the routes are served by direct trains. For direct flights, the figure is 69%.

Greenpeace said there were 305 train routes that could easily be served by a direct train – routes that do not take longer than 18 hours, the current maximum travel time of an overnight train in Europe.

From Brussels, all but Luxembourg, Cologne and Kiev are accessible by plane. In contrast, only Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Munich, London, Luxembourg, Lyon, Marseille, Paris, Prague and Vienna can be reached by direct train.

Greenpeace’s analysis found that by using already existing rail infrastructure, there could potentially be 17 additional train connections, namely Barcelona, Budapest, Birmingham, Bratislava, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Ljubljana, Madrid, Milan, Naples, Rome, Stockholm, Valencia, Warsaw, Zagreb and Zurich.

The organisation is calling on the next federal government to provide more direct train connections and remove subsidies for aviation.