(Editor’s note: This post is courtesy of GoEuro.)
With the approach of Earth Day on 22 April and consumers taking into account the environmental impact of their actions, GoEuro, the travel platform for comparing and booking trains, buses and flights across Europe, has revealed 15 routes across the continent where catching a train is actually faster and more environmentally friendly than flying.
Air travel is often considered the fastest mode of transport, and it is well known the impact of this is far greater than rail travel.
However, in a move to disburse the myth that flying is always faster, GoEuro has looked at popular European routes and found the top 15 fastest routes to travel by rail over flying, when taking into account city transit, security processes and travel times.
| From | To | Time Saved in hours | Carbon Dioxide saved in Kg |
Energy consumption saved in Liters |
| Marseille | Lyon | 01:27 | 121.1 | 43.7 |
| Brussels | London | 02:08 | 111.6 | 40 |
| London | Manchester | 01:21 | 109.6 | 44.2 |
| London | Paris | 00:09 | 106.3 | 37.5 |
| Munich | Frankfurt | 00:21 | 102.8 | 42.6 |
| Brussels | Frankfurt | 00:43 | 102.8 | 41 |
| Valencia | Barcelona | 00:16 | 102.6 | 39.8 |
| Barcelona | Toulouse | 01:07 | 101 | 39.4 |
| Paris | Frankfurt | 00:22 | 98.2 | 27.9 |
| Madrid | Valencia | 01:28 | 97 | 36.9 |
| Manchester | Edinburgh | 00:21 | 94.3 | 37.4 |
| Paris | Lyon | 01:28 | 91.8 | 25.7 |
| London | Leeds | 01:21 | 91.5 | 36.6 |
| Madrid | Malaga | 00:47 | 87.3 | 30.2 |
| Amsterdam | Brussels | 01:39 | 78.9 | 31.8 |
NAREN SHAAM
“Train travel is one of the most effective modes of transportation across Europe,” said Naren Shaam, CEO of GoEuro.
“We have been conditioned to think that a one hour flight, is literally just that, and often we forget that the journey also includes the time to get to the airport and the two hours advised to clear security checks. By using the GoEuro platform, travelers will be able to compare the total travel times between rail, bus and air, as well as the price and ultimately make the most informed decision on their travel needs.”
Europe’s most environmentally friendly route – Marseille to Lyon – not only emits 2 percent of the CO2 emissions than a plane full of people, but also saves passengers 1:27 hours in travel time.
The London to Paris route was also found to have a significant impact on the environment, saving 106.3 kilograms in carbon dioxide. The journey itself is around the same in travel time as flying and can often be a more pleasant experience.
GoEuro’s methodology
GoEuro’s research was conducted by considering travel time from the city centre to the airport and back using public transport, check-in times recommended from each airport, and the duration of the flight itself.
GoEuro was able to compare the 15 train routes’ impact on the environment by accounting for the average load factor of the journey by rail and air. The data was obtained through the platform Ecopassenger which compares CO2 emissions, energy resource consumption and other data regarding the environmental impact of different modes of transport.
Ecopassenger then took the data provided by GoEuro and compared the average load factor of the rail journey with typical aircrafts for EU flights, the average passenger capacity of each route, and the CO2 emissions as well as energy consumption for each route.
As consumers lean toward more environmentally sustainable holidays (2017 ABTA report), GoEuro provides a travel booking solution that easily identifies travel time and costs of tickets across rail, bus and air that will take the guess work out of the environmental impact.
For more information about GoEuro’s research, click here.
About GoEuro
GoEuro is a travel platform that allows customers to find and book trains, buses and flights across Europe. Partnering with more than 500 European transport operators, GoEuro is revolutionizing the travel planning experience, providing customers with more choice, transparent pricing and easier booking.
GoEuro lets travelers search for any location, including cities, towns and villages, showing the best possible transport combinations while eliminating the need to visit multiple websites to plan their entire trip. With GoEuro, travel planning is simple, flexible and personal.
The travel startup is headquartered in Berlin with over 200 employees from more than 40 different countries. The latest funding round totaling $70 million, led by Silver Lake Kraftwerk and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, was announced in October 2016.
