The modal change towards the train is one of the priorities of the European Union to reduce its CO2 emissions. And at the same time, states and railway operators multiply investments and offers to make the train more attractive.
If the train attracts more and more passengers, it is clear that the plane continues to hold the rope for many inter-European connections, according to a recent study published by the European Commission.
In question, the insufficient network in many regions of the Old Continent, the price for many travelers (especially the youngest, see box below) but also a rail offer that still suffers from its low average speed. And that, therefore, is not a match for the plane in many cases.
France at the top of speed
The study analyzed 1,356 connections of less than 500 kilometers between cities in the EU. Only 3% of these train journeys offer speeds above 150 km/h and 30% of these connections are even below 60 km/h on average.
In question, the low generalization of high-speed trains, absent in more than half of the States of the Union. But where these lines exist, the deal is obviously different.
France thus has 18 connections where the speed is over 150 km/h and offers 7 of the 10 fastest connections in Europe (all over 200 km/h) with Paris-Bordeaux in particular in first place and its average speed is 239 km/h. h.
Spain has 10 connections where the speed exceeds 150 km/h and there are 8 in Italy. As a result, 7.6% of the trains in southern Europe run at least 150 km/h compared to 60% of the routes that do so at less than 60 km/h in eastern Europe, presented as the relative poor rail speed.
As a direct consequence of this low average speed in Europe, of 297 routes on which the train and a direct flight are simultaneously available, the train is faster only in 68 of the cases.
At 175 km/h, the train is consistently faster than the plane for trips of up to 500 km
However, the study shows that train operating speeds of around 175 km/h would be enough for rail travel to be consistently faster than flights over distances of up to 500 kilometres.
It should be remembered that a Commission investment program called the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) aims to increase this speed to 160 km/h, which would increase the number of lines on which the train is faster to 103 of 297 . than the plane. This is enough to reduce CO2 emissions from air transport in Europe by 25%, the study estimates, and by 6% the travel time of passengers on these routes.
While these results may disappoint supporters of the green transition, it should be noted that the figures presented date from 2019. Since then, many operators have improved their offerings, in particular through new rolling stock, allowing for increased speed. of certain links.
On the contrary, the creation of new high-speed lines, which are very expensive, is far from being a priority for the majority of the States of the Union. Beyond 500 kilometers, the aircraft still has a bright future ahead of it in Europe.
Young people like the train but they use their cars…
If there is a real movement of young people towards the train, especially the night connections, the attractiveness of the railway is weighed down by its price, according to a survey carried out by Ipsos for Alliance France Tourisme.
Thus, 65% of young people aged 18-34 state that they will continue to prefer the car for their next vacation, 54% will opt for the plane and only 35% for the train. In question, “alternative and more sustainable transport offers surely insufficient in terms of territorial coverage, variety of prices or practicality of access”.
However, some EU countries (or regions) try to get around the price pitfall with reductions or fixed cards. Last episode, Spain: Young people from 18 to 30 years old will be able to benefit from June 15 to September 15 of discounts of up to 90% for short or medium-distance train lines and 50% with a maximum of 30 euros per ticket for the country TGV.
Source: BFM TV
