Europe is working to replace planes with trains. Here’s how it's progressing

Since the rise of the 'flight shame' movement, which encourages travelers to choose more eco-friendly options, many Europeans have turned to the continent's vast rail network as a sustainable alternative to short-haul flights.

Progress is clearly being made. Airlines like KLM have started partnerships with rail operators on certain routes, and countries such as Austria and France are moving to limit domestic flights where train services are available – although the French law passed in May 2023 has been notably softened from its initial proposal.

This shift is happening alongside a rail revolution in mainland Europe, with new high-speed rail lines, a resurgence of overnight sleeper trains, new tunnel connections reducing travel time, and more reliable and efficient locomotives. Countries like Spain, Germany, and Austria are also offering affordable ticket deals to boost rail travel.

With such significant investment in rail infrastructure, it seems the train transformation of Europe’s transport system is well on track. It might not be long before the continent depends almost entirely on its railways, while the skies become clearer and greener.

In reality, that vision is still far from being realized. But why?

Like many efforts to move away from environmentally damaging practices, there’s both progress and setbacks. Solutions are emerging, but they are slow to implement. Meanwhile, Europe’s airports don’t show signs of becoming quieter any time soon.

A symbolic gesture

The year kicked off with strong momentum as France promised new legislation to ban short-haul flights on several domestic routes, aiming to reduce carbon emissions. However, despite being approved by EU officials and signed into French law in May 2023, the actual impact of the measures is limited.

For the ban to take effect, the EU stipulated that a high-speed rail option must exist for the route, allowing travelers to complete the journey between the cities in under two and a half hours. Additionally, there must be enough early and late train services to ensure passengers can spend at least eight hours at their destination.

As a result, only three routes were affected: those connecting Paris-Orly to Bordeaux, Nantes, and Lyon. To further dampen the hopes of rail advocates, it turned out these routes had already been canceled in 2020 – the new law merely ensures they won’t be reinstated in the future.

So what went wrong? The European Commission’s ruling significantly watered down France’s original plans, which aimed to end five additional routes: from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Bordeaux, Nantes, Lyon, and Rennes, as well as the Lyon-Marseilles route.

Critics argue that the outcome is little more than a symbolic gesture towards climate action, without delivering any substantial change.

"The French flight ban is more of a token gesture, with minimal impact on cutting emissions," said Jo Dardenne, aviation director at the clean transport group Transport & Environment (T&E), speaking to Dinogo before the law was enacted.

T&E estimates that the three routes impacted by the ban account for just 0.3% of the emissions from all flights departing mainland France, and only 3% of emissions from domestic flights within the country (again, considering only mainland flights).

If the five additional routes originally targeted by French authorities had been included, those figures would have risen to 0.5% and 5% respectively.

While these percentages might seem small, aviation currently contributes around 2.5% of global carbon emissions. However, its overall impact on climate change is believed to be greater due to the additional gases, water vapor, and contrails that planes release.

Furthermore, the aviation industry is rapidly growing – despite the pandemic-induced slowdown – and is expected to become one of the biggest contributors to emissions in the future. According to the EU, aviation emissions in Europe grew by an average of 5% annually from 2013 to 2019.

Airlines in the EU enjoy tax-free fuel, unlike other forms of transportation, and plane tickets are exempt from VAT.

More regulations are on the horizon.

On a positive note, although its impact is limited, the French decision sets a significant precedent that the aviation industry will struggle to overlook, especially as public and political pressure on the sector continues to grow.

"The French policy, in its current form, is so minimal that it amounts to sustainability theater rather than making any real difference to emissions," said Patrick Edmond, managing director of Altair Advisory, an aviation consultancy based in Ireland, speaking to Dinogo before the law took effect.

"However, we can interpret it differently – as a signal of further aviation restrictions likely to come if the industry fails to take serious steps toward decarbonization."

France isn’t the first European nation to adopt a stricter stance on ultra-short flights.

In 2020, Austria provided financial aid to its national airline, Austrian Airlines, with the condition that it eliminate all flights where a rail journey would take less than three hours.

In practice, only the Vienna-Salzburg route was canceled, with train services on that line expanded as a result. A similar short route, from Vienna to Linz, had already been shifted to rail back in 2017.

Other European nations are reportedly considering restrictions on short-haul flights as well – a move that could be well-received, as 62% of Europeans support banning such flights, according to a 2020 survey. Spain, for instance, has proposed eliminating flights where rail travel takes less than 2.5 hours by 2050.

Unsurprisingly, these proposals have raised concerns within the aviation industry.

A 2022 report commissioned by the European Regional Airlines Association (ERA) and several aerospace industry groups found that if all flights under 500 kilometers (310 miles) were shifted to public transport, it could result in a carbon saving of up to 5% of EU intra-regional emissions.

"For many policymakers, banning short-haul flights and backing rail transport is an easy way to gain public favor, especially in Europe," said Montserrat Barriga, director general of the ERA, in an interview with Dinogo.

However, Barriga and others – from both sides of the debate – point to a glaring inconsistency: restricting short-haul flights and reducing carbon allowances for flights within Europe, while failing to take similar actions to limit connections outside the EU.

Long-haul flights are the largest contributors to global emissions. A recent study published in the *Journal of Transport Geography* revealed that although flights under 500 kilometers (310 miles) account for 27.9% of departures in the EU, they only account for 5.9% of the fuel burned. In contrast, flights over 4,000 kilometers make up just 6.2% of EU departures, yet they consume 47% of the fuel.

"Governments continue to overlook the biggest source of aviation emissions – long-haul flights, which remain both unpriced and unregulated," said T&E's Dardenne. "Flight bans should not be used as a diversion from addressing the real issue."

Barriers to change

While railways are making significant strides across Europe, contributing to the recent collapse of Italy’s national airline, Alitalia, rail operators could do more, according to Jon Worth, founder of the public advocacy group Trains for Europe.

He points out that high prices and infrequent services remain major barriers to getting more passengers to switch from flying, particularly on major routes like Paris-Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Barcelona.

"On many routes, rail could capture a much larger share of multimodal transportation. Rail operators have prioritized profits over increasing market share. To achieve the latter, they need to run rail services as a public utility or introduce more competition," he explains.

Improved connectivity between intercity rail services and airports could also reduce the demand for short-haul flights. Worth emphasizes the importance of offering combined tickets, ensuring that if a train is delayed and passengers miss their connection, they are accommodated on the next available train, much like connecting flights.

This model works well in countries where airlines and rail operators collaborate, such as Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, and Spain. In February 2023, ITA Airways, the successor to Alitalia, signed an agreement with Italy’s national rail operator to create similar connections.

However, there is still a long way to go – for example, the current schemes are limited to national carriers. A proposed piece of legislation, the Multimodal Digital Mobility Services, is expected to be adopted by the European Commission in 2023, aiming to make intermodal travel more accessible on a larger scale.

In France, shorter train travel times and increased frequencies could lead to the end of more domestic air routes when the ban is reviewed – the current measure is valid for only three years. However, breakthroughs in clean flight technology may eventually shift the outlook for regional aviation.

Short-haul flights are likely to be the first part of the aviation sector to undergo decarbonization, as most ongoing projects in electric, hybrid-electric, and hydrogen-powered aviation focus on small aircraft intended for very short distances.

The debate is expected to continue over the coming years, as the environmental, social, economic, political, and technological factors that shape this issue evolve, all while the climate crisis deepens.