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As climate awareness increases, the demand for international trains also increases. And that in turn leads to a better offer.
Anyone who travels in Europe often takes a plane – even though the train would be more climate-friendly. But on many routes the train is not competitive with the plane.
But with more climate awareness, the demand for international train routes is increasing. The train operators have also noticed this. There is currently a sense of optimism in international rail traffic, says Thomas Sauter-Servaes, an expert on European rail systems. “We notice that more existing train operators are interested in traveling internationally. And new companies can also imagine entering this market.”
Great potential, great challenges
What is crucial is that air traffic as it exists today will no longer be able to be afforded in the future. This creates great potential for the railway. But the challenges are great. Because European rail transport is like a patchwork quilt.
“We still have different power systems. This makes it very expensive to drive from A to B. On the other hand, we have national railway companies that have so far operated as monopolists and will of course defend their territory,” says Sauter-Servaes.
An example of such a monopoly is the route from Paris to London, which has only been operated by the Eurostar Group for 30 years. A very lucrative route because an express train takes less than two and a half hours. This makes the train a real competitor to the plane. But the tickets are expensive and that in turn attracts other train companies.
Legend:
Only the Eurostar Group has been running the Paris-London route for 30 years. But the attractive route smells of competition.
Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes
«In my opinion, Paris-London is one of the most attractive routes in Europe. I understand very well that many existing providers as well as new companies want to move towards London. Especially in light of the fact that more people are switching from planes to trains.”
By train to London? It’s complicated
Competition on this route could significantly reduce prices. London is also the most frequently flown destination from Swiss airports. However, anyone who would prefer to travel to London by train will have to overcome a few hurdles, says Bastian Bommer from Pro Bahn Switzerland, the advocacy group for public transport customers.
“You have to change trains several times; in Paris you even have to change train stations using the subway. And ticketing is also very complicated.”
The SBB is also considering a direct train to London
These problems, but also the potential of a direct connection to London, can also be seen with the SBB. A study is currently underway, it says here. In principle, it is possible to drive the Basel-London route in around five hours.
Pro Bahn welcomes SBB’s plans to offer these and other international connections in the future, but would see even more potential, especially for connections to Italy and France. So ideas are there. However, there is still a long way to go before trains become competitors to airplanes across Europe.