On 21 August, the NGO Greenpeace published an instructive analysis of the comparative cost of rail and air travel in Europe. By studying 142 routes in 31 countries between April and June this year, the organisation highlights the advantage still enjoyed by air transport, despite the fact that it is up to 80 times more polluting than rail.
According to the study, only 39% of cross-border journeys are predominantly cheaper by train than by plane. Conversely, on the 33 domestic routes studied, rail remains competitive in 70% of cases, proof that the price differential in favour of air travel is concentrated mainly on short-distance international journeys.
Luxembourg in the middle of the table
The national disparities are striking. France is the worst performer: on 95% of cross-border routes, the train is more expensive than the plane. Spain follows at 92%, the UK at 90%, and Italy at 88%.
"With a train ticket up to 26 times more expensive than a plane ticket for travel on the same day, Barcelona-London is the route with the biggest price difference in the analysis: €14.99 for the plane compared with €389 for the train for a medium-term advance booking," Greenpeace states.
At the other end of the ranking, the Baltic countries are positive exceptions: in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the train is always cheaper than the plane. Poland also stands out, with 89% of cross-border journeys cheaper by rail.
Luxembourg, for its part, is in the middle of the table: of the five connections studied, 40% were unfavourable to rail (more expensive train), 40% favourable (cheaper train). In Belgium, 60% of the cross-border connections analysed were more expensive by rail than by air. Conversely, 30% were cheaper by train. For Germany, 48% of cross-border connections are more expensive by train than by air (compared with 45%).
Great discrepancy
On the Grand Duchy's side, the routes examined reflect a great discrepancy: on the Luxembourg-Milan route, a train ticket can cost up to €214, compared with €18.49 for an easyJet flight, a ratio of 1 to 11.6. Conversely, the Amsterdam-Luxembourg route is one of the ten best cases in Europe, with a train ticket costing €51.20 compared with €287 by air, i.e., only 18% of the price of the plane. The other routes reviewed – Hamburg-Luxembourg, Zagreb-Luxembourg (with variable results, requiring a night train to be feasible) and Luxembourg-Barcelona (where flying almost always remains unbeatable) – give a nuanced picture of the market.
Climate ticket
Beyond the figures, Greenpeace denounces an "unfair playing field": airlines pay neither VAT on international flights nor tax on paraffin, while rail carries VAT, energy taxes, and high tolls.
To restore the balance, the NGO is calling for the introduction of a "climate ticket" valid throughout Europe, an end to airline subsidies and massive investment in night trains - currently non-existent in countries such as Luxembourg, Ireland and Cyprus. In Greenpeace's view, only a radical overhaul of pricing can make rail systematically cheaper than air travel and encourage a genuine modal shift.
