Train travel at Christmas time is on average twice as expensive as climate-damaging air travel – environmental protection organizations call for affordable train tickets and the introduction of a tax on kerosene
Vienna (OTS) – Christmas time is the time for travel. Greenpeace took the opportunity to compare train and flight prices for the 15 most popular travel routes to and from Vienna. It turns out that train travel is, on average, 95% more expensive than corresponding flights. The sad leader is the Vienna-Barcelona route, where train tickets are on average five times more expensive than air travel. On average, air travel is five times more harmful to the climate. Greenpeace denounces the extremely distorted pricing policy and calls on the EU to abolish tax advantages for climate-damaging air travel, as well as measures to ensure affordable rail prices for all.
“250 million people in Europe travel to visit their families or on vacation during the holidays. There are still numerous tax loopholes for low-cost airlines, which could lead to a real price war – but the climate is left behind. To make it easier for people across Europe to choose climate-friendly travel, the EU must roll up its sleeves and finally make sure the costs are true. The first important steps in this direction are the introduction of a tax on kerosene and the abolition of railway tolls”, says Marc Dengler, climate and energy expert at Greenpeace in Austria.
A total of 15 routes to and from Vienna were analyzed at three different times. There are regular direct flights from Vienna on all fifteen routes examined. Direct rail connections, however, only serve eleven cities. Only when traveling to Berlin, Zagreb and Zurich was the train always cheaper than the flight. This was most clearly observed on the Vienna-Zagreb route, where tickets were on sale for an average of 40 euros, even at Christmas time.
Train is the most environmentally friendly form of long-distance transport and causes, on average, 80% fewer climate-damaging emissions per passenger kilometer than flying. However, the railway is systematically at a disadvantage. International air tickets are exempt from VAT and no tax is charged on kerosene. Greenpeace calls for a legal framework that makes climate-friendly mobility the most cost-effective choice. To achieve this, airport and airline subsidies must be eliminated and a fuel tax introduced across Europe, like the one the German federal government is already planning for domestic flights. To make rail travel more affordable, VAT on rail travel should be abolished and family and social fares extended.
Information sheet: https://act.gp/4amULCV
Questions and contact:
Marc Dengler
Climate and energy specialist
Greenpeace in Austria
Tel: +43 (0) 664 881 722 05
Email: [email protected]
Annette Stolz
Press spokesperson
Greenpeace in Austria
Tel.: + 43 (0) 664 61 26 725
Email: [email protected]