‘Majority’ of popular domestic air trips could be completed by train more quickly and cheaply, new report reveals

14 July 2023

Plane speaking: moving journeys from air to rail, compared the top 23 domestic and UK to Europe flights which all have a direct rail equivalent on cost, journey time and carbon emissions and revealed that:

• Over half (57%) of routes were cheaper, or no more expensive by rail
• 70% were quicker, or the same by rail once airport processing times were added to flight times
• Switching just a quarter (25%) of the domestic flights featured in the report to rail would save 171,377 tonnes of carbon: the equivalent of taking 117,900 cars off the road
• Switching half (50%) would save 409,598 tonnes of carbon: the equivalent of taking 283,000 cars off the road.

Silviya Barrett, from Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Travelling by rail within the UK and to the near continent is much more environmentally friendly than flying but also, as our report proves, in many cases cheaper, faster and more economically productive. Yet people simply aren’t aware that this is the case. To help incentivise train travel more and reduce carbon emissions from transport, we need to see Government policies which ensure rail is always the easier and cheaper option so that more people can choose the train over the plane.”

The report looked at 23 flights in total: the 20 most popular domestic routes by passenger numbers, and the three most popular UK to Europe routes which all have a direct rail alternative. Of the top 20 UK routes, half were found to be cheaper or no more expensive by rail and 14 out of the 20 were found to be quicker once airport travel and processing times were factored in. The report found that all three of the European routes can be completed at a lower cost and faster by rail than by flying.

*Costs based on booking either a direct flight or train between two weeks and three months in advance
** Journey times include travel to/from the airport and the city centre and the recommended airport processing time

Aviation makes a significant contribution to the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, a contribution which has steadily risen over time. The Government’s strategy for achieving net zero aviation hinges on technological advancements, like sustainable aviation fuel, which are unlikely to make a difference soon enough. The industry also has a poor record of meeting its climate targets.

The only proven way to cut aviation emissions now is to reduce the number of flights. As Plane speaking: moving journeys from air to rail proves, one area where this is imminently possible is domestic and UK to near Europe journeys where direct train connections are available.

To help achieve this reduction, Campaign for Better Transport has drawn up a ten-point Fewer Flights Charter which calls on the Government to:

1. Require airlines to give passengers realistic travelling times for domestic flights
2. Require airlines to publish carbon emissions for domestic flights and the equivalent rail option
3. Require airlines to offer free rail tickets to the airport for passengers taking international flights
4. Introduce a domestic flight reduction target
5. Introduce a tax on domestic aviation fuel
6. Reverse the cut in Air Passenger Duty for domestic flights
7. Introduce a new rate of Air Passenger Duty for all private jet passengers
8. Apply VAT to every private jet flight
9. Penalise airlines for flying empty aircraft unnecessarily
10. Invest in more railway lines and stations and improve fares and ticketing.

ENDS

Download Plane speaking: moving journeys from air to rail.

View the full comparison table of the 23 flights examined in this report on cost, time and carbon emissions.

For further information please contact the press office on 07984 773 468 (calls only no texts) or communications@bettertransport.org.uk

Notes to Editors

Costs were based on booking either a direct flight or train between two weeks and three months in advance. On 48% of the routes travelling by train was cheaper with the lowest price ticket, and on 9% of the routes there was no significant price difference (see Table 2 on page 10 of the report). The calculations do not include travel costs to and from each airport or rail discounts available. Rail passengers entitled to a railcard can save an additional third off their fares.

Journey times include travel to and from the airport and the city centre, calculated using Google Maps, and airport processing times (two hours arrival and 30 minutes disembarking).

The report only looked at domestic flights with an equivalent direct rail route and did not include the 22 Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes, or ‘lifeline flights’ which link geographically isolated places like the Scottish Islands. Domestic flights that involve crossing water, such as those connecting the mainland to Northern Ireland and the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and the Isles of Scilly were also excluded from this report, as were a small number of flight routes which do not have a direct rail connection (e.g., Glasgow to Southampton or Bristol to Inverness).

For more information on the Fewer Flights Charter, see Campaign for Better Transport’s press release.

Campaign for Better Transport was founded as Transport 2000 on 6 February 1973. 2023 marks its 50th year of campaigning for all communities to have access to high quality, sustainable transport that meets their needs, improves quality of life and protects the environment. Campaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust is a registered charity (1101929) which operates in England and Wales.