Overview

• Greenpeace analyzed 109 cross-border and 33 domestic routes deemed reasonably practicable, finding trains pricier than flights on 54% of cross-border journeys.
• Price disparities can be stark, with a Barcelona–London ticket one month ahead costing €389 by rail versus €14.99 by plane in the sample.
• France shows the sharpest imbalance, with 95% of tested cross-border itineraries costing more by train on at least six of nine sample days.
• Within countries, rail proved cheaper than air on about 70% of routes in the study.
• Greenpeace promotes night trains as the lower-carbon long-distance option and urges measures such as taxing kerosene, cutting track access fees and adjusting VAT to rebalance fares.