Can we take the pain out of getting the train to Spain?

When the British go on holiday, we tend not to travel too far. More than half the holidaymakers flying out of the UK are heading to the nearest European countries: Spain, Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Researchers at the University of Leeds looked into the possibility that these journeys might instead be made by train and determined that up to 41% of us could feasibly do that. The problem being that travelling by train is slower and usually more expensive. 

However, as the research observes, outside the UK, train travel is nowhere near as pedestrian as we’re used to here, with trains in countries such as France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, able to reach speeds of between 250 and 320 km/h. On top of this, many countries are linking their high-speed rail networks together, through the EU’s Trans-European Network programme.

The team believe behaviour change should be encouraged to minimise short-haul holiday flights. Do you need to fly to an island for your Summer holiday? Why not get the train to a mainland beach resort instead?

Lead author Dr Malcolm Morgan, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Transport Studies, said: ‘Many people booking a holiday don’t have a fixed destination in mind; they are just looking for a good time.

‘So, perhaps the question we should ask is not ‘How do we move millions of people thousands of miles without any emissions?’ But ‘can you have a good holiday without getting on a plane?”

The team looked in detail at the parts of Europe reachable by train within a day (see image above). To ensure these were journeys that are realistically accomplishable, timetables were examined to eliminate any journeys on which an overnight stay would be required to make a connection.

It is suggested that the UK Government looks at promoting domestic and near-Europe destinations with package holidays that include rail tickets rather than flights.

Dr Morgan added: ‘Our paper proposes some carrots rather than the usual sticks of ‘you can’t go on holiday because you can’t fly’. We want to frame the debate in a more positive light about what people and government can do to make holidays guilt free.

‘Take the Spanish islands, for instance. Almost two million people a year fly there as they are a popular destination for a cheap beach holiday. You can’t get a train to Majorca, but you can get a train to the Spanish mainland.

‘It is already possible to have breakfast in London, lunch in Paris, and dinner in Barcelona by train today. Sleeper trains could also comfortably make the journey from British cities to many Mediterranean destinations in a single night.

‘So, while a low-carbon trip to the Canary Islands probably remains a pipe dream, it is not hard to imagine a world of low-carbon beach holidays if you are prepared to be flexible with destinations and travel itineraries.’

Of course, while it is possible to advocate that short-haul flights should be replaced by train journeys, such a modal switch is impossible for long-haul flights which are responsible for the majority of emissions from aviation. Indeed, all the aforementioned holidaymakers, flying to our nearest European neighbours are responsible for just 14% of the UK’s aviation emissions.

Dr Zia Wadud, a Professor in Mobility and Energy Futures at the University, said: ‘This is a pattern we are beginning to understand better – few very long-distance trips are responsible for a large share of travel emissions.

‘A vast majority of emissions are associated with long-haul flights and are beyond the practical range of rail networks. As such innovative solutions such as destination switching offer much potential.’

Co-author of the study, Dr Sally Cairns, added: ‘Flying is partly so environmentally damaging because people use it to go vast distances. For example, the emissions from taking just one round trip from London to Sydney equate to more than a whole year’s worth of road and rail emissions from the average UK citizen.

‘People can make a big difference to their personal carbon footprint by choosing closer holiday destinations. And the Government needs to start taxing aviation fairly, to make alternative travel options like rail more attractive.’

The original  research can be read here.