Trains Offer New Promise in Europe’s Quest to Cut Aviation Emissions
Photo Credit: A TGV train operating a connecting "flight" to Brussels at the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport station. Flickr / pom'.
Skift Take
European airlines and authorities are eager to tap rail links to replace short flights on the continent. But a recent air-rail connection in Paris showed the limits of the partnerships that take a lot more than will power to make work and, more importantly, woo travelers.
More than 60,000 people transfer daily at Paris’ busy Charles de Gaulle Airport, one of the largest airline hubs in the world. But not every traveler is making the usual dash from flight to flight: A small but growing number connect to or from a train for one leg of their journeys.
These air-rail connections — or “Train + Air” itineraries as Air France calls them — involve a flight and an intercity train on a single booking, as opposed to buying two separate tickets for the same trip. The benefit of booking them together includes protections if one leg is late and a traveler misses their connection, as well as additional credits in airline loyalty programs, something that is highly valued by frequent travelers.
These multimodal trips have been around for decades, but as the industry doubles down on promises to cut carbon emissions, they are receiving renewed interest from both airlines and European authorities. The challenge, however, is rail infrastru
