Greenpeace calls for more long-distance trains from Zurich and Geneva
Published: Tuesday, Jul 2nd 2024, 00:10
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Greenpeace is calling for more European long-distance trains between major cities: According to an analysis by the environmental organization, there is potential for 15 more train connections from Zurich - and as many as 25 in Geneva.
Greenpeace is calling on the Swiss government and SBB to improve rail connections with European cities. In general, European governments should give priority to rail transport over air transport, the environmental organization announced on Tuesday.
This would require the abolition of air travel concessions and the introduction of a kerosene tax for airlines. More supersaver tickets for trains and a simpler booking system, for example via a pan-European booking platform, are also needed.
Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe analyzed a total of 990 routes between 45 major European cities, according to the environmental organization. Direct trains operated on only twelve percent of the routes, while direct flights were offered on 69 percent. According to Greenpeace, a direct day or night train with a journey time of less than 18 hours could be operated on 419 routes (42 percent) with the current infrastructure.
According to the press release, the cities with the most direct train connections to other major cities were Vienna (17), Munich (15), Berlin (14), Paris and Zurich (13 each). Geneva only had four direct connections. The difference between Zurich and Geneva was particularly marked in terms of night train connections: There were nine in Zurich and none in Geneva.
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