By plane from Frankfurt to Hamburg? This is done several times a day today, but according to a study by Greenpeace it would not be necessary. For almost a third of all short-haul flights in Europe, rail alternatives already exist.

About one in three European short-haul flights can already be replaced by a train journey. This is the result of a study by the environmental organization Greenpeace. Consequently, there are train connections with a travel time of less than six hours for 29 percent of short-haul flights. There are direct night train connections for an additional 15 percent.

In the study commissioned by Greenpeace, the 150 short-haul flights with the most flights in the EU and the 250 main flights in the EU plus Switzerland, Norway and Great Britain were compared with existing rail connections.

Flying is twelve times more bad for the weather than traveling by train

According to Greenpeace, short-haul flights are around twelve times more damaging to the climate than comparable train travel. Flights on routes that can also be reached by train in a few hours contradict climate protection, said traffic expert Lena Donat. “He is no longer allowed to fly such short distances.” The new federal government must expand rail services and end climate-damaging short flights.

Also in Germany, according to Greenpeace, every third flight that takes off or lands here can already be replaced by a climate-friendly train ride of less than six hours. Eliminating these particularly climate-damaging flight routes saves around 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year, minus emissions from increased train traffic. As a first step, Greenpeace calls for the cancellation of frequent connections, such as those from Frankfurt to Brussels, Munich, Berlin or Hamburg, since the railways already offer fast connections here.