Domestic train travel is 80% cheaper than flying, report finds

Thanks to the rise in high-speed train networks across much of the globe, trains have evolved to travel at faster speeds, enabling them to rival some airline companies on short-haul flights. Though it has been widely believed that until recently that air travel is cheaper than train travel.

The latest report conduced by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) has shown that rail travel is in fact up to 80% cheaper in the UK when it comes to making journeys between the major cities that have domestic airports.

Many adverts for flying may appeal to the customer, on face value they do appear much cheaper than train travel, but the many hidden costs incurred while travelling by plane such as baggage allowances, transfer fees and seat selection prices, actually push up the overall total cost of flying.

As part of the study for the report, researchers found that customers travelling between London and Edinburgh can save up to £200 by choosing train travel over air travel.

The report found that, in four out of six journeys on other routes, it was quicker to take the train from city to city rather than taking the plane.

There are many benefits to travelling by train. Frequency of services between major cities means you can travel on any service during the day, except during peak times or if you pre-booked your ticket in advance for a certain train.

At the time of the reports investigation, there were 26 flights from London to Edinburgh each day compared to 39 trains per day taking the same journey.

You can travel from city centre to city centre by train, whereas airports are normally situated outside the city, meaning transfer fees are involved getting you to and from the airport, already adding costs to that cheap flight ticket.

 “For too long, the narrative has been that flying domestically is cheaper and faster. However, when you do a true cost comparison, rail travel can be considerably cheaper and offers a more affordable, sustainable, and convenient way to travel. Our research highlights the many advantages that rail travel offers to our customers when travelling within Britain.” 

Jaqueline Starr, CEO at Rail Delivery Group

To add to that, there are very few luggage restrictions on trains, with most luggage included in your ticket of travel.

You can choose where to sit on a train with no extra seating fees, and if you feel you want to change seats or carriage, you can do so.

There are no queues to check in or at security on train journeys. And there is also no waiting to pick up your luggage at your destination, as it can stay with you on the train.

From an environmental point of view, the majority of railways lines between UK cities are now electrified, meaning that rail travel is now far greener compared to flying. Drawing on Green Travel Pledge data, this backs up the fact rail travel can be over 17 times greener compared to flying, which is a big draw in today's modern world of greener sustainable travel.

At a look to the future, as we have seen, rail travel is in a prime position, out performing air travel in terms of prices, conveniency, flexibility and sustainability.

If businesses are looking at becoming greener, they have a greener choice of travel to choose from, by deciding if they would prefer their staff to take the faster, cheaper and greener train to conferences and meetings across the country, which would look good on their part and help in cutting their own emissions, as the selection of choice in transport also adds up to how green a company is.