In Europe, Drop Plane for Train with ‘The Man in Seat 61’…Cut Down on Your Emissions

In case you missed it, November 14 is a milestone for train travel, from London to the Continent with the launch of the Eurostar service from its new home of St Pancras.

Roger Blitz (Financial Times) thinks that this new High-speed link may be the dawn of new era for rail. It will shave off time on trips to Brussels and Paris and with congested airports make the switch from plane to train more attractive to both leisure and business travelers.

Sarah Turner in The Guardian calls this new line The fast track to Europe’s hotspots and quotes Mark Smith, The Man in Seat 61 as saying that ‘More and more people seem to be trying out train travel to Europe as a low-carbon, low-stress alternative to the hassle of flying.’

Also in The Guardian, Benji Lanyado offers a Blog by blog guide to …Brussels and Paris including the Paris City Guide de Clotilde (Chocolate & Zucchini) while Angelique Chrisafis lists her Top 10 Paris hotels.

Getting back to the topic of Green Solutions, The Man in Seat Sixty One shares some numbers in a Train versus Plane comparison chart for a few European trips.
If his numbers are accurate, a London to Paris train passenger generates one 10th the emissions that taking the plane would create on the same route.

Add to that the hassle of going to airports from city centers, security check and the like, on short distances, the train makes sense.

Besides the utilitarian aspect, rail travel has a romantic side to it and a rhythm too.

That’s it for Green Day #5

Previous Green Day: Take your Bike to Work Day? Fold that Puma Urban Mobility

Related: A Ride on the ‘Little Yellow Train’