Europe considering to replace planes with high-speed trains

Rail industry leaders of Europe met in Lyon, France recently to discuss the potential expansion of their rail systems.

Their current vision involves doubling rail use by 2030 and tripling it by 2050. The end goal is to have these trains connecting all these major cities.

However, Europe is hoping to cut down on this air travel and replace the planes with high-speed trains instead.  As the proximity of major European countries and cities makes it easy and affordable to hop on a plane and be in a new country in a matter of hours.

The carbon emissions from planes are significantly greater than from trains. A joint report from environmental organizations in Germany, Poland, Spain, and France says that a Paris-Berlin flight creates at least six times the carbon emissions that a train ride of the same distance would. If the train network is tripled by 2050, this would be a huge check off the EU’s Green Deal objectives, which set the lofty goal of making the EU carbon neutral by 2050.