July 25, 2023 – On average, train tickets in Europe are twice as expensive as plane tickets on some lines. According to a Greenpeace survey, trains in Croatia follow the average. After its findings, Greenpeace is proposing an introduction of a kerosene tax.
As Index writes, Greenpeace compared ticket prices on 112 routes across Europe on several dates. The survey covered 94 international and 18 domestic lines.
They found that the prices of travelling by trains in Croatia on these lines are, on average, twice as expensive as plane tickets. The most significant difference was reported in Britain and Spain, where train travel is four times more expensive than air travel.
The survey found the most significant price difference to be on the Barcelona-London line, where a train ticket costs up to 384 euros. This is 30 times more than a plane ticket starting at 12.99 euros.
Flights are cheaper on 71 percent of the analyzed routes. Low-cost carriers fly on 79 percent of the routes and, in most cases, are more affordable than rail due to unfair and aggressive pricing policies.
Trains in Croatia: Zagreb to Rome the Most Expensive Line
In its survey, Greenpeace points out that Croatia is connected to all its neighbors by rail, but trains rarely run.
Despite the few international lines, they offer night trains at relatively low fares. Their price increases only in the case of connecting journeys, making flights cheaper in those cases, they found.
Since Ryanair chose Zagreb as one of the hubs, flying is the cheaper option in Croatia due to the many flights offered.
The most expensive train line is the one from Zagreb to Rome, Greenpeace found, adding that the flight is four times cheaper.
Flights are, on average, twice as cheap as traveling by train, they calculated.
Kerosene Tax
To encourage people to travel by train, which is the greener option, they are calling on governments to introduce long-term concessionary “vouchers” for public transport and a tax on extra profits. They are also encouraging phasing out incentives for airlines.
Greenpeace transport expert Marisa Reiserer proposed a Europe-wide kerosene tax of 50 cents per litre, generating annual revenue of €46.2 billion.
That money should be directed to railway infrastructure, said Reiserer.
“More and more people want to travel by train and stop flying, but the non-existent tax on kerosene and further climate-damaging subsidies to the aviation industry are distorting prices,” she said.
