how Germany, Austria and Spain are encouraging travelers to take the train

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While the effects of global warming are unfortunately increasingly visible, the question of the carbon footprint of our travels is becoming central. Faced with this situation, some countries have implemented incentive measures to encourage travelers to favor the train over other modes of transport. Overview.

Austria has implemented the “climate ticket” to use public transport

It is called the “Klimaticket” and has allowed its holders, since 2021, to use all public transport in the country for 1095 euros per year, or 3 euros per day. Alexander Kesselring, who travels regularly for his work, owns one. It was his employer, a social entrepreneurship NGO, who bought it for him. An important decision for him. “The ‘Klimaticket’ confirmed my choice not to fly anymore and to travel only by train, he analyzes. The train is unfortunately more expensive than the plane but ‘the Klimaticket’ makes this mode of transport more accessible. I take the train much more often today: with the Klimaticket, it’s not complicated, you no longer have to think about buying a ticket and what’s more, it makes you want to discover new places in the country.”

Already 180,000 “Klimaticket” have been sold, more than expected by the government. While most welcome this reform, some consider it insufficient given the scale of the climate challenge. This is the case of the environmental NGO Global 2000 for which Johannes Wahlmüller works. “Austrian transport policy is not coherent because at the same time, the offer intended for car traffic is increasingjudge Johannes Wahlmüller. The carbon footprint of the transport sector is bad: emissions have even increased by more than 4% compared to 2020. This therefore remains a big problem in Austria, despite the implementation of the ‘Klimaticket’. Many other measures are needed.” Especially since Austria has set itself an ambitious goal: to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, 10 years before the European Union.

Germany bets on a very attractive tariff despite an aging infrastructure

To encourage people to take the train and support purchasing power, Germany will continue a system that it had put in place during the three summer months. She had proposed a single monthly ticket at 9 euros which allowed you to use transport throughout the country, with the exception of high-speed trains. This time, Germany will offer a slightly more expensive solution, with a monthly ticket at 49 euros. Since the start of the school year, the government has indeed been thinking about a new system when inflation reached 10% in Germany last month. The new 49-euro ticket should be sold from January 1, but the thorny issue of its financing still remains to be resolved. The federal government is ready to pay 1.5 billion euros on the condition that the regions also participate.

This device is also a way for the government to encourage users to take the train rather than their car. To achieve its climate objectives, the executive has set itself a priority by 2030: to double the number of passengers on trains and to increase rail freight by 25%. During the three summer months, the 9 euro ticket was a great success, with 52 million titles sold, including one in five to users who admitted that they did not usually use public transport. Nearly 2 million tonnes of CO2 have been saved in this way.

But all is not so simple. There are many disruptions and delays in Germany. In August, only 56% of ICEs, the equivalent of the TGV, arrived on time, far from the 80% target. In question, the many construction sites on a network that is often dilapidated and long neglected. The government and Deutsche Bahn promise that the situation will change. To modernize the network, work is underway until 2030. The busiest line, between Frankfurt and Mannheim, will close for six months, and seven other sections are affected, particularly around the rail hubs of Munich and Stuttgart. On the program for this colossal project: the renewal of catenaries, switches, the modernization of tracks, bridges and stations.

In Spain, free trains victims of drifts

Spain, it offers subscriptions to reserve the equivalent of TER and RER free of charge between September and December. Subscription to which Spaniards can subscribe provided they travel enough and are reimbursed afterwards. More than a million subscriptions have found takers, but there is a perverse effect: some trains run half empty. The reason is quite simple: some travelers are victims of clever tricks. People who took their free subscription and then, as it’s free, who massively reserved tickets, for example the same TER journey at several different times in order to then be able to choose the schedule that would suit them best. Reservations that are not all honored on the day.

Passengers therefore remain on the floor, while seats remain empty. Obviously, this situation caused a scandal on social networks and on television. A presenter from the La Sexta channel was particularly indignant at the practice. The information fueled controversy in the media for several weeks.

Faced with these practices, Renfe, the Spanish railway company, cannot pick up people who have booked to put them by force on the train, but it has changed the rules to try to limit the problem. From now on, you can only buy two round trips per day on the same route. And you can only book the return trip after the departure of the outward train. The measures should just begin to take effect, it is first necessary to absorb the phantom reserves taken well in advance.


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