Portugal is “extremely poorly connected” to Spain by train, with only one link – Porto-Vigo – running twice a day, environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO) Greenpeace said in a report on rail travel released on Thursday
The Porto-Vigo link in north-western Spain makes it possible to reach Madrid, Greenpeace points out, but it is impossible to travel by train between the Iberian capitals on the same day.
In any case, to get from Porto to Madrid – in addition to the more than nine hours it takes to travel 420 kilometres – you have to make a stopover in Vigo.
In addition to the lack of a direct connection, the NGO points out that Portuguese rail operator, CP, “does not sell tickets more than two months in advance and tickets to Spain must be purchased from the Spanish railway operator”, which further discourages the option of the train.
By plane, there are three low-cost operators with direct connections between Porto and the Spanish capital.
In Portugal, Greenpeace analysed the Porto-Lisbon and Porto-Faro routes, comparing the options between train and plane, concluding that only on the former – and due to the lack of low-cost airline connections – the former is cheaper than the latter and the journey takes just under three hours.
Between Lisbon and Porto, there are hourly train services and tickets cost between €15.5 and €25.25, while a flight costs €37.46.
On this route, opting for the plane involves the emission of 57 kilos of greenhouse gases per passenger and, if banned and replaced by the train, it would represent an 81% cut in emissions, Greenpeace points out.
On the Porto-Faro route, there are three daily air connections operated by a low-cost airline, with prices ranging from €19.21 to €32.85.
CP, on the other hand, has prices 70% higher and the journey takes almost six hours.
According to the study, long-distance train journeys are, on average, twice as expensive as those by plane, with some routes costing up to 30 times more than a ticket on a low-cost airline.
The NGO complains that railways are being “undermined” by competitive conditions favourable to airlines and puts forward proposals to make rail transport more attractive, “at a time when Europe is facing heatwaves and forest fires and air traffic is struggling with massive delays and cancellations”.
On the majority (79 out of 112) of routes analysed by Greenpeace in the EU, flights are cheaper than rail, with rail travel on average twice as expensive as air travel, and the overall climate impact of flying can be more than 80 times worse than that of rail.
Of the 23 that are cheaper, only half have good connections, with the rest having poor or slow train links.
The issuing of “climate tickets” – transport vouchers valid on all modes of public transport in a defined country or region, including cross-border travel – along with the phasing out of subsidies to airlines and airports, are solutions envisaged by Greenpeace to get consumers to switch from flying, but also from cars, to trains, a much less polluting mode of travel.
The reduction or exemption of VAT on train tickets is another proposal of the NGO, as well as the creation of fares for families and social fares for low-income passengers.
Aviation, according to the report, is one of the most climate-damaging and unfair sectors in the world, as it affects the entire planet, despite involving only 1% of the world’s population, and is also the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions among transport.
Greenpeace analysed train and plane connections in 24 member states, including Portugal, as well as Norway, Switzerland and the UK.