Courtesy SJ
Last year, a group of women in Sweden pledged to stop flying, as part of their contribution to cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Called Flygskam, the movement attracted many supporters. But rather than stopping travel, it may have convinced people to take the train instead. By Jeremy Torr.
Stockholm, Sweden. January 2020. Last year, for the first time in a decade, the number of passengers boarding aircraft in Sweden fell. In 2019, some 40 million passengers flew to or from the country’s ten top airports - a 4% decrease compared to 2018, says the airport managing body Swedavia.
“The number of international passengers decreased to nearly 28 million, while the number of domestic passengers totalled about 12.4 million,” said Swedavia in a press release. This was for both domestic an international travel. And the main reason? Fygskam, or flight shaming.
The Flygskam movement was founded by a group of women intent on making a significant difference to their children’s environment. “Refraining from flying is one of the most important things you as an individual can do for the climate,”says the Flygfritt website. “On average, we fly Swedes abroad once a year, corresponding to the distance between Stockholm and southern Spain. Through such a journey, we emit over a tonne of greenhouse gases,”they warn. This, they argue, exactly corresponds to the amount each person should aim to reduce their emissions each year.
And it seems the most popular way to cut down on flying, even for a relatively wealthy, holiday-addicted nation like Sweden, is to take the train. In recent years, train bookings have risen by up to 50%, and some operators are looking to reintroduce sleeper services that were cancelled when the introduction of fast and cheap budget airlines made holidays two days longer by removing the need to travel overnight between countries.
Bjorn Ferry has committed to travel by train. Courtesy Alchetron.
One of the highest profile supporters of trains not planes is Olympic athlete Björn Ferry. Apparently, after he publicly committed to stop flying (he travelled up to six months of every year, and estimated that he produced some 16 tonnes of CO2 each year) he switched almost completely to riding the rails.
A big move, given that Med-desperate Swedes have been listed as flying up to seven times the average European. But the trains not only salve carbon-heavy consciences, they allow more workspace than aircraft, and best of all, says Ferry, they allow for stops in places that have good refreshment. "Most (European journeys) can be done by night trains and a few hours' stay in Hamburg, for example, is not a problem - there's good beer there," he says.
Ferry is not alone. Swedes are taking up the train in their thousands. “There is a great international interest in the campaign,” claims the Flyskam movement. “Our goal is to reach 100,000 applicants who are … promising they will not fly in 2020 and that they will continue to be flight-free for the rest of the year.”
Swedish media company ETC has added extra incentive to not fly, by offering “klimatledighet” or climate leave to its employees. This means that if the workers pledge - and commit - to not flying anywhere during their holidays, they get two extra days of paid leave a year.
Such is the retail power of the movement that Swedish railway company SJ is has seen bookings up by over 100% on some popular routes, and as a result they are expanding their offerings and connecting with more international destinations too.
Swedish sleepers are cosy - and carbon friendly for business travellers. Courtesy SJ
“More and more people are choosing to travel climate smart. Six out of 10 Swedes (57%) state that they think about the environment when travelling within Sweden, according to our May 2019 survey,”says the company. And 37% of rail passengers say they choose trains instead of flights when possible, when as recently as 2018 only 26% did.
“The trend (shows clearly) in our figures. Last year the number of trips with SJ increased by 1.5 million to 31.8 million and in the first quarter of this year, train travel continued to increase by just over 8% compared to the same period last year.” And astonishingly, says SJ, climate-smart business trips by train increased an astonishing 12%, all as domestic flight numbers declined sharply. The company is already looking at introducing a new Malmo-Cologne overnight service.
In Austria too, the train is gaining traction. It’s state rail operator ÖBB, has introduced a new long-distance night service from Vienna to Brussels, catering as much for business travellers as holidaymakers. “When we talk to people we get the feedback that people now think more about which means of transport they are using,” said ÖBB spokesperson Bernhard Rieder. “Today you can fly from every point in Europe to any other point – but people are checking if there are alternatives (to flying).” Not just checking, it would appear, but booking too: ÖBB passenger numbers were up 10% last year, with the increase mostly down to climate-conscious travellers, says Rieder. “When there are alternatives, people are using them,” he says.
For the first time in decades, fewer people flew in Sweden. Courtesy Scanavia.
The rail riders can also be a little more smug, as well as rested and potentially boozed up by taking the train. Long-distance electric trains are nearly always better for the climate than aircraft, especially if they use solar or wind power as with Spain’s high speed network. Some estimates say taking the train from Vienna to Brussels produces 35kg of CO2, compared with 155kg if you taking the plane. That is a massively significant saving, so if you are thinking travel, why not work out your journey emissions by visiting ecopassenger.org, or https://www.seat61.com/CO2flights.htm.
It may not save the world in one hit, but as Siobhán Pereira, an engineer at engineering firm Costain Group told the Guardian recently, “It’s tempting to ask, what difference is my plastic-free bathroom going to make? But several billion people thinking that way is what got us to where we are.”
One rail journey instead of flying could help more than you think. Now, which carriage are we in?