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> I think the use case of this kind of train is more similar to a flight with one or more nights at destination, so that the specific arrival time is not that i
by IMTDb 4y ago
> I think the use case of this kind of train is more similar to a flight with one or more nights at destination, so that the specific arrival time is not that important.
OP was explicitly comparing car and trains, not flight and trains.
If that's the case, then we are more in the context of a "city trip", and Hamburg -> Berlin might not be the most representative case. Something along the line of Hamburg -> Rome is more accurate as people usually like more change of scenery. Flight from Hamburg to Rome is 2:20 and train is 19 hours. Even accounting for airport wait time, the difference is ridiculous.
The issue for passenger transport with rails is that it's not good for small distances as cars have the advantage because of the added convince/flexibility, and for long distances, flight is better due to speed.
For freight, however, train is amazing as these extra hours don't matter too much and the reduction in emissions is massive. The issue is that there aren't that many dedicated cargo flights. Most cargo revenue come from transporting freight in the holds of passenger jets. So moving cargo from flights to trains does not lead to a direct reduction in CO2 emission since those planes are going to fly anyway.
- SoftTalker 4y ago> Most cargo revenue come from transporting freight in the holds of passenger jets. Is this really true? DHL, FedEx, and UPS (and Amazon?) all operate their own freight aircraft. There are also contract freight operators. Most major airports have an entire area that is exclusively for freight operations. Yes some freight does go in the holds of passenger jets, but is it "most" or even close?
- tyrfing 4y agoRoughly half of air freight is carried on passenger planes. https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-10/air-freight-prices.htm https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-10/air-freight-prices.ht...
- inferiorhuman 4y agoYes, and during the pandemic when passenger traffic cratered passenger airlines started putting additional cargo in the passenger cabin. China started cracking down on that recently though (unsure why). Freight is generally far more profitable than passengers.
- hef19898 4y agoAnd usually freight doesn't complain. Much unlike the self-loading variaty, aka passengers.
- gnatolf 4y agoOTOH, you make it seem like it's super easy to find (free?) parking anywhere near your destination, I'd guess the unknowns about that even out with the blanket assumption of '1 hour to get wherever you wanted to really be'.
- llampx 4y agoThis comparison (Hamburg to Rome) is silly. The thread is about the 9€ ticket, which is only valid on regional trains in Germany and the point is to save money for consumers and save the environment by replacing car journeys with train journeys. Bringing in a red herring like a cross-country trip helps no one.