The Anonymous Widower

KLM Replaces Plane With High Speed Train

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.

This is the introductory paragraph.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is to replace one of its five daily flights between Brussels and Amsterdam Schiphol with reserved seat capacity on a Thalys high speed train service from March 29 2020.

KLM say this the start of a process and will be extended provided the timings are as good.

But how do train and plane compare between Schipol and Brussels?

To give the trip a bit of perspective, note these approximate road distances.

• Heathrow and Liverpool – 210 km.
• Heathrow and Manchester – 197 km.
• Schipol and Brussels – 206 km.

Incidentally, you can’t fly direct between Heathrow and Liverpool and there are only four flights per day between Heathrow and Manchester.

I looked up flights between Schipol and Brussels and the flight time is 45-50 minutes, as opposed to the ytain time of one hour thirty-four minutes.

Prices vary, but I suspect that the train is a little bit cheaper, although it probably depends on how early you book.

I think it’s true to say,you take the mode of travel that suits you best!

I have gone to Amsterdam by train three or four times.

• I go from St. Pancras to Amsterdam Centraal.
• St. Pancras is just a direct bus ride from my house.
• I get a gluten-free meal on Euirostar.
• I get a big table on which to lay out my pper.
• I could do it cheaper on easyJet, but it wuld take a bit longer.

But I’ve never come back from Amsterdam t London by train.

• You have to change trains to clear immigration and customs in Brussels.
• A couple of times, I’ve flown back from Hamburg.

I can honestly say, that the as more direct trains go to and from Europe, I’ll use them more often.

The Future

Over the next few years, we could see a lot of short haul air routes losing market share to high speed trains.

• Train companies will see a busy air route and run a competing train service.
• Many tourists prefer to travel around Europe by train and I’ve met many from North America, Australia and the Far East on train journeys.
• Global warming will sell seats on trains and especially electric ones.
• Routes like High Speed Two will add lots of extra capacity.
• Trains are an easy sell.
• Governments will invest in railways and perhaps cut prices, as it is an easy way to to be seen to be combating climate change.

We also mustn’t forget that driving cars is getting an increasingly expensive and time-wasting process. I don’t miss driving at all!

September 22, 2019 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Driving, Environment, Flying, KLM, Trains