A few years ago, when Covid and the war in Ukraine had not yet disrupted our customs, the train had, it must be said, a rather outdated image.
The French then preferred their cars or the plane to go far away on vacation, taking advantage of increasingly lower prices, increasingly numerous destinations. At the same time, train attendance was stagnant at best, and lines closed due to lack of traffic, particularly the famous night trains.
Today things have changed. Facing climatic issues in particular, the train seems to be the pertinent solution to travel, even far, even if it takes time, while, on the contrary, taking the plane arouses in some people a feeling of shame.
Record summer, new lines, new players…
Opposite of “flight shaming”, now “train-bragging” arises, a trend that consists of bragging about taking the train in a logic of “slow trip”. There are many anglicisms…
It is a new behavior that is illustrated in the figures. SNCF will complete a record summer: at the end of July it had sold 23 million tickets for the summer holidays, 10% more than in 2019 despite the price increase. A record, however, to put it in perspective given the chaos at European airports that encourages the French to stay in France.
SNCF is convinced that this renewed interest, even enthusiasm, will continue. Your boss aims to double the traffic in the next few years. As long as you put the means.
And with the support of the State, the regions, the associations, the operator is finally concentrating on the good service of the territory with the reopening of small lines, or relaunching night connections that especially attract young people. It is accelerating its decarbonization with the commitment of the hydrogen train on non-electrified lines (still very numerous). And even companies now prefer the train for business trips.
“People accept taking longer trips”
What seemed unlikely five years ago is becoming a possibility. The SNCF and its German counterpart DB, for example, want to launch a new TGV link between Paris and Berlin in 2023.
An observation, for example, shared by Arthur Auboeuf, co-founder of Time for the Planet. On his LinkedIn page he highlights his choice of iron vs. air.
“Here I went out alone, by train, at 1 pm instead of 2… while my friends are together on a plane. We are not going to lie to ourselves: the most difficult thing when you decide to change your behavior is social pressure. This year, my friends wanted to go on vacation to Budapest. Obviously, when I proposed to them to go by train so as not to shoot up our carbon footprint, I felt that I was not going to do it, “he explained.
“Just a little plane man, it’s nothing, no one will know, and it won’t change the world, you know.” The argument that I had too, not long ago, when orders of magnitude were not yet in my mind, and I had not realized to what extent we could not ignore the decisive turning point that ours represented. It is a pity, because There’s also a lot of fun with the train!” he continues.
supply creates demand
“Let’s be clear: no matter what others do or don’t do, it’s not really my issue. This choice is made for me. So yes, I’m alone on my train. But I, I’m fine, because I know perfectly why. At least 100 times why “, she insists.
This rediscovered pride in taking the train is also an economic reality and SNCF will not be the only one to benefit from it. Local competitors (such as LeTrain, Railcoop…) are trying to get started, convinced of the potential. Foreign players such as Trenitalia confirm that the opening of the market makes the cake bigger: the more operators there are, the more travelers there are, supply creates demand.
Yes but…
Not forgetting the tourism players who have whetted the appetite for train travel where you take your time. Puy du Fou will launch its “Grand Tour” while hotel giant Accor has announced the high-cost relaunch of the Orient-Express from Paris to Vienna aboard magnificently restored vintage luxury cars.
One question remains: is this phenomenon massive? Doesn’t it affect a limited sector of the population?
If night trains are popular, they are only full during school holidays. If some lines reopen, many remain closed and the lack of investment in the network does not allow for optimism at the moment.
And if the plane is booed, its assistance is rather geared upwards in France and elsewhere where questions of eco-responsibility don’t weigh against the desire to travel like in China. According to the latest studies, world air traffic should continue to grow by 4.5% per year in the coming years…
Source: BFM TV
