France is leading the way in making train journeys more time-efficient than air travel, according to new data from Trainline. The booking app notes that the high average speed of France’s train à grande vitesse (TGV) network puts the country well in front of the rest of Europe when it comes to slashing journey times to compete with aviation.
Based on Trainline’s own datasets, and figures from flight search aggregator Skyscanner, relative train and air travel times and costs were compared. The report found that the duration of some intercity journeys were slashed in half by taking the train. Travelling between Paris and either Rennes, Lyons, Bordeaux, or Nantes is faster by train than by air, as is the Marseille-Lyons route.
Why are trains faster?
Factors that reduce train journey times include the faster preparation, check in and security time at railway stations compared to airports, as well as the fact that many rail routes take travellers direct from city-centre to city-centre.
“While the duration of the flight often seems advantageous, it does not reflect the (actual) duration of an air journey, including travel to the airport, waiting before boarding and security checks, possible delays related to checks and check-in,” Trainline said.
“Train stations, ideally located in city centres and well-served by public transport, enable travellers to reduce the number of additional journeys,” it pointed out.
"En France vous êtes précurseur dans cette idée de rendre le transport collectif aussi Flexible que le transport personnel" Alexander ERNERT, @trainline_fr pic.twitter.com/ThbxRUbeaU
— Ville, Rail & Transports (@VRTmag) April 29, 2025
Costs, duration, and carbon
A train between Rennes and Paris costs less than half that of a plane ticket (€38.50 versus €86.30), the Trainline data showed, and, what’s more, was one hour and 37 minutes faster than the plane, cutting the journey time in half – even taking into account a 30-minute time buffer for boarding the train.
Getting the train between Paris and Lyons also costs less than half the price of flying (at €40.90 compared to €100.80) and achieves the connection in just two hours. That’s one hour and 26 minutes quicker than taking a plane. And in terms of the associated carbon budget, the rail journey’s CO2 emissions are just 0.690kg, less than a hundredth of the air emissions.
Europe falls behind
Progress is still needed in the rest of Europe where, unlike France’s TGV, the average speed for long-distance trains is much lower, the European Commission has found. Just 3% of rail traffic in Europe travels at over 150km per hour and only 23% of journeys (that can also be undertaken by plane) are faster by train. But, contrary perhaps to popular belief, flying costs on average 1.8 times as much as rail travel.
The Trainline report also compares the carbon footprint of other means of transport from France’s Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME). The TGV comes first in the ranking, emitting just 1,73 gCO2e/km/person. Tram, metro, and RER travel come next emitting only around 2,5 gCo2e per km. Aviation on the other hand emits on average 230 gCO2e/km/person.
