DB Fernverkehr and NS International have decreased the travel time of international trains between Amsterdam and Berlin by 30 minutes this week. Travel time has gone from 6.20 to 5.52 hours. Three measures have been taken to shorten the travel time between the Dutch and German capitals. First of all...
Just wish they'd make these things a bit more affordable. Taking the train to Paris or London with my family is literally twice the price of flying and god knows how many times driving. I'd much rather take the train.
Oh yes, of course. You would think operating a train would be cheaper than flying if you excluded the initial capital investment costs of actually building the line.
Yes, but it doesn't double the cost. We usually end up just driving which is even cheaper than flying, even including the crazy parking costs. And relatively low carbon compared to flying. Taking the train would make it very hard to justify the cost.
A car with most or all seats taken is usually not that bad in carbon footprint, it's very different from the 1 person per car with 4 empty seats in a daily commute footprint. For me, longer distance, the train is just a lot more comfortable than a car (if you don't have to switch trains too often).