Air vs. rail: Netherlands’ institute proposes replacing air with rail to 13 cities out of Amsterdam

The big push in Europe in the field of transport for many years now has been on getting people off aeroplanes and on to the railways - as if that were a silver bullet to save the planet.

It has meant several countries, most notably France, trying to stop domestic air travel where journeys can be undertaken by rail in a similar length of time. Others will assuredly follow.

The issue is under the microscope right now in the Netherlands, where the government is trying to push through a large reduction in aircraft movements at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport - the primary one there by far, and one of the busiest connecting airports in Europe.

Now a Dutch institute, KiM, has produced a report suggesting that 13 cities within an 800km radius from Amsterdam could be connected by rail, better and more environmentally soundly. Three of them are in the UK, where high-speed rail has just effectively been abandoned by the government.

The proposal has its merits and its disadvantages. But what is really needed is a wholesale reorganisation of the pricing and ticketing system for intra-European rail travel.