Travelers on the journey, which was organized under the banner ‘Rail to the COP’, included young climate activists, NGO representatives, climate scientists, rail industry executives and policymakers.
Rail to the COP is an initiative by the organization Youth for Sustainable Travel, which in 2019 sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to join COP25. The climate train was chartered in collaboration with ProRail, Eurostar and NS to travel from Amsterdam via Rotterdam and Brussels to Glasgow.
With the initiative, the organizations behind the climate train want to put rail transport on the international political agenda as an important part of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To mark the departure of the Climate Train, rail partners across Continental Europe signed a message to COP26 - pledging to remain the most sustainable form of motorized transport, with a call for greater support for international rail routes in order to accelerate growth in sustainable travel.
Mara de Pater, chair of Youth for Sustainable Travel, said, “It was a unique opportunity to have all these different groups together on the train. We organized a program on the train to bring the different expertise and perspectives into discussion in dialogues and workshops. The core theme in these sessions is: fair and sustainable transition in the travel industry.”
The Eurostar train travelled on by Rail to the COP from Amsterdam to London was a Siemens Mobility e320. Representatives from Siemens were onboard the train running a workshop to generate ideas about making train travel even more sustainable and attractive in the future so it can effectively compete with low-cost short haul flights. Other workshops looked at transforming society, transforming investment and fair and sustainable travel for all.
The climate train participants could have chosen any airline, but by staying on the rail tracks, their journey aboard the Siemens Eurostar e320 produced up to 90% less greenhouse gas emissions per passenger than the equivalent short-haul flight, according to Defra/BEIS Greenhouse Gas Conversion figures.
Youth for Sustainable Travel notes that within Europe better international train connections and affordable train prices can form a good alternative to polluting aircraft. “However, at the moment air traffic is much more attractive than the train due to legislation and regulations. Airlines, for example, hardly pay any taxes, whereas train companies do,” added Pater.
During the conference in Glasgow, both the organizers behind Rail to the COP and the parties from the rail sector – ProRail, NS and Eurostar – will emphasize the importance of sustainability in the travel industry to international policymakers and national delegations.
Back in July, ProRail prepared a video highlighting why the climate train is so important. Watch it here: