Present:
Europe's Trains on Eco-Track
By Betty Lowry, member Society of American Travel Writers© 2003 Betty Lowry
Europe's Trains on Eco-Track
By Betty Lowry, member Society of American Travel Writers
Europeans take it for granted. If you want to get from one city to another you take the train. If you want to get from one mountain village to the next you take the train. If you want to save time, trouble, money and energy you take the train. And what is the answer to concern about the environment? Nonpolluting, low-noise, renewable power sources and social responsibility point to "Take the train."
The railway station in Europe is more than a terminus. In major cities it is a dining and shopping mall for travelers and nontravelers alike. In stations large and small the tourist office is the first stop for those who arrive without hotel reservations or simply want to make the most of their time between connections. English is spoken; marked maps are provided. Since trains come into the center of town sightseeing begins just outside the door, and lockers will store all manner of gear for about $2.00.
Look around. The scars of wars are still visible, but today, throughout Europe, pollution is the enemy. The Allies took care to miss the 13th century cathedral of Cologne as they destroyed 90 percent of the city (14 stray bombs directed toward the railway station hit the Dom anyway). Now 60 full-time employees work to combat the corrosive attack of acid rain and auto exhaust. Not only must dissolving exterior stones be replaced, important sculptures are given acrylic baths. A current plan to preserve the original stained glass involves installing a second layer of windows outside the cathedral.
While repair is urgent, stopping the process of destruction is even more important, and the railroad---a major polluter of the past---is leading the way. The smoke belching trains of yesteryear have been replaced with clean environmentally friendly engines and, more than that, a commitment to ecologically sound practices as well as equipment. Passengers, as well as monuments, are the immediate beneficiaries.
Taking care begins with construction. The French National Railroads (SNCF) was given the 2002 Environmental Award of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) for preserving and protecting the environment during the creation of the new TGV Mediterranee line. The high-speed train carries 60,000 passengers daily and has carried about 30 million in the two years since the line opened. On-time performance is 92% and travel times between 140 cities along its route were reduced by an hour or more. Paris-Avignon is now 2 hours 38 minutes vs the previous 3 hours 30 minutes and so on down the line.
From a report to the European Parliament in spring 2000: "For every market share point in passenger traffic that rail wins away from the road, the equivalent of approximately 37,000 tons of oil are saved annual...it is estimated that in a full year of operation, TGV Med will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by half a million tons as a result of travelers who switch from air and road transportation to rail."
In the year 2001, 95.75 percent of the energy used by the Swiss Federal Railways was clean water power (think: no exhaust fumes; no carbon dioxide). The Swiss have sold their shares in all but one nuclear power plants and use their own hydroelectric power.
The Swiss federal Constitution recently added the Alpine Protection Article. Now all transalpine freight must go by rail. For those of us accustomed to being locked in traffic behind trucks the size of houses or delayed for hours by accidents that block highways while spilled goods are cleaned up, this alone would be a blessing. And who would not agree with the Swiss Agency for the Environment calling road traffic "the largest producer of fine dust among all transport modes?"
Tourists arriving in Europe find trains connect the airports of major cities with the centers. In Brussels, Frankfurt, Zurich and others you simply take your luggage off the carrousel and descend by escalator or elevator to the tracks. In Paris' Charles de Gaulle the TGV to the south of France is easier to find than a sandwich.
Ease of getting around a foreign country is no small matter. Though driving is on the right, rentals (especially budget class) still use stick shift. It's a familiar scenario: you arrive sleepy and just as commute time begins. Maybe it's raining. You need cash to buy gas ($4 a gallon) and can expect to experience jet lag for several days. Too late you discover that traffic in Paris is notorious for its erratic drivers; the German autobahns have no speed limit; signs are not in English. Even driving in Switzerland is not for everyone. The mountain roads are narrow and twisting (far below you see a crimson train zipping along at 100mph, soaring over gorges and shortcutting through mountains in multi-mile tunnels).
The rules of the road are different from home too, and you are expected to know them all. In Switzerland, for example, children up to the age of seven must sit in car seats; postal buses have the right of way and don't even think of going on a motorway without first buying and displaying a sticker (approx. $30).
Meanwhile the Swiss Federal Railway is not only delivering passengers on time and without pollution, but managing the green belt of forests that surround their right-of-ways. Consider, too, overall decreased energy consumption; minimal ravage to structures and equipment caused by corrosive air; the lack of disruption for passenger trains when freight can be moved at night.
International travelers can save their own time and energy with Eurail Passes purchased before departure. Money too. We bought French Rail Passes and recouped the cost right off the top going Paris-Nice-Paris. (We continued to use them to hop on and off the trains on day trips along the Riviera.) Another year, using the 3-country Select Pass, we crossed France, Switzerland and Italy stopping serendipitously and finding lodging through the train station tourist offices. This summer Rail Passes took us across Switzerland through mountains and across lakes as well as to major cities.
Eurail Passes include both excursions and point-to-point travel on the waterways of Europe. Especially popular is the Middle Rhine, Koblenz to Mainz past vertical vineyards, romantic castles and the cliff where legend says the Lorelei sang sailors to their doom.
No worry about whirlpools today, but disposing of the trash left by human travelers is a problem not yet solved. Being environmentally conscientious is much farther advanced in trains than in the people who ride them.
Rail Europe; 888/382-7245 (US) 800/362-7245 (Canada)
http://www.raileurope.com/us/
Swiss Federal Railway; http://www.sbb.ch/environment
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