Train instead of Flight: How Italy is Replacing Planes - Lessons for the Traffic Light Coalition

The new traffic light coalition in Germany has set itself the goal of investing more money in railways than in roads. The aim is to primarily implement projects of a Germany-wide timetable. In terms of road infrastructure, the focus will be more on maintenance rather than new construction. However, they also plan to develop Germany into a center for "green aviation" - two goals that at least partially contradict each other. Italy serves as an example of how air travel can be rendered nationally obsolete, where the mismanaged but also redundant Alitalia, due to an attractive rail offer, ceased operations on October 15th of this year after 74 years. 

Germany on Track: Further Developing the Rail Master Plan

In the coalition agreement of "Red-Yellow-Green," it is stated that they want to further develop and more quickly implement the Rail Master Plan. The goal is also to increase rail freight transport to 25 percent by 2030 and to double passenger transport performance. Additionally, the target schedule of a Germany-wide timetable and infrastructure capacity should be directed towards these goals. Tickets should also become cheaper, with the limitation "as far as fiscally feasible." Furthermore, more major centers should be connected to long-distance transport, but also to strengthen cross-border traffic and establish night train offers with the EU and its member states. According to the traffic light plans, 75 percent of the rail network should be electrified by 2030.

On Track: Rail Goes Digital

And of course, they also want to support "innovative drive technologies," to prioritize the digitalization of vehicles and tracks, digital and automatic coupling anyway, and to launch a resounding program "Rapid Capacity Expansion." Naturally, accessibility and noise protection, station programs should not be missing, the route network should be expanded, routes reactivated, and closures avoided. And to speed up all this: set up a "Rail Acceleration Commission," create investment incentives for rail connections. For new commercial and industrial areas, rail connections should even be mandatorily examined and combined transport terminals should be promoted, as well as the craneability of standard semi-trailers, and the access and egress up to a maximum of 50 kilometers should be exempted from the truck toll.

DB Group: More Efficiency, Transparency, and Public Welfare

Additionally, the "Ampler" have set their sights on maintaining Deutsche Bahn AG as an integrated group, including the internal labor market, under public ownership. The internal structures are to become more efficient and transparent, and the infrastructure units (DB Netz, DB Station and Service) of Deutsche Bahn AG will be consolidated into a new, public welfare-oriented infrastructure division within the Group. This division will be 100 percent owned by Deutsche Bahn as a whole.

Green Aviation as a Goal: Partly Contradictory Objectives

However, at the urging of the FDP, the coalition partners have also committed to: "We want to sustainably and efficiently develop the German aviation industry and economy as key sectors," as it is literally stated. Therefore, a comprehensive participation process is to create an air traffic concept for 2030+ for the future of airports in Germany. At the same time, the rail connections of hubs are to be promoted and better train connections should reduce the number of short-haul flights.

This was probably the minimum consensus between the Liberals and the Greens, who would have preferred to implement a significantly higher CO2 pricing for flights and ultimately an implicit ban on budget tickets. Now, it is put more mildly: "Germany should become a pioneer in CO2-neutral flying". And they will advocate at the European Union level that flight tickets should not be sold at prices below taxes, surcharges, fees, and charges. Whether this will partly counteract the intention to double passenger numbers in rail transport remains to be seen.

Italy Makes Flights Obsolete Within Ten Years

Italy's example shows that a good high-speed train service, which now extends as far as Sicily, is the best argument against domestic flights. Since 2008, the state-owned Trenitalia, strategically supported by political efforts, has developed a network of "Frecce" (Arrows) that simply outperformed the airplane. As reported by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, at the turn of the millennium, the Rome-Milan route was considered the "golden route" of the airline Alitalia, accounting for 30 percent of its revenue with a staggering 30 round trips daily. By 2019, there were still 20. Tempi passati.

With three hours from Rome to Milan, no one boards a flight anymore

Today, you can cover the 670 kilometers between Italy's most important cities in 2:59 from downtown to downtown with the "Frecciarossa". One hour longer from Milan to Naples, with free Wi-Fi, bistro, and all the comforts on board, without check-in or lengthy airport transfers. Recently, the railway company launched its latest coup, the Frecciarossa 1000: The Bombardier-Alstom express reaches speeds of up to 400 km/h and offers a choice of opulently luxurious seating arrangements.

The effect was quickly noticeable: Shortly after the start of the train route, the airplanes were literally "overtaken". From 2008 to 2018, the number of passengers on the Milan-Rome train increased from one to 3.6 million. Across the entire network, rail increased its passenger numbers by 517 percent in ten years thanks to Frecce, transporting a massive 40 million passengers instead of 6.5 million, with a continuing upward trend. Doubling the number in just under ten years almost seems slightly underambitious.