Rail travel offers benefits such as convenience and central locations, but disadvantages include delays, cancellations and overbooking. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/MRSUTIN
Corporate travellers are more likely to travel by rail rather than by plane, if the cost and time of the journey are similar.
This is according to a new report from BCD Travel, ‘Traveler Survey: Rail Travel’. It surveyed 681 business travellers in Europe and Asia Pacific (60% in Europe and 40% in Asia Pacific), who took a train when travelling for business at least once in the past 12 months. The survey looked at factors including traveller behavior, the challenges faced when travelling by rail and satisfaction with rail policy and suppliers.
Two-thirds (65%) of those surveyed said they would opt for the train on routes where both rail and plane are viable options, and cost and time are similar. On average, respondents consider five hours to be the maximum duration for a train journey.
The top three reasons for preferring rail over other modes of transportation are because of the central location of train stations, convenience and the ability to work while travelling, with sustainability ranking fourth, and the opportunity for flexible schedules ranking fifth.
Olivia Ruggles-Brise, vice president of sustainability at BCD said: “Taking the train as opposed to flying can reduce carbon emissions of a journey by as much as 95%. It’s encouraging to see that travellers are starting to build this into their decision-making process.”
Six in 10 travellers expect to take the same number of trips by rail this year as they did last year, with 18% expecting to take more. Half of those surveyed use air along with rail.
According to a third of respondents, their employer’s policy encourages them to travel by train instead of plane for short distances (whereas 6% of employers enforce rail travel). Six out of 10 have no policy that would either enforce or encourage rail travel or are not aware of such.
While over half of respondents are satisfied with the rail companies they use, nearly a quarter report low satisfaction levels. Of those surveyed, 50% cited poor reliability due to delays or strikes, 43% noted overcrowding and around a third (33%) highlighted limited connectivity and high prices (30%). The top disruptive situations arising from rail travel included delays, cancellations, poor weather and overbooking.
Yannis Karmis, SVP of product & development at BCD said: “While rail remains a preferred mode of travel for many business travellers, ongoing challenges like reliability, overcrowding, and limited connectivity continue to impact satisfaction.”