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TRAIN VS PLANE: THE HIDDEN COSTS OF FLYING

Budget airline ticket prices can be very tempting when you see them advertised. But once you start adding all the additional costs, the numbers start to escalate.

EUROSTAR VS PLANE

Select your travel options to top up the added costs for a return trip to Paris

Travel by Eurostar Travel by Plane

How are you getting to the airport/station?
Return travel to the airport
or station from central London
   

Travelling options
Choose your seat
Yes No
   
 
Luggage allowance
Hand luggage only
1 Item
2 Items
   

Arriving at your destination
Transfer to city centre
from airport or station
   
 

Total hidden costs

for travel both ways
Travel by Eurostar Travel by Plane
       
Now you have the full picture, you can compare the total cost of travelling by train and by plane.

Find our lowest train fares from London to Paris.
Prices are correct as of 17 - 30 May 2019*.

The environmental cost
By taking the train from London to Paris instead of a plane, you can save up to 90% in carbon emissions**.

 

*This tool assumes:

Charing Cross station as the centre of London
Ile de la Cite as the centre of Paris
Travel in the lowest travel class available for Eurostar and the airlines
Departure from Central London at 7:00 on a weekday
Arrival in Central Paris at 16:00 on a weekday
The passenger doesn't have a season ticket or discount card for a public transport network (e.g. Oyster card or Senior Railcard)
The passenger isn't a member of a loyalty programme of the carrier
Each item of luggage (except hand luggage) will weigh 20kg

 

Notes

Prices taken from www.eurostar.com and airline websites on 30 May 2019.
Prices for seats and luggage are based on the cheapest available option, or the average price when a price range is quoted.
When choosing the option of ‘Tube/Train’ or ‘Metro/Train’ the tool will show the cost for the Tube or Metro where available and the Train where the Tube or Metro is not available.

 

**The analysis of Eurostar versus air emissions has been based on an independent analysis by Paul Watkiss Associates Ltd.

The comparison between Eurostar and aviation is made based on the kg of greenhouse gas emissions [CO2(e)] per train journey per passenger for an average single trip (based on the average of the outward and return journey).  This allows a direct, accurate and fair analysis, i.e. a like for like comparison, as it takes account of the fact that rail journeys are typically longer (in km) than equivalent air journeys (so for rail, emissions per passenger journey are higher than emissions per passenger km, when compared to air). 

For the estimation of Eurostar emissions, energy use data (electricity consumption) from Eurostar trains (on scheduled services) has been measured using on-board meters.  The additional electricity losses in the high voltage, rail transmission and distribution systems, i.e. from the power station to the train itself, are also included in the electricity consumption per journey. Load factors (passenger numbers) are based on the latest full year of reported passenger and train data.