Originally Posted by
dtbe
Was checking some possible intra Europe travel options out of London or Amsterdam and on too many combinations of dates and
destinations the train ticket (direct) is significantly more expensive than air travel.
Why does it happen and how it's possible to make traveling by train the preferred choice for the price conscious traveller?
Are you including the cost (and time) to get to/from the airport?
Trains are usually city center to city center
Both air fares & train fares have a lot of possible variations (high to low)
Airlines do a better job of displaying fares & variations on web sites.
With trains it can be a battle to find the best fare and conditions of the fare.
The schedule and how many days ahead you are looking makes a difference
Originally Posted by
garykung
I did not. Government-run is a major reason.
Rail can have operating practices and staffing from two centuries ago. Not as nimble as new lost cost airline And tend to be heavily unionised.