Despite a recent report published in the New York Times showing that taking a cross-country trip on Amtrak is less sustainable than flying the same route, in general, riding the rails is a much cleaner way to get from A to B than air travel. (Greenpeace explains that the “overall climate impact of flying can be over 80 times worse than taking a train.”) That’s why countries like France are banning short-haul domestic flights when there are train alternatives of 2.5 hours or less. And that’s why Google will soon launch new features on Google Maps and Search that will help travelers find more sustainable alternatives to driving and flying.
Photo: interstid/Shutterstock
Google Will Soon Make Searching For Train Travel as Easy as Using Google Flights
For example, when looking for a driving route on Maps, travelers in 15 cities, including Rome, Sydney, London, Barcelona, and more, will soon be offered public transport and walking options that will require a similar amount of time. All in an effort to encourage people to opt for a more ecological way to move.
Photo: Google Blog
When looking at flights in Google Search, alongside flight options, travelers will also be offered long-distance train routes, so they can make a less carbon-hungry choice.
Those who already know they don’t want to fly will also soon find it easier to see all the options at their disposal. By searching for “Boston to Philadelphia train”, for example, they’ll get a schedule of the train journeys available, the duration of each ride, the prices, and the links to where they can make a booking. The same goes for long bus routes. This new feature is already available for trains in 38 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, and Switzerland, and for long-distance bus routes in 15 countries, including the US, Mexico, France, Germany, and Ireland.
Photo: Google Blog
But if you want to know more about train travel options throughout the world, there are few better places that Matador Network, where all your most-pressing questions about popular train routes are answered in details, including sleeper trains between London and Scotland, cross-Canada trains, and the London to Paris Eurostar. 