The Flygskam movement - the 'shame of flying' in the face of the urgency of global warming - was launched last year in Sweden and has taken off in just a few months, on an unsuspected scale. And that could have a snowball effect in France. During the debates on the Mobility ActIn Sweden, two members of parliament announced that they wanted to ban domestic flights in France when the train could offer a journey in less than five hours. The government has not taken up this proposal, but the Swedish example could serve as a benchmark for both advocates and critics of this measure.
The "flygskam" translates into a collapse in air traffic on Swedish domestic routes and also on neighbouring air routes between Sweden and Norway or Copenhagen. Last year, Swedavia, the Swedish airport authority, reported that, with 42 million passengers registered, traffic had increased by just 0.2%. But while international traffic rose by 2%, the number of domestic passengers fell by 3%. The trend has since intensified.
Between January and May, Swedish airports recorded a further drop of 5 % in passenger traffic, with a fall of 8% on domestic routes. In May alone, domestic traffic was down by an average decline of 11 %However, the number of flights has fallen to 16 % at Göteborg and 12 % at Stockholm Arlanda, the country's main hub. The CEO of SAS Scandinavian Airlines recently indicated that she was "convinced"It was said that the Flygskam was responsible for the collapse of Swedish air traffic.
His fears are confirmed by a World Wildlife Fund survey, which shows that 23 % of Swedes abstained from flying in the past year to reduce their climate footprint, six points more than a year earlier. Around 18 % chose the train over the plane in 2018. A new survey published in May shows that 37 % of Swedes would prefer to travel by train rather than by plane. For the first time, climate impact is the main reason why travellers choose the train. "Rail travel booms on climate fears"Tobbe Lundell, spokesman for the national rail operator SJ, told the Swedish press.
SJ's mainline rail network saw its total passenger numbers grow by 5 % last year, to 31.8 million. This number has again jumped 8 % in the first quarter12% for business travel. As a result, SJ is responding to demand by increasing its transport capacity, particularly on high-traffic routes linking Stockholm to the country's two other main cities, Malmö and Göteborg. The railway company now links these three cities with at least forty daily connections operated by its X2000 high-speed train.
The latter, which travel at 200 km/h, are currently being modernised, while the former, which travel at 200 km/h, are being modernised. new trains trains capable of speeds of up to 250 km/h are due to enter service in 2020. A total of SEK 9 billion (€850 million) is being invested in modernising the SJ network, with a view to introducing trains capable of travelling at 320 km/h in the longer term. At such speeds, trains would attract an estimated three million passengers who currently still travel by air. For example, it would reduce the journey time between Stockholm and Gothenburg from three hours today to less than two hours.
The company also wants to bring more services to its customers, particularly business travellers. SJ has just launched a flexible ticket allowing passengers to change their journeys more easily, up to a few minutes before their original departure. A connectivity application is now available to simplify coordination between trains and public transport.
However, there is a major problem in meeting demand with more trains. The rail network is already heavily saturatedparticularly around the country's major cities. Punctuality deteriorated sharply on the main lines in 2018, falling to 77 % - down five points on 2017 - against an initial target of 90 %. SJ believes that the arrival of very high-speed trains will reduce network saturation by creating additional traffic slots. In the meantime, the company is working to improve train coordination, with a punctuality target of 93 % this year...
