The number of Swedes taking the train for domestic journeys has risen as plane journeys inside the country have fallen, reflecting rapidly growing public concern about the climate crisis.
“Flygskam”, or flight shame, the feeling of being embarrassed or ashamed to take the plane because of the environmental impact, has become a social media buzzword along with the hashtag #jagstannarpåmarken, which translates as #stayontheground.
Echoing the schoolgirl climate activist Greta Thunberg’s refusal to fly because of the harm to the environment, a survey published last week by Swedish Railways (SJ) found 37% of respondents chose to travel by rail instead of air, compared with 26% last autumn and 20% in early 2018.
SJ said the shift was evident in its passenger numbers: the total number of journeys on its network rose by 5% last year to 31.8m, but then by a further 8% in the first quarter of this year, with business trips surging 12%.
The trend was also apparent in recent figures from Swedavia, which operates Sweden’s 10 busiest airports. The company said domestic passenger numbers fell by 8% from January to April, following a 3% fall in the whole of 2018.
For the first time, climate impact tops travellers’ reasons for choosing the train. “Rail travel is soaring thanks to climate fears,” said an SJ spokesman, Tobbe Lundell, adding that the operator was boosting capacity, particularly on longer routes such as between Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg.
According to SJ, a single flight between Sweden’s two biggest cities, Stockholm and Gothenburg, generates as much CO2 as 40,000 train journeys – a fact that has plainly struck a chord with Swedes, previously a nation of frequent flyers that last year experienced a record heatwave and wildfires in the Arctic.
According to a report commissioned by the Swedish environmental protection agency, in 2017 the country’s aviation sector was responsible for producing 1.1 tonnes of emissions per head of the population, five times more than the global average.
But while Swedish tour operators are starting to offer inclusive trips abroad by train, it may take some time for climate concerns to influence most Swedes’ foreign travel plans. Rail trips abroad from Sweden can be long: the average flight from Stockholm to Paris is two hours 35 minutes; the same journey by train can take 24 hours.
