How to end short flights: air-rail alliances
The case for a multimodal transportation future and the benefits of greater cooperation between air and rail.
It’s pretty clear that the status quo of aviation has to change somehow to meet climate goals. Yet things take time, huge amounts of capital are already sunk into existing technologies, and there probably isn’t a silver hydrogen bullet coming anytime soon.
I think that this creates an even more interesting set of circumstances, where you have to get creative and play within constraints.
One method for reducing aviation’s environmental impact? Air-rail alliances.
At its core, the concept calls for the seamless integration of air and rail so that each mode can be used for the most appropriate distance. Think flying from London to New York then connecting smoothly onto a train into Philadelphia.
It’s not a flashy, radical idea – but that’s the point. Schemes like this can use existing technology to have a material impact by reducing the need for short flights in dense, busy corridors.
All we have to do is build it :^)