[mft_]

I agree with your overall point, but I’m not sure you’re making a fair comparison:

- Eurostar trains run from central London; cheap flights leave from Luton, Stansted, and Gatwick, none of which are close to London, and which therefore all potentially require a time-consuming extra transfer, at some additional cost.

- if you have flexibility on time and book a little in advance, one-way Eurostar tickets for one adult can be found for ~£50, and easily for less than £100.

So it’s more like ~£107 versus ~£200-400, if you live near a relevant airport, or in central London, respectively.

—-

Of course, this still doesn’t explain why running a train should be several times more expensive than a plane. I’m not sure the absence of environmental taxes (as argued in the article) is the full explanation- this sounds more like a mechanism to force price parity, rather than the root cause?

[helij]

Luton is 40 minutes away from St. Pancras International. I find both Luton and Stansted close to London, especially Luton with a really good Thameslink connection.

[beojan]

You need a lot more infrastructure for trains, and more people to maintain everything.