TravelPerk survey highlights corporate rail travel growth

More European business travellers are opting for train travel instead of flights for domestic trips as part of an “increasing shift toward train travel,” according to a TravelPerk survey of 4,000 business travellers.

The survey, which polled travellers in the UK, Germany, Spain and the US, found that 58 per cent of respondents in the three major European markets were choosing trains for domestic travel. But this figure was only 19 per cent for US-based travellers.

TravelPerk’s VP of supplier relations Kristina Geier said: “As businesses continue to balance productivity, sustainability and cost-effectiveness in their travel policies, the role of domestic and short-haul international train travel is poised to grow.

“The data shows that business travellers are increasingly turning to trains for domestic travel.”

About a third of survey respondents said they were more productive when using rail travel compared with other modes of transport. While 29 per cent said they saved time using trains, with the avoidance of airport delays and security queues outweighing the longer travel time compared with flights.

Respondents also noted some productivity challenges when travelling by rail, with poor Wi-Fi connections being a problem for 55 per cent of respondents, followed by noise for 48 per cent of travellers.

TravelPerk, which used its own platform’s booking data to complete the research, said just over half of companies are incentivising their travellers to make greener travel choices, such as selecting rail where possible.