The desire for train travel will soon be at the same level as before the pandemic.
In Europe, travelers report full trains.
”But it’s also a very positive thing. It shows that people want to take the train,” says the sales manager for Silverrail.
After the corona pandemic, Swedish interest in train hopping is high.
During the period January-June, over 17,000 Interrail passes were sold in Sweden, according to the company Silverrail. This is almost the same level as before the pandemic.
”"For May, we saw the strongest result ever," says Anders Aronsson, sales manager at Silverrail, which distributes the service to Swedish retailers.
During the summer, there has been flight chaos across Europe. In addition, train passengers have reported fully booked trains. Aronsson says that the latter is due to several different factors.
He feels that the flight chaos has led to people not trusting the airline industry right now.
”Many people believe that trains are more reliable,” he says.
In Sweden, there have also been some problems with train traffic recently, which are partly due to the general shortage of train drivers.
Aronsson cannot say whether similar problems exist down in Europe. At least not to the same extent as in the airline industry, according to him.
The fully booked trains also indicate that people no longer feel any anxiety about traveling after the corona restrictions have been lifted, says Aronsson.
”There is pent-up demand for travel after the corona pandemic.”
Aronsson says that people have become more environmentally conscious and are therefore increasingly choosing trains. Many train companies have also reduced ticket prices for shorter periods. In Germany, for example, this summer it is possible to travel freely by train and bus throughout the country for just 9 euros a month.
”"We've heard that it's been quite chaotic, with many full trains and it's very difficult to find a free seat," says Aronsson and continues:
”But it’s also a very positive thing. It shows that people want to take the train. If there are vacancies, they will be filled.”
Source: TT-DI.SE
