KLM, the Dutch flag carrier, got a lot of press last week—the same week as worldwide climate marches—for replacing one of its five-a-day flights from Amsterdam to Brussels with a train connection.
But it’s not necessarily the wave of the future; it’s more of a test of whether an airline and a railway can manage a connection that benefits the carriers and the environment without becoming an obstacle course for passengers.
The test uses an existing high-speed Thalys train between the two cities, both of which have stops at both the airport and the main rail station. Many passengers on flights between the two cities are actually beginning or ending long-haul trips that use flights from Amsterdam, one of Europe’s biggest hub airports.
The question to be answered is whether, accounting for airport security and gate issues, a two-hour train ride beats a 45-minute flight, and whether it can be done without putting passengers through get-luggage-move-luggage-get-luggage-onto-train hell.
Pieter Elbers, KLM President and CEO, makes clear that the answers aren’t all there, and the idea may take a lot of refining. He told reporters that
Intermodal transport involving trains and planes remains a complex and challenging business. Speed is key, not only in terms of the train itself, but also the transfer process at the airport. We aim to make maximum progress in both areas. Reducing our frequency from five to four flights a day is a good way of gaining more experience with Air&Rail services.
At stake for KLM is not only the environment, but its ability to make better use of its limited slots at Schiphol Airport, which is not allowed to increase the number of flights for some time, and possibly never. KLM would prefer to keep the slots for long-haul flights and move short-haul to other airports or rail.
