Commuting by train UK-Austria

TLDR; For 18 months I have been commuting by train every month from the UK to Austria and return. This is how it went and my recommendations for you if you want to try opting for train travel for business.?

Should I do it??

When first approached about the CEO role of a biotech spin-out in Austria, I could have immediately declined due to the distance. Instead, I explored the opportunity, and wanted to figure out a way it could work for my climate-conscious self to commute to Austria every month to spend time with the team.?

I always evaluate decisions with the long term in mind. I said to myself: “If this business is successful, and it will take 10 years or more to exit, and I do not want to move to Austria, What would be the carbon footprint if I were to commute by plane?”?

I did not like the answer. 12 months x 0.307t CO2 x 2 = 7.386 tonnes of CO2 for 12 months of return flights Stansted-Vienna. That is already more than the average annual amount of CO2 generated by an average person in the EU. If I would do this for 10 years the total footprint would be 73.86 tonnes of CO2.

(this calculation does not include footprint of travel to/from the airport)?

I decided that I would not take the job if I would not be able to commute by train, and if I would still be happy in the role after a couple of years of commuting, I would seriously consider moving to Austria.?

Luckily, there are train connections that can take you all the way from London to Vienna. So I took the job and I started commuting. This is what I did:?

• local transport to Cambridge Station (30min)
• train from Cambridge to London King’s Cross/St Pancras (~1hr)
• Eurostar from London St. Pancras to Brussels (~2hrs)
• NightJet from Brussels to Vienna (15h45m)?

Total transport time: 19hr15min Total travel time including transfer and waiting: ~24hrs

Carbon footprint: 0.050t CO2 per trip or 0.100t per return trip. For comparison to the flight example above, 10 years of monthly return trips by train would amount to: ~12t of CO2 versus at least ~75t CO2 for flying when including the travel to/from the airport.?

How did it go??

I am now a die-hard train fan. The journey took some adaptations to make it work for me, and with those adaptations I will always prefer taking the train above flying where possible.?

I quickly learnt that although Wifi is advertised for the Eurostar, it is sketchy for most of the trip. Knowing this, I made a habit of using the 2hr Eurostar trip for scheduled reading or writing, i.e. the deep work that often does not get enough attention. For the NightJet I would keep my ebook charged and loaded with my latest interesting read.?

The couchette and sleeper cabins in the NightJet are comfy. They fit up to three people unless you book the whole cabin for yourself. When you book you indicate whether you would like to sleep in a men’s cabin or a women’s cabin. Some travellers are chatty and keen to connect, and for anyone that does not feel like socialising, it is completely acceptable to put your attention on your work, earphones or book. To ensure good sleep, I always use both a good set of ear plugs (earplanes) and a sleep mask to not be disturbed by the light.

The difference between a couchette and a sleeper cabin is the level of comfort of the bed, and the extent of the breakfast which is included in each (less for couchette, more for the sleeper). I usually bring my own snacks, e.g. a pack of nuts and a kefir drink for my breakfast, as I prefer those to the white bread rolls they serve for breakfast. A hot drink is also included and you can always ask for a refill.?

Most regional train connections are on time more often than not. The only one that has often had some delay is the NightJet itself: it may be late on arrival in the morning if it has been held up by other train traffic during the night. Once you have tried sitting for hours on end in an airport not knowing when your flight will depart in the middle of the night, and you compare to arriving a bit later in the morning of your arrival of your train, well rested while drinking your tea and reading your favourite book, you will know what I mean when I say: There is much less stress when travelling by train.?

Overall, when the larger part of the train trip is spent sleeping, it does not feel like a very long trip at all. Time-wise, when compared to flying, it takes longer, but a much larger proportion of my time is spent productive or relaxing or sleeping - which I cannot claim for any time spent at airport check-in queues, cramped departure halls or in tightly packed seats on a flight.?

Recommendations

Book your train travel early. NightJet tickets tend to sell out, so I made a habit of booking my tickets ~2-3 months in advance. Since my visits were always planned for one week stay, planned well in advance, it worked out for me, but for short notice travel, the only option remaining is to book a flight.?

At the time of writing the NightJet schedule for the Brussels-Vienna connection has 3 departures per week from Brussels (Tue, Thu, Sat). The best way to check the schedule is via ?BB’s NightJet website: https://www.nightjet.com/en/reiseziele/oesterreich/wien?

My biggest bugbear and the worst downside of travelling by train is the time it requires to spend in the Eurostar departure terminal. Thanks to Brexit the Eurostar Terminal requires you to arrive well ahead of your departure to go through security and passport checks. If arriving less than 40 min before the train departure, you may be denied access, but in my experience the Eurostar staff will be helpful and quickly issue you a ticket for the next departure.?

When looking for train connections across Europe, I can highly recommend RouteZero.world which will show you the train, bus, EV options for your desired destinations, and calculate the carbon footprint of each option depending on the number of passengers travelling together. https://routezero.world?

And finally I am excited to see that new night train routes are opening up across Europe and that new modern cars are being introduced on the NightJet routes that look amazing. I will do what I can to find an opportunity to try them out.

This week I am on the NightJet again to join the Hermann Hauser IECT Summer School as a mentor and advisor for budding entrepreneurs. I am looking forward to seeing how many of them are thinking big for making an impact for health and the environment.

Thank you for reading.

Where and when do you do your deep thinking and strategy? Did you ever consider taking more time to travel to carve out more time for deep work? Did you ever change a hard-grown or convenient habit out of concern for the environment? Please share your examples as inspiration for others.