Question: Do you think people will use trains more in the future if they are faster and safer?

Natalie Wride answered on 19 Jun 2016:

Hi 378envf27!

Yes 🙂 especially on high speed trains. There’s recently been some research which said if the same journey took a similar time by train and aeroplane, more people would choose the train. This is great as trains use less energy and fuel than aeroplanes and are able to carry more people which make them better for the environment than lots and lots of aeroplanes. But, this will only happen if trains are reliable, safe and able to reach their destination quickly and on time.

If we compare trains to cars, cars are really bad for pollution and in lots of cities they’re bringing in things called congestion charges where people pay to enter the city centre. I’m not sure if you get the bus or car to school in the morning but there’s always lots of traffic. I think as more cities start to charge people for driving and as the traffic gets worse, more people might use trains, but again, this is only if trains are more reliable (and more importantly affordable!)