Photo: Renfe
Rail can get passengers to their destination faster than flying on some of Europe’s most popular city-to-city routes. An analysis by booking platform Omio, cited by Euronews, shows that the time advantage can reach two hours and 20 minutes between Brussels and Paris when the entire door-to-door journey is taken into account.
Flying is not always the fastest option for short- and medium-distance travel between major European cities. Once transfers to and from airports, security checks, boarding procedures, baggage collection and onward travel are included, rail can have a substantial advantage.
Global travel booking platform Omio compared 25 popular European city pairs using data from around 1,000 providers. The analysis, cited by Euronews, considered total journey times, city-centre accessibility and ticket prices for travel in August 2026.
On the 10 routes where rail performed best, trains saved passengers between 80 and 140 minutes compared with flying. In most cases, rail was also cheaper, although London–Paris and London–Brussels were notable exceptions.
Brussels–Paris: rail saves two hours and 20 minutes
The largest difference was recorded between Brussels and Paris.
Omio calculated a total journey time of four hours and 25 minutes by air, compared with two hours and five minutes by train. Rail therefore delivered a 140-minute advantage.
The price difference was also substantial, with the analysis indicating a rail fare of €34, compared with €209 for flying.
The second-largest time saving was on Frankfurt–Cologne, where the total air journey was estimated at three hours and 15 minutes, while the train took just one hour and three minutes. Rail saved passengers 132 minutes.
The Madrid–Valencia route ranked third, with a 110-minute advantage for rail. The train journey was estimated at two hours and 10 minutes and €16, compared with four hours and €69 by air.
Top 10 routes where rail is faster than flying
According to the Omio data cited by Euronews, the ranking is:
Brussels–Paris: rail saves 140 minutes
Frankfurt–Cologne: 132 minutes
Madrid–Valencia: 110 minutes
Milan–Florence: 100 minutes
London–Paris: 99 minutes
Rome–Florence: 97 minutes
Madrid–Barcelona: 87 minutes
Paris–Lyon: 86 minutes
London–Brussels: 83 minutes
Madrid–Seville: 80 minutes
In Italy, the Milan–Florence journey takes two hours and 20 minutes by train, compared with four hours for the total air journey. The rail fare used in the comparison was €27, against €197 by plane.
Between Rome and Florence, rail takes one hour and 48 minutes, saving one hour and 37 minutes compared with flying. The fare comparison was €28 for rail and €131 for air travel.
Spain puts three routes in the top 10
Spain accounts for three of the 10 routes where rail offers the largest time advantage.
On Madrid–Barcelona, the train journey was calculated at two hours and 33 minutes, compared with four hours for the full air journey. Rail saves 87 minutes and, according to the August 2026 fares used in the study, costs €28 compared with €49 for flying.
On Madrid–Seville, passengers save 80 minutes by choosing rail. The train takes two hours and 50 minutes, while the total air journey reaches four hours and 10 minutes.
The price gap is also significant. Omio indicated a rail fare of around €10.51, compared with approximately €36.96 for flying, making the train about 73% cheaper before additional airline costs such as baggage charges are considered.
Faster does not always mean cheaper
Rail also wins on total journey time between London and both Paris and Brussels, but not on price.
For London–Paris, the train takes two hours and 36 minutes, saving 99 minutes compared with flying. However, the rail fare used in the analysis was €196, against €115 for air travel.
A similar pattern appears on London–Brussels. Rail saves 83 minutes, but the fare included in the Omio comparison was €230, compared with €134 by plane.
Ticket prices are a snapshot
The fare comparison should be treated as a snapshot rather than a fixed measure of the relative cost of rail and air travel.
Train and airline ticket prices vary according to travel date, booking time, demand and operator pricing policies. The Omio figures relate to fares available for one passenger travelling in August 2026, rather than annual averages.
The time comparison, however, highlights a structural advantage rail can have on shorter European routes: major railway stations are generally located in or close to city centres, while air travel requires additional time for airport access and departure procedures.
According to Omio, European rail bookings increased by 32% year-on-year, more than three times the growth recorded for flight bookings.
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