Is travelling by train still safe in the ‘new normal’?

Are you looking forward to travelling again once lockdown ends, but are concerned about the risk of taking a train journey?

You shouldn’t be: don’t be put off the greenest form of transport.

Risk of Infection is less than 0.01% 

According to research by the RSSB (Rail Safety and Standards Board), the risk of Covid-19 infection is less than 0.01% on an average journey.

Analysis by the rail safety body has shown the risk of contracting Covid-19 while travelling by train is estimated to be about 1 in 11,000 journeys.

The assumptions behind this are complex, but these numbers are based on an hour-long train journey in a carriage with no social distancing or face coverings.

Risk is halved when masks are worn

Evidently, from a Ski Flight Free point of view, we are normally considering longer journeys of 3-4 hours at a time (to/from Paris).

However, the RSSB report shows that the risk more than halves (to 1 infection in 20,000 journeys) when face coverings are worn – and they are currently mandatory for all train journeys in the UK and Europe.

Ski Flight Free founder Iain has travelled to Switzerland by train twice in the ‘new normal’ – once to Saas Fee and once to Crans Montana – with mask wearing compulsory at all stages in the journey.

This is his video report from travelling on the Eurostar in July:

And his video on travelling to and from Crans Montana:

Note

This research was conducted based on data early 2020, when infection rates were higher than the current numbers in the UK (at March 2021). This work was peer reviewed by a team from the Chief Scientific Adviser’s office at DfT and a team from DSTL. You can view the full report here.

Train travel has its benefits…