While being much better for the planet than planes and cars, train travel still isn’t exactly good for the environment. Trains powered by diesel still, obviously, emit harmful gases into the atmosphere, while even fully electric trains often get their energy supply from power stations fuelled by fossil fuels. In short, unless a train is totally powered by renewable energy, it has a negative impact on the environment.
Which is why it’s still so important that train companies try and get a bit greener. And the latest to have a go at this is Eurostar, which is now offering to plant trees when they book. The scheme is part of a partnership with Trees 4 Travel, a reforestation charity with projects focusing on protecting ecosystems and biodiversity.
So here’s how it works: at checkout, a passenger can pay £3 ($3.80) for a tree, which will then be matched by Eurostar. Trees 4 Travel then uses that cash to fund its reforesting projects around the world. Pretty simple, huh?
Except that there’s a catch. The tree-planting scheme is currently only available on Eurostar for Business, which is the platform dedicated solely to companies that want to book Eurostar tickets on behalf of their employees. In other words, this nifty tree-planting feature isn’t really available for most Eurostar customers.
So here’s hoping they open it up to the rest of us sometime soon. You can find out more about Eurostar’s partnership with Trees 4 Travel here.
Did you see that Eurostar will soon be linked up with dozens of extra destinations across Europe?
Plus: an exciting new high-speed Paris-Berlin train will launch next year.