This week, Opportunity Green, along with Transport & Environment UK, Campaign for Better Transport, Aviation Environment Federation and Transport Action Network, are calling on the train and ferry companies to restore the Sail & Rail service to its former glory.

Collectively, we have written an open letter to Transport for Wales, Avanti West Coast, Irish Ferries and Stena Line to work together to resolve this urgent issue. We have also sent the letter to the Irish and UK Governments to encourage them to pay attention to this issue and to use this opportunity to call for effective climate action in cross-border transport. Our Founder and CEO explains why this is imperative to encourage lower emissions travel on one of the busiest air routes in Europe…

This year marks my 10-year London anniversary! Yay! That also means 10 years of Sail & Rail over and back between Ireland and the UK. Sadly, over the past four years the sale of these tickets has become increasingly restricted, making it harder and harder for people to take this easy journey that would reduce their emissions.

So, here are my 5 reasons why we need to make it easier to Sail & Rail:

1. It’s soooo much better for the climate than flying!

Emissions from a flight from London to Dublin are 174.8 Kg CO2. Sail & Rail emissions are at least 73% less and this doesn’t even consider the non-CO2 impacts of aviation which can double the climate impact. Aviation is on track to make up half of the UK’s carbon budget by 2050.

Enabling more people to Sail & Rail is an easy win which will bring all-important immediate emissions reductions. As the UK Climate Change Committee have noted about the UK’s aviation policy in their latest update to Parliament:

“Demand management is the most effective way of reducing aviation CO2 and non-CO2 emissions. The Government has a range of options to manage demand, such as digital technologies, addressing private flying and providing lower-cost domestic rail travel. The Government should develop a suite of policy and technology options to address aviation demand.”

At Opportunity Green we couldn’t agree more. Sail & Rail is a great way to reduce aviation demand. In 2022 there were between 117 – 153 flights a day between the UK and Ireland and by now it’s probably back to the pre-pandemic 1,044 flights a week already. That is a LOT of emissions that don’t need to be made.

2. The companies themselves don’t even know Sail & Rail exists

Currently the combined “Sail & Rail” tickets go on sale five weeks before you can travel. Meanwhile the ferry tickets are released more than six months in advance and the train at least three months in advance. For the Sail & Rail tickets, any dates more than a month away display “no fares available” with no indication that those fares will be released at a later date.

This matters because booking the two tickets separately makes it significantly more expensive, and more likely that people will choose to fly over taking the train/ferry. In addition, it is international travel – many people will want to book significantly in advance.

I have often contacted the train companies and been told that the Sail & Rail tickets literally don’t exist or that they will only be released two weeks before the travel date. Or even worse you are told you have to (incorrectly) book separately (roughly four times the price of the Sail & Rail ticket):

3. Our Chief Security Officer Roo thinks it’s a good idea

Dogs are allowed on trains across the UK and Ireland but sadly not in passenger areas on ferries. You have two options when it comes to the ferries between Holyhead (in Wales – where you would travel from London to get the train to Dublin) and Dublin.

Either you leave your dog in the kennel below decks on their own which will smell of other dogs, is noisy and is moving (it’s on a boat after all), which is incredibly stressful for any dog. Or you quickly snap up one of the only four available pet-friendly cabins on the Stena Line service.

Not surprisingly these dog-friendly cabins are in high demand and so sell out way in advance (I’ve been told the cabins for the ferries around the Christmas holidays sell out in the summer). Releasing the Sail & Rail tickets only five weeks before travel means that often the cabins are sold out and I can’t bring our Chief Security Officer to Ireland to visit her grandpawrents.

*Our Chief Security Officer getting comfy on her train journey*

4. It’s easier to travel from Ireland to Britain than the other way around

You can book Sail & Rail from Dublin to London months in advance. But when travelling the other way around, the tickets are only released at the last minute. This is because you book with the ferry companies starting in Dublin and pick up the Sail & Rail ticket at the ferry terminal when you arrive for the ferry. You don’t have to book a specific train but are rather given an open ticket for whatever train you want to take on the day to your final destination in Britain.

If only they would operate that system the other way around! Instead, when travelling from London you have to book with the train companies and they only release the tickets about a month in advance.

5. It can be a nicer journey

Obviously at Opportunity Green we are concerned about the environmental impact of flying and so opt for the Sail & Rail whenever we can. However, it’s also just a nicer journey. There are virtually no baggage restrictions, you don’t have to arrive hours before your train leaves, you can stroll on deck or just get a day’s work done as you sail across the sea.

Aviation has very few truly sustainable potential fuels that it can use, other than green hydrogen and fuels derived from green hydrogen. Those fuels are not available to date and neither the polices of the UK nor the EU are driving investment into those fuels, something the SASHA Coalition is working on at Opportunity Green.

In the meantime, we need to ensure that people are enabled to make easy decisions not to fly. There is simply no need to fly between Dublin and London but sadly the policies of the train and ferry companies are starting to provide one. At Opportunity Green we call on them to figure out how to release tickets for the Sail & Rail when the train tickets are released – just like they used to be before the pandemic. Surely it can’t be that hard?

Read our open letter to the train and ferry companies, also sent to the UK and Irish governments, here.