Is this the new age of the train?

Simon Calder’s Travel Week [View in browser]( [The Independent]( April 22, 2022 [The Independent]( Cutting the cost of rail tickets between now and late May is commendable. But fare reform must go much further. Ready to go? London Waterloo, the busiest station in the UK before the coronavirus pandemic On Earth Day and any other day, moves that make rail travel more affordable must be applauded. The “[Great British Rail Sale](”, which offers deep discounts on some one-way Advance tickets, has produced real bargains: £15 from York to London on LNER and Grand Central, £17 from Brighton to Exeter on GWR and £2.70 from Southampton to Gatwick airport or London Victoria on Southern – less than a fancy cup of coffee. Railcard discounts apply, reducing the cost of that 103-mile meander from Hampshire’s largest city through the lovely Sussex countryside to the capital to just £1.75; your on-board tea will cost more than that. Subject to other passengers snapping them up first, and a scattering of [rail engineering work]( across the early May bank holiday making journeys on the West Coast main line difficult or impossible, such cheap deals will lure some travellers out of their cars and onto trains. The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, even made a short (though [not universally acclaimed]() film about the rail sale and said: “Operators across the rail industry are coming together to help passengers facing rising costs of living by offering up to 50 per cent off more than a million tickets on journeys across Britain.” Perhaps you can sense the “but …” hurtling down the track? “More than a million” sounds a large number, but during the 33 days of the offer from 25 April to 27 May the passengers who benefit will represents less than 1 per cent of total travellers. The real problem isn’t enticing leisure travellers; they are returning anyway. The vast majority of the regular passengers who have been lost to the railway since the coronavirus pandemic began are commuters who tend to use Anytime or season tickets. No sign of half-price deals for them, because the Treasury is horrified by the prospect of losing any more of what used to be the most reliable slab of the £10bn pre-Covid annual rail fare revenue. That figure has collapsed. But instead of cutting fares to stimulate demand the government chose last month to [increase ticket prices by the highest rate for nine months]( – while cutting fuel duty by 5p per litre to help motorists. Unless ministers get a grip and make fares simpler and more affordable, reducing [the taxpayer’s £1m per hour subsidy to the railway]( will be achieved only by cutting services – and jobs. The main rail union, the RMT, is about to ballot on what could be a summer of discontented travellers. But more rail strikes will only hasten the decline of green travel through this pleasant land. Get inspired...   [The ultimate guide to Grenoble]( Get to know this cool French city, where high-octane adrenaline thrills converge with raucous wine bars and elegant antiques shops [I'm an image]( [Cultures collide in Santa Fe]( The capital of New Mexico's arts landscape is getting even more diverse – and compelling – thanks to honest scrutiny of the past [I'm an image]( [Online inspiration from The Independent travel team]( Helen Coffey and Simon Calder gave their views on travel in 2022 and beyond in a live debate. Watch the one-hour event covering topics from the joys of Albania to electric planes Tip of the week: How to travel more gently   Pack more smartly by bringing copper or bamboo straws, solid shampoo bars and refillable water bottles with a built-in filter – just three of the [14 sustainable travel swaps]( suggested by our writers to reduce your impact on the environment this [Earth Day](. Deal of the week: London-Devon for under £2   FlixBus, the fast-expanding coach operator that is taking on National Express and Megabus, launches a new route from London to [Plymouth]( next Thursday 28 April. The opening fare is 99p each way (limited seats only, and subject to a £1 booking fee), which also applies from Victoria Coach Station in the capital to Taunton and [Exeter](. The full journey takes six hours, 15 minutes including stops at Heathrow, Reading and [Bristol]( – twice as long as the train. [Read The Independent's comprehensive guide to Devon]( Travel voucher of the week [Spend more than £2,000 on your holiday with TUI and redeem this code to save £200 per booking]( Question of the week   Environmental certificates for driving in Europe Q I am driving from the UK via France and Switzerland to Italy in June. I know I need a “Crit’Air” certificate for France. Is there a similar environmental requirement for Switzerland and Italy? A The French Crit'Air air quality certificate, costing €3.11 (£2.60) plus postage, is required when driving in cities with low-emission zones: Paris, Grenoble, Lyon, Nice, Rouen, Reims, St-Etienne, Strasbourg and Toulouse. Vehicles are classified according to the particles and levels of nitrogen oxide they emit; the least polluting vehicles can be given preferential treatment, while higher-emission vehicles may be banned. In Switzerland, motorists using the fastest roads must buy a Swiss motorway vignette, which costs 40 Swiss francs (£33) annually. You can buy it in advance or at the border. Italy is more analogue, with standard toll motorways where you pay according to distance. A big problem for visiting motorists in Italy, though, is the Zona a Traffico Limitato (ZTL), generally in the heart of cities. Only locals and those with special permission are allowed in. Drivers straying past the warning sign (a red circle on a white background) are likely to be fined heavily. [You can put your question to the travel correspondent of The Independent in today's Ask Me Anything between 1 and 2pm]( Stat of the week 200 The number of miles from home passengers were left stranded when a [Wizz Air flight from Tel Aviv to London Gatwick was redirected to Sheffield]( at the last minute What you might have missed   - Copy and paste travel: [Why going back to the same destination can lead to holiday heaven]( - Veteran tour guide held in Baghdad: 85-year-old adventure tour leader Geoff Hann suffered a stroke while hosting Iraq trip]( - Masks off for America: [Airlines drop mandatory face coverings for UK-US flights]( Simon’s diary   Every day from Monday to Friday I tackle a top travel story, or explore a topic in more detail than usual in ‘Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast’ – available free on [Spotify](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Pocket Casts]( or [Acast](. I find the easiest way to rush out stories is to tweet them. It’s also an easy way to contact me. 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