Travelling by train on climate-friendly holidays is the latest trend, but it often takes longer than travelling by plane, which is more harmful to the climate. The Pro-Rail Alliance is therefore setting a good example and offering its employees incentives for environmentally friendly travel. Those who travel long distances by train instead of flying will receive additional days of holiday in future.

The Managing Director of the Pro-Rail Alliance, Dirk Flege, says: “Many people want to travel with the smallest possible CO2 footprint. However, this often fails because of the price – or because too many days of holiday would be lost for the more time-consuming journey to and from the destination. So if you want people to travel in a climate-friendly way, you have to come up with something.”

If they travel to a destination more than 500 kilometres away by train, employees of the Pro-Rail Alliance get two additional days of holiday. They receive four days of additional holiday if they travel more than 1,000 kilometres to their holiday destination.

Dirk Flege: “With this scheme, we want to inspire other companies to do the same. If additional leave for long train journeys becomes the rule and does not remain the exception, then together we can make a contribution to the transport turnaround.”

The Pro-Rail Alliance has also taken inspiration from another company to do the same. In 2019, the Berlin women’s cooperative Weiberwirtschaft introduced a similar scheme: Employees receive a few days of additional leave if they avoid air travel for a year.

Source: Zug statt Flug: Mit Zusatzurlaub Anreize setzen | Allianz pro Schiene (allianz-pro-schiene.de)