Peter KretschmarApr 1
Marian Dörk

seen on fast trains to and from Paris lately: The SNCF drastically undersells the environmental advantage of taking the train. the 3g-to-260g difference is actually much more drastic and thus should also look like it - here 87x difference looks only like 4x. I don’t want to go all Tufte on French rail, but excusez-moi: the illustrations and colors can stay, but accurate representation matters.

PS: the trains were punctual!!

#climate #dataVis #TGV #SNCF #europeanRail #carbonFootprint

Mar 31 at 1:21pmWeb
Show threadNoBorgMar 31

@nrchtct

And that's thanks to nuclear energy.

"Electricity is the primary source of energy used to power the 15,000 trains that run daily across France. It is estimated that 80% of freight trains and 90% of passenger trains run on the approximately 15,000 km of electrified lines. However, France’s electricity mix is very low-carbon thanks to the strong predominance of nuclear power generation. "
#NuclearEnergy
https://www.revolution-energetique.com/fiches-pedagogiques/pourquoi-le-train-francais-est-le-plus-propre-des-moyens-de-transport/

Pourquoi le train français est le plus propre des moyens de transport ? - Révolution Énergétique

Si l'on vous demande quel est le moyen de transport le plus propre pour sillonner la France, les plus courageux répondront « le vélo », les autres

Révolution Énergétique
Show threadC_ChellMar 31
@nrchtct But the planes are cheaper ... the world will not gonna be on the right way when it's cheaper to board a plane instead of a train.
Show threadMarian DörkMar 31
@C_Chell yes, for the consumer this is true, but this is due to massive differences in governmental subsidies - paid for by everyone who pays taxes
Show threadThomasMar 31

@C_Chell @nrchtct

Anecdotally, but I was pleasantly surprised how full the Eurostar and TGV were on my recent trip Brussels - Toulouse - Barcelona and back. Punctual trains, comfortable seats, and a "Thank you for choosing the most eco-friendly way of travel" at every station.

But indeed easily twice as expensive as flying would have been...

Show threadCycling on RailsApr 1

@thpar @C_Chell @nrchtct The issue with SNCF is they don't run enough trains, and full trains is a symptom of that. And the Eurostar subsidiary is pushing that approach to the limit, see @jon 's timeless piece on the matter: https://jonworth.eu/make-international-rail-cheaper-capacity-on-a-route-is-the-crucial-issue/

Rare are the routes were SNCF runs regular hourly trains, so once you use connections suddenly the system as a whole isn't that fast anymore. And if you need a last-minute ticket it's likely sold out or prohibitively expensive. That's not dependable.

Make international rail cheaper? Capacity on a route is the crucial issue

It's a common refrain: more people would take the train - especially on international routes - if only it were cheaper! That line of argument assumes that there are actually more trains to take. In other words that there is spare capacity. The problem is that - in many cases

Jon Worth
Show threadCycling on RailsApr 1

@thpar @C_Chell @nrchtct Another case of the undependable system is cancelled services without replacement option, especially for regional trains as described by @jon again last week-end: https://jonworth.eu/sncf-and-bourgogne-franche-comte-a-railway-that-has-given-up/

Go to Denmark and an army of replacement buses are ready to take passengers in case of planned works.

In other words: yes electricity is green in France and TGVs are fast, but SNCF spoils it all by not running enough, dependable trains. Meanwhile, car-dependency and far-right prevail.

SNCF and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté: a railway that has given up

Tomorrow morning - Saturday 28th March 2026 - I had planned to make a trip I make half a dozen times a year. After a Friday evening teaching assignment in Paris, I would normally take a TER regional train from Paris back to Nuits-sous-Ravières in Bourgogne on a Saturday morning.

Jon Worth
Show threadAndreas BrunthalerMar 31
@nrchtct
Maybe the scale here is logarithmic? 😃
Show threadTykaynMar 31

@nrchtct
Un jour la SNCF fera des graphiques avec des bonnes proportions. Ce qui est affligeant c'est que j'ai déjà vu ce même problème sur une autre affiche dans un tgv qui faisait passer ce message en français.

L'équipe technique dira que c'est la faute au graphiste, le graphiste dira que c'est ce que voulait le management, le management aura été changé entre temps :D

Show threadJulien SalortApr 1
@nrchtct @julienhillairet maybe they plotted on a log scale ? 😇😜
Show threadmeduz'Apr 1

@nrchtct There was probably easy wins to improve this, like using blocks as units, e.g. this is 6+6+3:

......
......
...

and also stretch the car and plane to the very bottom of the illustration.