According to the Intergenerational Foundation (IF) think tank, almost a third of journeys are as fast or faster by train as they are by aeroplane, with almost two-thirds taking less than 30 minutes extra by train.
A similar policy was implemented in France in April which saw the government banning short-haul flights where a train or bus alternative of two and a half hours or less exists.
Domestic aviation was responsible for emitting 2.7 megatonnes of CO2 and CO2 equivalents in 2019.
However, almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of CO2 emissions from UK domestic flights in 2019 were between cities linked by the rail network, and are potentially replaceable by rail travel.
Some inter-city travel across England, Wales and Scotland is actually faster by train. For example, the report found that the Newcastle-London and Manchester-London routes have faster city centre to city centre travel by train than by plane.
The think tank calculated that a ban on routes...