It's common knowledge that train travel beats air travel in the sustainability stakes, but in recent months I've put this to the test a bit more than usual, in a country where it can be hard to do: my homeland, Australia. 

It all began when Dr Susanne Etti, the Global Environmental Impact Manager for Intrepid Travel, challenged me to fly the shorter route to Melbourne and then take the train with her from Melbourne to Sydney, on our way to speak at SXSW Sydney. The Melbourne to Sydney route is one of the busiest domestic air routes in the world, and seeing how the train alternative worked was such a good idea! Susanne and I recorded our thoughts along the way, so you'll hear those in this episode, along with our answers to a bunch of questions asked by listeners about our experience.

Once you start looking, there are other times you might take the train instead of alternatives like flying or driving. Justin Watson, another SXSW panelist, took the train from Canberra to Sydney instead of driving or flying, and I chat with him about this experience too.

Finally, I added another train ride just in time to make this episode - travelling on the Australind train from Perth to Bunbury on my way to run workshops in south-west Western Australia. Another fantastic experience, and I tell you all about it in this episode. 

Links:

• Dr Susanne Etti - https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanneetti/ 
• Intrepid Travel - https://www.intrepidtravel.com/
• Susanne's op ed, The Track Less Travelled - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/track-less-travelled-what-12-hr-train-trip-between-melbourne-etti 
• Justin Watson - https://justins.world/ 
• Flight emissions calculator - AtmosFair - https://www.atmosfair.de/en/offset/flight/ 
• Carbon footprint calculation from the Nature Conservancy - https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/ 
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/313