German airlines, rail company aim to reduce domestic flights

<p>BERLIN &mdash; Germany’s airline industry and main rail company said Thursday they aim to encourage more people to switch from planes to trains for domestic routes, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>The German Aviation Association and Deutsche Bahn signed an agreement to offer more high-speed rail connections on routes currently served by short-haul flights.</p>
<p>The two sides said they expect more than 20% of plane passengers, or about 4.3 million people a year, could choose to travel by train instead.</p>
<p>This could cut a sixth of the carbon dioxide emissions currently generated by domestic air travel, they said.</p>
<p>Domestic flights in Germany are mainly used by business travelers and tourists catching connecting flights from one of the country’s major airports.</p>