A single train ticket for the whole of the EU: the proposal to simplify cross-border travel

Brussels – Booking a train journey from one European country to another could become as simple as buying a plane ticket for the same route. This is the vision set out in the proposed regulation “One Journey, One Ticket” (One Journey, One Ticket), finalised today (13 May) by the European Commission and presented at a press conference by the Commissioner for Sustainable Transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, and the Executive Vice-President responsible for Cohesion Policy and Reforms, Raffaele Fitto. The Berlaymont initiative aims to simplify rail booking systems across Europe, addressing a series of issues that currently make cross-border rail travel particularly cumbersome for EU citizens. “From Berlin to Barcelona by train.
Today cross-country journeys mean several bookings and risks if you miss a connection.

 Let’s change that,” has posted via X the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “With one ticket and full passenger rights throughout your journey. This is our new passenger package.”

Current issues and the Commission’s proposal

At present, anyone travelling by train between Member States is often forced to combine multiple tickets from different operators, using separate booking platforms. First and foremost, this has consequences for the smoothness of the booking process: passengers have to switch between websites, complete multiple transactions, and find it difficult to clearly compare prices, timetables, and connections offered by the various options. Equally significant, then, are the implications for the protection of passengers’ rights. When combining trains offered by different operators, the compensation guaranteed in the event of delays, cancellations and missed connections is often insufficient or even non-existent. The only cases in which it is possible to obtain refunds, compensation, or the provision of an alternative train are those in which the entire route is covered by the same company or in which different companies have signed agreements to that effect. Two very rare occurrences in the case of cross-border travel.

With the aim of “creating a smoother travel experience for European passengers,” the Commission’s proposal seeks to overcome these inefficiencies by introducing a new booking mechanism centred on the so-called “single ticket”. Essentially, travellers will be able to book an entire journey, comprising multiple tickets and trains from different companies, in a single transaction on a single platform. And citizens of certain non-EU countries could also benefit: Tzitzikostas confirmed that the countries involved would also include Switzerland and Norway, by virtue of the transport agreements that Brussels has long had with Bern and Oslo.

This, clearly, does not mean that websites currently selling train tickets will disappear: “They will remain,” the EU executive assures us in an official statement, “but they will all be linked to a common system that will allow users to combine different journeys into a single itinerary and book everything in one go.”

A more transparent and accessible market, but will the industry giants go along with it?

According to the Berlaymont, the single-ticket solution will bring numerous benefits that, based on the figures presented by Tzitzikostas, “will lead to an increase in rail travel of up to 5 per cent.” In addition to speeding up the entire purchasing process, the press release states, “the market will become more transparent and accessible.” In terms of transparency, platforms will be required to display the various possible combinations on a single screen, thereby helping citizens choose the solution that best suits their needs. Regarding accessibility, progress will be driven by the fact that, under this system, sales sites should ensure equal visibility for offers promoted by large companies and by smaller operators. This requirement would apply not only to independent platforms but also to online sales services owned by railway companies defined as “dominant”.

“Companies with a market share of over 50 per cent, explained Tzitzikostas during the press conference, will have to display all the rail services available in the country“: not just their own, but also those of their competitors. Moreover, even though the new obligations are set to take effect a year after their (possible) adoption, the “countdown” for the sector’s giants could begin even sooner. “Even during these 12 months, companies will be obliged to display on their platforms all possible connections that a passenger might wish to use,” warned the Commissioner.

However, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) has raised the alarm. “Behind this idyllic vision” described in the passenger package “lies unprecedented and unjustified regulatory interventionism”, and “the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) strongly warns against the mandatory distribution requirements set out in the proposal and the heavy burden of liability placed on the railways,” reads a statement. “While profit-driven digital platforms will have free rein to dominate ticket sales, railways will find themselves having to bear the actual costs and liabilities, with inevitable repercussions on ticket prices,” it continues.

So, although turning words into action—and overcoming the resistance of the major European companies—is set to be a complicated task, Tzitzikostas appeared determined. “I understand their frustration, but the aim of our initiative is to make life easier for passengers, and there is no doubt that access to train tickets is currently far too complicated,” he explained. “One way to do this is to ensure visibility for all operators on the websites that the public are most familiar with,” he continued, “and these are often the platforms of the main companies in each Member State: the SNCF in France, Deutsche Bahn in Germany or Trenitalia in Italy.” Furthermore, “we are also making it easier for independent ticketing platforms to sell tickets from all railway companies on the basis of commercial agreements: this must be fair, proportionate, and non-discriminatory,” he explained. “This is not the case today, and their offering is, in my view, incomplete: they will now be obliged to sell rail connections offered within their territory, for example, in Member States where they are dominant, as well as cross-border connections that start and end in that Member State,” he added.

The EU Commission’s proposal also aims to ensure a uniform level of protection for passengers’ rights throughout the entire cross-border journey. Thanks to the single ticket, passengers will be guaranteed the various forms of redress provided for in the event of delays or missed connections throughout the entire journey: assistance, alternative solutions, refunds and compensation. Railway companies would therefore no longer be able to shirk responsibility by claiming that the missed train was operated by another company.

Whilst Tzitzikostas outlined the aspects of the proposal most closely linked to his portfolio, Fitto emphasised that “rail connectivity is not just a matter of transport, but also of cohesion and the single market.” Referring to the Commission’s commitment on the issue of the so-called “right to stay”, the former minister in the Meloni government stressed that “this freedom begins with the possibility of being connected.” 

More trains, less pollution: but the Greens want an “ambitious” proposal

The Commission also sought to highlight the environmental benefits that would result from the single ticket solution. “The simpler and safer it becomes to travel by train, the more European citizens will avoid using more polluting alternatives,” summarised Tzitzikostas. It is no coincidence that one of the parliamentary groups most convinced of the proposal’s merits is none other than the Greens. Pre-empting Fitto and Tzitzikostas’s announcement by a day, the environmentalist group had already organised a press conference yesterday (12 May) to outline its position on the Berlaymont initiative.

“Cross-border travel must become easier to book, more transparent and easier to compare“, said German MEP Kai Tegethoff, setting a target in line with that established by the EU executive. From the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the group’s vice-president, Mohammed Chahim, echoed this view, stating that “the passenger package is an opportunity to bring European rail transport into the 21st century with seamless booking mechanisms, transparent pricing and, perhaps, guarantees for passengers.” The European People’s Party also applauds the move: “Single ticketing for travellers is what free roaming is for mobile phone users: a practical European solution that makes cross-border mobility simple and seamless,” comments on X Jens Gieseke, MEP and transport spokesperson for the EPP Group, highlighting that the Commission’s proposal introduces “greater transparency, simpler ticket booking and clear passenger rights that can make travelling by train significantly more convenient.”

While the European centre-left is backing this measure, MEPs from the progressive camp emphasise that their support cannot be taken for granted. This was made clear by Green MEP Lena Schilling, who stated that her group’s support would only be guaranteed if the legislative text were sufficiently ambitious. In this regard, the Austrian MEP warned that “a mere simplification of the booking system is not enough,” calling for it to be accompanied by a structural strengthening of rail transport.

Points to bear in mind ahead of the possible start of the trilogues, during which the European Parliament will negotiate the regulation’s text with the Council of the EU.

English version by the Translation Service of Withub