One journey, one ticket, full rights: Simplifying train travel in Europe

Europe-wide train booking and travel is about to get a lot easier and passenger rights will get a welcome boost too. The Commission has proposed new rules that simplify planning and booking for regional, long-distance and cross-border travel, particularly for rail journeys involving multiple operators, while better protecting passengers.

As it stands, booking multiple-leg train journeys involving tickets from different companies can be complicated. So too can organising a trip combining different transport services. The booking systems are fragmented and it is hard to find the best deal. Moreover, passenger protection is limited on rail journeys involving multiple tickets by different rail operators.

Proposals from the Commission aim to address these challenges by

• enabling single-ticket bookings across multiple rail operators - passengers will be able to find, compare and purchase services combined from different rail operators into one single ticket, which can be bought in one transaction on a platform of their choice
• putting in place new, full rail passenger rights protection – including assistance, rerouting, reimbursement and compensation – for passengers with a single ticket with different rail operators who miss their connection
• introducing new obligations for ticketing platforms and operators to ensure fair access to selling tickets and the neutral presentation of travel options – including sorting by greenhouse gas emissions where feasible

There is strong public demand for seamless travel solutions and reliable online booking systems as a recent EU survey showed. At the same time, to achieve our climate objectives, we also need to make it easier for people to shift to more sustainable options. Today's proposals will help to achieve both of these goals, by making it easier for passengers to book rail journeys across borders and operators.

For more information

Press release – One journey, one ticket, full rights: Commission simplifies Europe-wide travel booking and train travel

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