Brussels aims to strengthen rail connections across Europe to reduce carbon emissions associated with air travel.
However, the vision of seamless cross-border journeys encounters challenges due to a fragmented network divided into national systems that critics argue create barriers and increase costs.
Passengers frequently need to purchase tickets from various operators to create a multi-country itinerary.
The European Commission is proposing new regulations to enable travellers to obtain a single ticket on one platform for such journeys.
This proposal faces strong opposition from rail operators—often state-owned national leaders—which could jeopardize its chances of becoming law as proposed.
“Booking cross-border train journeys in Europe remains unnecessarily complex,” stated Vivien Costanzo, a centre-left EU lawmaker.
“A European rail system requires straightforward bookings, dependable connections, and clear passenger rights. Only then can rail become a true alternative to short-haul flights.”
Currently, train tickets in Europe are predominantly purchased from national rail operators, according to advocacy group Transport & Environment (T&E).
These operators often hold a dominant position in their local markets and have little motivation to open their ticketing systems to competitors, critics argue.
The proposed legislation would require them to feature competitors’ offers on their websites and enable their own tickets to be accessible through booking platforms, allowing passengers to compare prices and book trips in one step, according to an EU source.
‘Unprecedented’
Alberto Mazzola, leader of the Community of European Railways (CER) lobby group, criticized the initiative as an “unprecedented” regulatory intrusion by the commission.
“I am not aware of any instance where a company is mandated to sell a competitor’s product. Imagine Lufthansa being compelled to sell Ryanair flights,” he remarked to AFP, drawing parallels with airlines.
Companies that have invested in enhancing their ticketing systems would be required to open them up to “free-riders,” and the obligation to share data would give an advantage to U.S.-based booking giants, he lamented.
He noted that cross-border rail travel constituted only about seven percent of the total in Europe due to a lack of high-speed infrastructure, not due to ticketing problems.
Nonetheless, supporters argue that this plan would encourage more train travel.
A 2025 survey conducted by YouGov for T&E revealed that nearly two-thirds of those surveyed had avoided trips due to the cumbersome booking process, with research indicating that securing a train ticket takes an average of 70 percent longer than booking a flight.
“Increased competition in the rail sector will benefit passengers by offering improved service and lower prices,” stated Jan-Christoph Oetjen, another centrist, European lawmaker.
The commission is also expected to revise passenger rights for missed connections, including compensation and the option to board the next available train.
This initiative arrives at a time when the Iran war has driven aviation fuel prices up and raised fears of shortages during Europe’s peak travel season.
This could provide rail operators a “window of opportunity” to “foster a positive narrative” around international rail travel and to invest in service improvements, stated Victor Thevenet of T&E.
In 2022, rail accounted for just 0.3 percent of EU planet-warming emissions from transport, compared to nearly 12 percent for civil aviation.
For the commission’s proposal to become law, it must be negotiated with the European Parliament and member states, who are likely to support some of the operators’ concerns.
