Popular flight routes around Europe are almost impossible for passengers to book by train because of a “stone age” ticketing system, a new report has found as the EU is set to unveil plans for its single ticket system.
Consumers in Europe who want to avoid flying to protect the environment are dissuaded from doing so because booking the equivalent route by train, is hard or impossible, the think tank Transport & Environment (T&E) has found.
Their report analyzed the rail equivalent journeys to Europe’s most popular flying routes to find out how easy it was for passengers who wanted to avoid the plane to book by train.
But booking train tickets was “difficult or impossible” on almost half of the EU’s busiest international air routes, T&E found, mainly because the main rail operators in each country do not sell tickets for similar services from rival companies.
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For example currently French rail operator SNCF does not show or sell Tren Italia tickets to passengers for the same route such as Paris to Lyon. Although this may change in the future.
“On more than half of the routes analysed, rail operators do not display all available journeys including competitors’ tickets. This practice not only prevents passengers from easily comparing and booking the most suitable services on the same route, but also keeps them unaware of the very existence of these alternatives, even though they may be cheaper than those offered by incumbent operators,” the report said.
Popular European flight routes such as Lisbon to Madrid or Barcelona to Milan could not be booked from any rail operator’s website, while cross-border services such as Paris to Rome and Amsterdam to Milan could only be booked from one of the operators, the report found.
“20 percent of the international routes we studied cannot be booked in one go from major rail companies’ booking platforms, even though these routes are frequented by thousands of flights, emitting thousands of tonnes of CO2 every year,” T&E said.
The Local reported at the end of 2024 that the EU was launching a new effort to simplify cross-border train travel. The idea is to make it possible for passengers to travel through different European countries with one single ticket.
At the time the EU Transport Commissioner-designate Apostolos Tzitzikostas said his goal was to launch an EU-wide booking system by 2025, which would allow passengers to buy one single ticket for their entire cross-border journey.
“It is unbelievable that we do not have this in 2024,” he said during the hearing, and added that the new system would make booking trains across Europe as easy as booking a flight.
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The European Commission plans to publish its single ticketing plan in mid May.
T&E say the booking system for international train tickets in Europe was still in “the stone age” and made a series of recommendations to the EU to make its single ticket policy work.
The think tank’s main recommendation was that rail companies should show and sell tickets for services run by rivals and also share key data on cancellations and delays.
The report said: “All major rail operator booking platforms with significant market power should be required to display and sell available tickets domestically and internationally.’ This includes selling and displaying willing competitors’ tickets to ensure passengers can access the best ticket for their journey.”
It also said: “Third party booking platforms with significant market power should be mandated to display and sell tickets from all willing operators including all ticket discounts and offers, to ensure passengers can access the cheapest available tickets and current journey data.”
Not everyone agrees with T&E’s analysis of Europe’s rail ticketing problems.
European rail expert Jon Worth told The Local the think tank should be more specific with its conclusions and recommendations
“T&E does not get its position clear,” Worth said. “As I see it, I don’t care who sells me the ticket – it could be Deutsche Bahn or Trainline or something yet to be invented, but as a customer I need a place or places where I can compare everything.”
He says a genuine “Skyscanner for rail” could be possible if all railway operators such as Deutsche Bahn or SNCF were obliged to make all their ticketing data available to any third party that wants that data on fair terms.
Useful link – if you are planning a cross-border European rail trip, check out the independent website Man in Seat 61. It doesn’t allow you to buy tickets but is very useful for working out the best route to take and directing you to the operator selling tickets.
