The European Commission has unveiled a new package of proposals aimed at making seamless travel across Europe easier, particularly for rail passengers travelling across borders and between multiple operators. The measures are designed to simplify journey planning and booking while strengthening passenger rights throughout the entire trip.
Removing barriers to cross-border rail travel
Currently, passengers across the EU still face significant difficulties when trying to compare travel options, identify more sustainable routes, or book cross-border rail journeys involving different operators. Fragmented ticketing systems and the dominant position of some rail companies often make multi-leg rail travel complex, while passenger protection remains limited when journeys involve separate tickets from different operators.
Today’s proposals address these obstacles, delivering on President Ursula von der Leyen's political guidelines. The new package supports the European Union’s wider climate and mobility ambitions by introducing measures that would enable passengers to book combined rail services from multiple operators through a single ticket and in one transaction, using either independent ticketing platforms or operators’ own booking systems.
Stronger passenger rights across the full journey
Under the proposed rules, passengers travelling with a single ticket across multiple rail operators would benefit from enhanced passenger rights in the event of missed connections. These protections would include assistance, rerouting, reimbursement, and compensation covering the entire journey.
The package also introduces new obligations for ticketing platforms and transport operators to ensure fair and non-discriminatory access to ticket sales and transparent presentation of travel options. Platforms would be required to display offers neutrally, including information on greenhouse gas emissions where feasible, helping passengers make more informed and sustainable travel choices.
Alongside the proposals, the Commission published an Implementation Report on the Rail Passenger Rights Regulation, highlighting progress made since June 2023. The report notes improvements in passenger protections, clearer rules for bicycle carriage, and better passenger information, while also recognising ongoing challenges related to the availability of through-tickets for cross-border journeys involving multiple operators.
Next steps for the proposals
The proposals will now be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union for consideration under the ordinary legislative procedure.
The Commission also stressed the importance of accelerating the implementation of the Intelligent Transport Systems Directive, particularly regarding the sharing of multimodal transport data through national access points, which remains essential for developing seamless digital ticketing and mobility services across Europe.
The initiative responds to growing public demand for integrated and reliable booking systems. A recent Eurobarometer survey highlighted strong support among European citizens for simpler cross-border travel solutions and unified ticketing services.
The proposals also contribute to the EU’s broader objectives of strengthening long-distance and cross-border rail services and advancing the Connecting Europe through High-Speed Rail agenda
Source: European Commission