The European Commission has proposed new rules to make seamless rail travel across Europe a reality.
The proposals adopted this month are aimed at simplify planning and booking for regional, long-distance and cross-border travel, particularly for rail journeys involving multiple operators.
At present, comparing all available travel options and identifying the most sustainable choices, especially for cross-border travel, remains difficult for passengers in the EU; especially for rail tickets.
Many passengers encounter obstacles when combining different transport services.
Booking multiple-leg train journeys involving tickets from different companies can be complex, largely due to fragmented booking systems and the dominant market presence of certain rail companies.
Also, passenger protection is limited on rail journeys involving multiple tickets by different rail operators, travel news hub Travel Mole reports.
The proposals address these obstacles, delivering on President Ursula von der Leyen‘s suggestions.
The proposals address these obstacles, delivering on President Ursula von der Leyen‘s suggestions.
The Commission proposes measures enabling single-ticket bookings across multiple rail operators, making the rail market more transparent and accessible.
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 ticketing platform of their choice. This can be an independent platform, or the rail operator’s ticketing service.
In the event of missed connections during multi-operator rail journeys, passengers with a single ticket will benefit from new, full passenger rights protection, including assistance, rerouting, reimbursement and compensation.
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 ticketing platform of their choice. This can be an independent platform, or the rail operator’s ticketing service.
In the event of missed connections during multi-operator rail journeys, passengers with a single ticket will benefit from new, full passenger rights protection, including assistance, rerouting, reimbursement and compensation.
The Commission will now submit the proposed regulations to the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament for consideration.
The Community of European Railways (CER), representing major national rail companies, strongly cautioned against the proposal’s mandatory distribution requirements and heavy burden of liability on railways.
It says that railways will be left carrying the real cost and responsibility with inevitable repercussions on ticket prices.
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