Cross-border rail travel in Europe is at a crossroads, says the European Rail Passengers Union. While trains are the most sustainable option for connecting communities and meeting climate goals, passengers continue to face fragmented services, unclear rights, and a ticketing system that often feels designed to deter rather than encourage travel.
A new position paper, submitted ahead of the European Commission’s legislative package expected in spring 2026, calls for urgent reforms to guarantee passenger rights and simplify ticketing. Measures that could transform rail into the go-to choice for cross-border journeys.
As the paper states, “Passenger rights must be guaranteed however many operators are involved in a journey. And it has to be easier to find and purchase tickets for the best price”.
The document, which addresses the upcoming revision of the Regulation on Rail Passengers’ Rights, the Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation (SDBTR) for rail, and the Regulation on Multimodal Digital Mobility Services (MDMS), argues that these reforms are essential to advancing the European Union’s green ambitions, supporting economic growth, and delivering better service for citizens.
The burden of fragmented systems
Freedom of movement is a cornerstone of the European project, yet cross-border rail travel remains unnecessarily complex. As President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged in her political guidelines, “Cross-border train travel is still too difficult for many citizens”.
Passengers often rely on multiple railway undertakings (RUs) for a single journey, each with its own rules, connection times, and ticketing systems. The result? A burden so heavy that many travellers abandon rail in favour of less sustainable alternatives.
The position paper highlights two critical pain points: gaps in passenger rights and a fractured ticketing landscape. To address these, the paper proposes three key reforms:
- Full rights for all reasonable journeys: Passenger rights should apply to any journey where all transfers respect minimum connection times, regardless of the number or nature of tickets and transactions.
- Neutral, transparent minimum connection times: These times must be set fairly and made publicly available to provide security for passengers and ticket sellers alike.
- Mandatory inventory sharing: All railway undertakings must be obligated to make their full ticket inventory available for resale under fair terms.
As the paper argues, “Guaranteeing rights and making it easier to purchase tickets are key if we want to make choosing rail viable for cross-border journeys. These reforms, if done correctly, would deliver better service for citizens, advance green ambitions, and support economic growth and EU businesses”.
Rights that don’t stop at the border
Currently, passenger rights often fall through the cracks when journeys involve multiple operators. The paper calls for a seamless extension of domestic rights to cross-border travel, ensuring that passengers can continue their journey on the next available route – regardless of operator – if disruptions occur.
This includes respecting original conditions such as class, luggage allowances, and accommodation. Stranded passengers should also receive overnight accommodation at no cost, with operators able to reclaim expenses from the party responsible for the disruption.
Realities
The paper dismisses alternatives like “through-tickets‘ or “single tickets” as unnecessarily complex and insufficient. “There will always be journeys that remain impossible to purchase as a through-ticket because of travel passes, discount cards, and mismatched booking horizons,” it notes.
Instead, it advocates for a simpler approach: if minimum connection times are respected, rights should be guaranteed, regardless of how or when tickets were purchased.
Minimum connection times, the paper insists, must be set neutrally – ideally by infrastructure managers – and published openly. “The most neutral solution in a liberalised railway is for infrastructure managers to set these times”, it states, adding that an appeals process should exist for cases where times are not respected.
A ticketing revolution
The second major hurdle is ticketing. The current system is so fragmented that even experienced travellers struggle to find the best routes and prices. The paper’s solution: mandate that all railway undertakings make their full inventory available for resale under fair terms. This would enable the creation of platforms where passengers can compare and purchase tickets for any route, ensuring they get the best price and service.
“The commission paid to a reseller must be at least adequate to cover the platform’s operational costs to re-sell the ticket”, the paper specifies. “There must also be no categories of tickets excluded from this obligation.”
The goal is to foster genuine “book any train” platforms, which do not currently exist but would clearly benefit passengers. Importantly, this doesn’t mean passengers must book online. Ticket offices and call centres should also have access to the full inventory.
The paper is less enthusiastic about proposals to force national booking platforms to sell all trains within their territory, arguing that this offers limited cross-border benefits. “If a passenger is searching for tickets from country A to country B, but can route via country C or country D, this provision would not help them as all trains in country C and country D might still be on separate platforms”, it explains.
A call for binding EU regulation
While industry initiatives like the Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) and Railteam HOTNAT exist, the paper deems them inadequate. “There is no way to legally enforce their provisions, and accommodation is not covered”, it states.
Passengers need binding EU regulation to feel secure in choosing rail for cross-border journeys.
The conclusion is clear: improving cross-border rail is an opportunity for the EU to lead by example. “Guaranteeing passenger rights and facilitating easier ticketing would promote EU integration and further sustainability goals by reducing longstanding barriers that make cross-border travel unnecessarily burdensome and insecure”, the paper argues.
With the right reforms, rail could finally become the preferred choice for cross-border travel—delivering better service, advancing green ambitions, and supporting economic growth across the EU.
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