Booking hassles for EU train routes deter travellers, study finds

New research by T&E has revealed that difficulties with booking international train journeys in Europe prevent passengers from travelling by rail. The green transport group believes a single ticketing system will help with this and is calling on the European Commission to require rail operators to provide travellers with alternative ticketing options for routes, even from competitors.

Buying tickets for whole EU train journey almost impossible

T&E conducted a study looking at the rail alternatives for 30 of the most popular international air routes in the EU to see how easy it was to book train tickets. The Milan-Paris, Amsterdam-Copenhagen, and Berlin-Vienna journeys were among the routes included. 

The results showed that it was difficult or downright impossible to buy train tickets for the whole journey in one go. On 20 percent of the routes studied, none of the rail operators offered tickets for the whole journey, and for a further 27 percent of the routes, only one rail operator allowed travellers to buy tickets covering the full journey. “This finding is concerning as rail passengers tend to primarily buy tickets on the booking engine of their national incumbent operator,” writes T&E.

This flawed booking system creates confusion and frustrates travellers, often deterring possible rail passengers. Indeed, a YouGov poll commissioned by T&E showed that 61 percent of long-distance rail travellers avoided booking a journey at least once because of the chaotic booking process. It also takes 70 percent longer to book tickets for a long train journey than a flight, according to research by the University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten in Austria.

Cheaper European rail alternatives not displayed

Finding tickets for a long train journey isn’t the only barrier travellers encounter. Prices of rail tickets also vary depending on the platform used. For example, ticket prices for the train between Munich and Vienna differed by 31 percent depending on whether a passenger booked with DB or ÖBB. 

Even with independent platforms such as Trainline, Omio, Rail Europe or Kombo, ticket prices can vary greatly. Part of the reason could be that special deals or subscriptions offered by rail operators might not be available on third-party platforms. This can be the case with the NS Voordeel subscription, for example. Even if NS makes it possible for independent platforms to sell ticket discounts, the platforms might not display them. 

Rail operators themselves are accused of doing this when they fail to display or sell competitors' tickets on the same route. On 86 percent of routes with competitive rail companies, the national rail operator doesn’t sell the competition’s tickets, while 59 percent don’t even display them to travellers.

With more new rail companies entering the market, such as GoVolta which runs affordable trains between Amsterdam, Berlin and Hamburg, passengers could end up paying more than they need to if they don’t know about cheaper options. 

Calls for reforms to EU ticketing system

The European Commission is set to publish a proposal for the new Single Ticketing Package on May 13. With this new regulation, it would be possible for travellers to book multi-operator journeys in a single transaction.

T&E is calling on the Commission to go a step further and also “require major rail operators to display and sell other willing operators' tickets under fair conditions and to share their own tickets with other operators and independent platforms”. Independent platforms would also need to be made to sell operators’ tickets. 

“Too often passengers trying to book low-carbon international train journeys are faced with headaches due to opaque and complicated booking systems. This has to change,” says T&E rail campaign manager Georgia Whitaker. “The European Commission needs to deliver a Single Ticketing Package that makes rail travel as simple as booking a flight. It’s time to drag the rail ticketing system out of the stone age.”