European rail passengers often face significant hurdles navigating multiple national and regional booking platforms to plan their journeys. These fragmented systems not only complicate travel arrangements but also leave passengers vulnerable to financial losses in the event of delays or cancellations that disrupt connections across different operators, as passenger rights frequently fail to cover such scenarios.
Interest in rail travel is surging across Europe, with Interrail reporting a 25% increase in train journeys between 2022 and 2023. In response to this growing demand, the EU plans to introduce an integrated booking system by the end of 2026. This new platform will allow travelers to plan and pay for their entire journey in one place, even when crossing multiple international borders.
While existing platforms like Rail Europe and Omio offer some solutions for international rail travel, they often require passengers to purchase multiple tickets for segmented journeys. The proposed unified system would streamline this process, providing a single ticket for the entire route and leveraging digital technology to simplify the travel experience.
At his confirmation hearing, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the newly appointed EU Transport Commissioner, described the lack of a unified rail booking system as “unbelievable” in 2024. He emphasized that the project, which builds on a concept first proposed by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in 2021, is a cornerstone of the EU’s strategy to promote sustainable and low-carbon travel.
Tzitzikostas’s proposal focuses exclusively on rail travel, though von der Leyen’s original vision extended to integrating planes, buses, car rentals, and even e-scooters. Beyond improving booking systems, Tzitzikostas also envisions significant investment in high-speed rail connections to better link Europe’s major cities, further incentivizing train travel as a greener alternative.
The project has garnered strong support from the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), which represents over 70 railway operators and associations. CER lauded the initiative, emphasizing the importance of digitalization in modernizing Europe’s transport networks. “This recognition that digitalization is essential to help modernize the transport system is vital,” a CER representative stated.
