The European Commission has unveiled a new package of proposals designed to make travelling across Europe much easier, particularly in the rail sector. The aim is to allow passengers to plan, compare and buy tickets across countries and different carriers in a single system and a single transaction.

At present, the Commission says it is often difficult for travellers to find and combine different transport options, especially for cross-border journeys. The problem is the fragmentation of booking systems and the fact that individual rail carriers operate separately. This complicates, for example, combined journeys where multiple tickets have to be bought from different companies.

The new rules are intended to change this situation. Passengers should now be able to buy „one ticket“ for the whole journey, even if it is served by several carriers. It will be possible to buy this ticket both through independent booking platforms and directly from the carriers. The Commission is responding to a long-standing push for a simpler and more transparent European ticket market.

Another significant change is the strengthening of passenger rights. In the event of a missed connection when travelling on a single shared ticket, passengers will be entitled to assistance, re-routing, refund or financial compensation. The aim is to ensure that passengers are not disadvantaged simply because their journey involves more than one carrier.

The new regulation also focuses on the operation of sales platforms. They will have to display offers in a transparent and neutral way, including the possibility to sort by greenhouse gas emissions if possible. In addition, carriers and platforms will be required to enter into fair and non-discriminatory trade agreements.

The next steps now depend on the proposals being discussed in the EU Council and the European Parliament. The Commission is also calling on Member States to speed up the introduction of traffic data sharing rules to support the emergence of multimodal booking systems.

According to Eurobarometer surveys, there is a strong interest in such changes among Europeans. The reform builds on the long-standing vision of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has promoted the concept of one ticket for all journeys within Europe.

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