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Rail ticketing: Proposal for a regulation on rail ticketing
Rail ticketing Proposal for a regulation on rail ticketing
Mathias Gullentops, Members' Research Service
Context
Planning and booking rail travel across Europe remains complex and fragmented, particularly for journeys involving multiple operators. The proposed regulation on rail ticketing aims to enable single-ticket bookings across multiple operators.
Part of the 'passenger package', this initiative supports climate neutrality goals by making energy-efficient rail travel more accessible and competitive.
Key measures include obliging operators and organisers of rail services to share their rail products with online ticketing service providers, when requested, and obliging railway operators with a market share of 50 % or above in a given Member State to open their online ticketing service to any requesting operator or organiser of railway services.
Legislative proposal
2026/0115(COD) – Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on rail ticketing – COM(2026) 232, 13.5.2026.
Issue
This initiative is part of the Commission's objectives to achieve climate neutrality and reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. It was included in actions 37 and 65 of the sustainable and smart mobility strategy. Rail transport is largely electrified and constitutes an energy-efficient mode of transport, which is why a shift towards the use of rail services would help the transport sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption.
After four legislative railway packages, the single European railway area has been opened to competition. To further facilitate passenger growth, an efficient ticketing system is essential for the functioning of the railway passenger market.
The suboptimal functioning of the railway ticketing market in the EU has been noted, among others, in the 2021 Commission communication on an action plan to boost long-distance and cross-border passenger rail, the political guidelines for the European Commission 2024‑2029 and the 2025 Commission communication on connecting Europe through high-speed rail. The need for this is further confirmed in both the Letta report on the future of the single market and the Draghi report on the future of European competitiveness.
According to the proposal, a seamless ticketing experience is hindered by the obstacles detailed below.
Fragmented booking systems
Many passengers encounter difficulties when trying to combine different transport services because booking systems are not integrated.
Complexity of multi-leg journeys
It is currently difficult to book a single journey that involves tickets from different companies, often requiring separate transactions.
Lack of transparency
Passengers find it hard to compare all available travel options and identify the most sustainable choices, especially for cross-border trips.
Market dominance
Practices by incumbent companies include favouring direct distribution channels, restricting access to ticketing content and data, and imposing unreasonable fees and technical requirements on third-party online ticketing service providers.
Main points of the proposal
The proposed regulation applies to railway service providers and online ticketing service providers for railway services partly or fully operated in the Union.
It obliges operators and organisers of rail services to share their rail products with online ticketing service providers, when requested. The proposal obliges railway operators with a market share of 50 % or above in the respective Member State to open their online ticketing service to any requesting operator or organiser of railway services. This proposal does not contain any obligations for SMEs.
Sharing obligation
The proposal states that a railway service provider must conclude a commercial agreement with a requesting online ticketing service provider to provide content for the display, re-linking, resale or distribution of its rail products within two months of receiving the online ticketing service provider's request.
Hosting obligation
Online ticketing service providers which are deemed 'indispensable', i.e. those that are vertically integrated with a railway undertaking ('vertically integrated' means the entities in question are organisationally, financially and administratively integrated in such a way as to allow one of them to control the other directly or indirectly as per Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004) and have a significant market presence in any given Member State, will have to display, re-link, resell or distribute the rail products of a requesting railway service provider for services that are operated, or have their origin or destination, in that Member State.
An indispensable railway online ticketing service shall also display and include in relevant search results all available railway services that are operated or have their origin or destination in the Member State in which the railway undertaking integrated with the online ticketing service provider has a significant railway market presence.
Fair and non-discriminatory conditions
Railway service providers may require online ticketing service providers entering into commercial agreements to accept reasonable conditions.
Indispensable railway online ticketing service providers may require railway service providers entering into commercial agreements to accept reasonable operational and technical conditions.
Furthermore, the Commission may lay down, by means of implementing acts, detailed provisions for the harmonised interpretation of fair and non-discriminatory conditions in commercial agreements between railway service providers and online ticketing service providers.
Significant market presence
Specific regulatory requirements should be introduced to avoid possible market distortions caused by shareholding or controlling links between online ticketing service providers and railway undertakings with a significant market presence in the railway service market. A railway undertaking will be designated as having a significant railway market presence in a given Member State where it provides 50 % or more of rail passenger services in that Member State, expressed in passenger kilometres.
The Commission will publish and keep up to date a list of railway undertakings having a significant railway market presence on a dedicated website.
Booking horizon
The proposal stipulates that railway service providers will make railway tickets available for sale at least five months before the date of operation.
Enforcement
National rail regulatory bodies act as national enforcement bodies, with the power to enforce this regulation in relation to the railway service provider and the online railway ticketing service provider.
Costs and budgetary impact
This proposal and the legal proposal on multimodal digital mobility services (MDMS) are based on the same impact assessment.
Impact on the sector
Total costs are estimated at €306 million, expressed as present value over 2028‑2050 relative to the baseline.
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Of this, 40 % are one-off and recurrent adjustment costs for MDMS platforms that will need to adjust IT systems to comply with neutral display requirements and set up application programming interfaces to share non-personal data with transport operators and public authorities (€122.3 million).
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Adjustment costs for railway undertakings to enable distribution of their tickets represent another 14 % of total costs (€42.2 million).
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Enforcement costs for national authorities are estimated at €106.5 million (35 % of total costs).
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Administrative costs for settling disputes and processing notifications from platforms with a significant market presence represent €28.9 million (9 % of total costs) relative to the baseline.
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The costs for the Commission to designate MDMS with a significant market presence at EU level represent less than 2 % of the total cost (€5.3 million).
Impact on national administration
The total additional (one-off and recurrent) administrative burden for national authorities is estimated at €1.86 million per year, driven by the requirement to process notifications from platforms with a significant market presence and submit this information to the Commission, and for settling disputes.
In addition, enforcement costs to monitor the correct implementation of the legislation are estimated at €6.1 million per year.
Impact on the Commission
The Commission will require two full-time equivalent staff members to support the designation process introduced by this proposal, streamline coordination with national enforcement bodies, and maintain an accurate, up-to-date list of railway undertakings with a significant market presence, ensuring market transparency and effective enforcement.
Preparation of the proposal
The proposal builds on the fact that Member States already collect certain data under the rail market monitoring scheme, whereby the Commission centralises data about the evolution of rail markets in the Member States in line with Article 5 of Directive 2012/34/EU. The data will be used for assessing the market shares of railway undertakings per Member State. In addition, Member States have already established rail regulatory bodies as enforcement authorities for the national railway market, including a mechanism for cross-border cooperation and coordination.
The Commission has carried out various stakeholder consultation activities, seeking both qualitative (opinions, views, suggestions) and quantitative (data, statistics) information.
Furthermore, a Eurobarometer survey, conducted in 2024 and published by the Commission on 1 April 2025, examined key aspects, such as: (1) frequency of travel for leisure and work; (2) factors influencing travel planning and booking decisions; (3) attitudes towards environmentally friendly travel; (4) use of different transport modes and multimodal journeys; (5) ease of booking multimodal and multi-operator journeys; and (6) barriers to combining different transport modes or operators.
The impact assessment presents four policy options, with option 3 being the preferred one. It best achieves the objectives, while maintaining a lower level of market intervention compared with policy option 4. Option 3 would provide travellers with ample choice on all online ticketing service providers, including those they use most often.
Points of view
The European Economic and Social Committee is preparing an opinion, to be published at the end of September 2026.
The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) advocates for a level playing field by insisting that new rules for digital booking platforms should apply to all modes of transport, including aviation, rather than targeting rail alone. The organisation emphasises the importance of commercial autonomy, arguing that rail operators must remain free to choose their business partners and negotiate commission fees to prevent the rise of digital gatekeepers.
Furthermore, the CER highlights the need for fair liability standards, suggesting that third-party platforms should be responsible for passenger assistance when they independently bundle separate tickets. To improve the traveller experience without inflating costs, the CER promotes the adoption of open-source technical standards for better system interoperability. Ultimately, the paper warns that overregulation could drain financial resources away from critical infrastructure, potentially undermining the goal of making rail travel more affordable and competitive.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) recommends simpler ticketing and booking, strengthened rail passenger rights and enforcement of these rights.
BEUC would like rail operators and infrastructure managers to share data with intermediaries (vendors, aggregators) under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions. Consumers should receive unbiased information on schedules, fares and real-time travel times regardless of the booking platform. The regulation should include regional train services and operations under public service obligations to ensure a complete offer. Practices such as the claim 'only a few tickets left!' or hidden fees must be strictly prohibited.
Passengers should be entitled to core rights – information, care, re-routing and compensation – for their entire journey, regardless of where the ticket was purchased. Legal liability must be clearly established between operators and third-party platforms, so consumers know exactly where to file claims. Information regarding disruptions must be shared across all platforms to make sure that passengers receive information directly via SMS or email. Currently, 64 % of EU trains are covered by national exemptions to the Rail Passenger Rights Regulation; BEUC demands that these be removed to make rail more attractive.
To ensure these rights, BEUC proposes automated refund and compensation schemes, mandatory participation in alternative dispute resolution schemes and stronger sanctions for companies that fail to comply with the regulation.
Transport & Environment (T&E) makes a case for new requirements on rail operators and independent booking platforms.
All major rail operator booking platforms with significant market power should be required to display and sell available tickets domestically and internationally. This includes selling and displaying willing competitors' tickets under FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms), to ensure passengers can access the best tickets for their journey.
Rail operators with significant market power should be required to share journey data with other willing operators and third-party platforms under FRAND. This includes data on fares, delays, cancellations, disability and bike access, and real-time data, so passengers have access to all the relevant information for their journey regardless of where they booked their tickets.
Third-party booking platforms with significant market power should be mandated to display and sell tickets from all willing operators, including all ticket discounts and offers, to ensure passengers can access the cheapest available tickets and current journey data.
Background information
The Rail Ticketing Regulation is part of the passenger package, consisting of the following files:
Alongside the passenger package, the Commission has also published a report on the implementation and results of Regulation (EU) 2021/782 on rail passengers' rights and obligations.
Together, these files both advance the EU's climate objectives and deliver on the Commission's political guidelines by creating a smoother travel experience for passengers.
European Parliament supporting analyses
- Kiss, M., Passenger package: Towards seamless multimodal travel and stronger passenger rights in the EU, EPRS, European Parliament, July 2026.
- Kiss, M., Multimodal digital mobility services, EPRS, European Parliament, May 2026.
Statement on the use of AI
Any AI-generated content in this text has been reviewed by the author(s). NotebookLM was used to summarise the points of view of three stakeholders: CER, BEUC and T&E.
Disclaimer
This document is prepared for, and addressed to, the Members and staff of the European Parliament as background material to assist them in their parliamentary work. The content of the document is the sole responsibility of its author(s) and any opinions expressed herein should not be taken to represent an official position of the Parliament.
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