The European Commission’s recent proposal to make rail bookings less complex and boost passenger protections is an important step in the right direction, a spokesperson for Rail Europe has indicated.
Reflecting on the proposal – which at its heart advocates for the idea of ‘one journey, one ticket’ for pax booking with multiple rail operators – Rail Europe told travelBulletin‘s sister publication Travel Daily that the reforms need to address frustration from passengers who need to navigate a fragmented booking system when using multiple operators or crossing borders.
“The challenge is rarely the trains themselves; more often, it is everything around them like different systems, rules, separate tickets and booking experiences that do not always feel fully connected,” Rail Europe said.
“A lot of the discussion around this proposal has focused on technology platforms and commercial models, but from a traveller perspective, the issue is actually much simpler – if rail becomes too difficult to understand or book internationally, people are less likely to choose it.”
Rail Europe added a more connected approach to rail would likely enhance its relationships with operators even more.
