EU to standardise rail bookings

The European Commission announced plans on Thursday for rail passengers travelling in Europe to be able buy tickets and co-ordinate their travel plans by train, making rail travel as easy as air travel.

Rail passengers face a number of systems when planning trips through the EU's 27 member states, making it simpler for travellers to book air tickets instead. Under the new EU regulation, reservation and ticket details will be standardised, allowing information exchanges between rail companies and ticket vendors. The regulation requires operators to make timetabling open to the public and force rail partners to share fare information. The goal is to move to a pan-European system because currently passenger data is handled differently in each country.

Rail travel is generally seen as more environmentally friendly than flying and, according to EU Transport Commissioner, Siim Kallas, standardised ticketing procedures would help the railways compete with airlines in Europe. He called the new regulation "just the start of a much bigger push to make pan-European rail planning and ticketing a reality".

Currently, cross-border rail bookings are limited because national booking systems cannot exchange data seamlessly, the Commission says.

The EU will present a second regulation next year that will require rail operators to standardise their computer systems and practices to facilitate the transfer of data between them. These technical changes establish the foundation for the launch of pan-European rail passenger journey planners and ticketing tools in coming years.