Brussels states that the proposals support single-ticket reservations, making the rail market more accessible and transparent.

The European Commission states, "Passengers in the European Union (EU) struggle to compare travel options and identify the most sustainable choices, especially for cross-border travel and train tickets."

The three proposals, adopted on 13 May, aim to create a “platform independent of the rail operator's ticketing service” that allows users to “find, compare and purchase combined services from different rail operators on a single ticket”.

Brussels notes, "Many passengers face obstacles when combining different transport services. Booking multi-leg train journeys involving tickets from different companies becomes complex, largely because fragmented booking systems and dominant railway companies create challenges."

Furthermore, the European Commission states in its press release that “passenger protection is limited on rail journeys involving multiple tickets from different rail operators,” and therefore aims to change this reality by guaranteeing “new and comprehensive protection” for passengers holding a single ticket.

“In the event of missed connections during rail journeys with multiple operators, passengers with a single ticket will benefit from new and comprehensive protection of passenger rights, including assistance, rerouting, reimbursement and compensation,” the European Commission affirms.

At the same time, “new obligations will also be imposed on platforms and ticketing operators,” allowing them to “ensure equitable access to ticket sales and the neutral presentation of travel options.”

“Platforms will be required to present offers in a neutral manner, including screening for greenhouse gas emissions whenever possible. The rules will ensure that all transport operators can enter into fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory commercial agreements with ticketing platforms, and vice versa,” explains the European Commission.

After adopting these proposals, the European Commission will submit draft regulations to the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament, where both institutions will review, discuss, and potentially amend them as part of the ordinary legislative procedure before final approval.

“In order to develop seamless reservation and ticketing systems, Member States should also accelerate the implementation of the rules of the Intelligent Transport Systems Directive regarding the sharing of data on multimodal transport at national access points,” the information released further indicates.

The proposals also promote the EU action plan to boost cross-border and long-distance rail transport, as well as the plan to connect Europe through high-speed rail.

A recent Eurobarometer survey shows high public demand for seamless travel and reliable online reservations.