The European Union should mandate ticket sharing and competitor display in upcoming law to make rail a more attractive and competitive option, Transport & Environment argues. 

The difficulties of booking train tickets across separate rail operators are turning away many long-distance travellers. Almost two thirds of long-distance rail travellers (61%) have avoided using trains due to booking hassle at least once, a new YouGov poll for T&E in seven European countries finds . 43% of long-distance rail users would use rail more for long distance travel if booking online was easier.

Getting rail tickets is often an odyssey because many operators block external platforms from selling their tickets and hide competitors’ offers on their own sites, T&E said.

When asked what changes they would support, train travellers expressed clear views: 46% said they want to be able to book all their rail trips on a single platform, while 42% said operators’ booking platforms should show all available trains for a given route – not just their own. 

By contrast, only 10% think the current system, where train companies decide where their tickets are sold, is preferable. These results underline the urgent need for change. T&E therefore calls not only for mandatory ticket sharing, but also for operators to display competitors’ journeys, as legacy operators’ booking websites and apps dominate the market.

Victor Thévenet, rail policy manager at T&E, said: “Long-distance travellers face unnecessarily burdensome booking processes by design. This must change if rail is to be a real alternative for cross‑border travel. The EU should ensure travellers can book in just a few clicks so rail travel is no worse than other modes. The EU’s Single Ticketing Package in early 2026 is a key opportunity to make this happen.”

The poll also shows young people have a stronger desire to make rail a better option for cross‑border travel. Among 18‑ to 24‑year‑olds travelling long distances, 69% have avoided buying a ticket due to booking difficulties (compared to 61% of all long-distance travellers), and 41% of all 18- to 24-year-olds would like to use rail more if booking online were easier (vs 35% of all respondents). A greater share of people aged 18-24 also think it is important that the climate impact of trips be shown for all modes of transport when booking (60% vs 46%).

In October 2025, the ‘Youth on Track‘ coalition was launched in Brussels in Belgium to push for a seamless booking process and more affordable rail tickets. Founded by youth, consumer and environmental organisations, it calls for easier booking of cross‑border journeys across operators.

The coalition is also raising its voice for stronger rail passengers’ rights, which are a key measure to address some of the negative implications of the absence of tickets covering several rail operators: when a connection is missed, travellers should automatically be allowed to hop on the next available train at no extra cost. This is something 50% of the poll’s respondents support.

Victor Thévenet adds: “Poor passengers’ rights mean that when you miss a train, passengers are sometimes left stranded. This is a real barrier to greater use of rail travel. The EU’s upcoming review of rail passengers’ rights must make the “hop in the next train” guarantee become reality. With competition kicking off on many European markets, this is becoming a critical issue also for national connections. ”

About the survey

1. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 10,514 adults in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, and Romania. Fieldwork was undertaken between 4th – 16th September 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been given an even weighting for each country to produce an ‘average’ value.
2. Long-distance travellers are those taking a train for a distance of minimum 300 kilometres at least once a year.
3. Members of the coalition include: Erasmus by Train, EU&U, EYCA, BEUC, Young European Federalists, Generation Climate Europe, World Scouting, Europe on Rail, European Passengers’ Federation and T&E.

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