The EU could force railway companies to sell rivals’ tickets on their websites and share data with booking platforms under plans scheduled to be unveiled on May 13 aiming to boost train travel, sources said.
Brussels wants to improve rail connections across Europe to cut carbon emissions from air transport.
But dreams of seamless cross-country journeys rub up against a fragmented network broken into national systems that critics say create hurdles and push up costs.
Passengers often have to buy tickets from different operators to patch together a multi-country journey.
The European Commission is seeking to change with new rules aimed at ensuring that travelers can buy a single ticket on a single platform for such trips.
But the proposal is fiercely opposed by rail operators, which could hamper its chances to become law as it is.
Train tickets in Europe are currently largely bought from national rail operators, according to advocacy group Transport & Environment (T&E).
These operators often dominate the local market and have little incentive to open up their ticketing platforms to competitors, critics say.
The new law would compel them to display rivals’ offers on their websites and make their own tickets available via booking platforms, allowing passengers to compare prices and book a trip in one go, according to an EU source.
A 2025 survey by pollster YouGov for T&E found that almost two in three respondents had avoided trips because the booking process was a hassle, with studies showing that booking a train ride takes on average 70 percent longer than for a flight.
The commission is also expected to update passengers’ rights when they miss a connection, from compensation to the ability to hop on the next train.
