Push to integrate cross-border EU rail ticketing

(BRUSSELS) - Travellers should be able to plan and pay for all cross-border rail journeys in one go under a new European Union push to move passengers towards 'cleaner' transport announced Thursday.

The European Commission "today adopted a new regulation to facilitate pan-European rail journey planning and ticketing, by forcing a standardisation of rail passenger data on fares and timetables," it said.

A law change will be brought forward next year by the EU executive "requiring rail operators to bring their IT systems and practices into line, so that the standardised data can in practice be transferred between operators" and made available to travel agents and direct buyers.

"We want to make it as easy, in the future, to book a rail ticket from Barcelona to Brussels or Berlin to Bratislava as it is to book a corresponding flight," said EU transport commissioner Siim Kallas.

Unlike air travel connections, only the big international rail carriers like Eurostar and Thalys currently offer easy cross-border connections and ticketing.

Brussels is promoting rail for middle-distance inter-city travel as opposed to flying or driving as part of efforts to reduce harmful emissions and offset global warming.

Facilitating the exchange of rail data - guide