Press remarks by Executive Vice-President Fitto and Commissioner Tzitzikostas on the Passenger Package

Executive Vice-President Fitto

 

Good afternoon,
Today, the College of Commissioners adopted the Passenger Mobility Package.
This package includes three legislative proposals:
• a Regulation on Rail Ticketing;
• a Regulation on Multimodal Digital Mobility Services;
• and an amendment to the Regulation on Rail Passenger Rights.
Commissioner Tzitzikostas will walk you through the different elements of the package.
I will be brief. I just want to highlight a few points that go beyond the technical content.

In November, we presented the High-Speed Rail Action Plan.
That initiative focused on the supply side: building networks, strengthening infrastructure, and supporting the sector.
Today, we move to the demand side.
Today, we act for passengers.
It is not always useful to compare rail and air transport. They respond to very different logics and serve different needs.
But there is one thing air travel does very well: it is simple.
You search,
you compare,
you book
in a matter of minutes, on one platform.
That simplicity should not be a privilege reserved to air travel.
Rail passengers deserve the same experience.
That is exactly what this package delivers.
One ticketing system. More transparency. More choice. More protection.

Rail mobility is not an isolated policy area.
It is a strategic issue for Europe.
Rail connectivity is not only a transport issue.
It is also a cohesion issue and a Single Market issue.
When we make it easier to move across Europe by train — when we reduce fragmentation and make borders less visible — we strengthen our internal market.
We strengthen territorial cohesion.
This is especially important for people living in internal border regions.
Every day, cross-border workers, students and travellers move between neighbouring countries.
This means better opportunities for citizens and stronger connections between our regions.
Third point.
The work we are presenting today is also important for the European Strategy for the Right to Stay we launched last week.
People are more likely to remain in their region if they feel connected to opportunities.
If they can travel easily to study, work or access services — and return home without unnecessary barriers.
Rail is part of that answer.

Let me close by thanking Commissioner Tzitzikostas for his strong commitment and excellent work on this package.
This is another concrete step towards a more connected Europe.

Thank you.

 

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Commissioner Tzitzikostas

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

Freedom of movement is indeed one of Europe's greatest achievements.

Today, we are taking it a step further, by making travel across all 27 Member States, simpler, smarter and more passenger friendly.

With digital tools and integrated mobility services, Europeans will be able with a click of one button to plan, compare and purchase multimodal journeys across borders, while benefiting from stronger rail passenger rights, greater transparency and better protection every step of the way.

Rail is one of the safest, most comfortable and most sustainable ways to travel.

Europe already has more than 200,000 kilometres of railway lines connecting our countries, connecting our regions and our cities.

But despite the enormous network that we have, too many Europeans still experience rail travel as complicated.

Passengers tell us the same things: 

Finding the best route may be difficult.

Comparing prices is frustrating.

Booking cross-border journeys is too complicated.

And passenger rights in the event of missed connections are not clear.

In short: Europe has very good rail infrastructure in most cases, and we are working to improve it further, investing in cross-border links and high-speed rail.

But we do not yet have a truly seamless passenger experience.

But today we are changing that.

With the passenger package we are presenting, covering multimodal booking, rail ticketing and rail passenger rights, we are lifting in other words these barriers making regional, long-distance and cross-border rail travel easier to plan and to book.

Of course it is very important to know that this is about making European mobility work better for people.

Our vision is clear:

One journey, one ticket.

Passengers should not need to navigate through multiple websites, compare disconnected systems, or worry whether their tickets are compatible with one another.

They should be able to easily search, compare, combine and buy transport options across different operators and across different modes of transport, whether train, bus or air.

And they should be able to do so, with full transparency on prices, conditions and, where feasible, greenhouse gas emissions.

Transparency and fairness are the heart of this package that we present today.

Passengers should be able to make informed choices.

And when they choose train, booking should become a lot easier.

If, for example, a journey involves several trains, operated by different companies, across multiple Member – States, passengers should still be able to buy that journey as a single ticket in one transaction and most importantly, if something goes wrong, if the first train for example is delayed, and if a connection is lost, passengers will be fully protected.

That means clear rights to assistance, rerouting, reimbursement or compensation, of course depending on the exact circumstances. 

This is about providing passengers not only with convenience, but also with confidence. 

At the same time, minimum connection times will be respected when single tickets are sold, ensuring that these journeys are reliable. 

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today's package is also about opening up the European rail ticketing market and creating a fairer competitive environment.

Rail operators will be required to make their ticket data available to independent ticket vendors that wish to sell them.

So ticket companies will be able to offer more rail options to passengers, also in combination with other modes of transport, making it easier for passengers to find multimodal options.

And ticketing platforms owned today by major rail operators in Europe, will also need to sell or re-link tickets from competing rail services, when other operators request it.

This is a major step forward for transparency but also for consumer choice.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

As a first step, within 12 months after the new rules enter into force, major rail ticketing platforms will have to display timetable information, for all rail services operating domestically, including the cross-border connections departing from and arriving from the country. 

In practice, this means that if passengers search for a train connection on a national rail operator's website, they will also be available to see alternative rail services offered by competitors. 

This matters because in our view transparency drives competition.

And competition always benefits passengers.

So we strongly believe that these new rules, can also contribute to more affordable rail travel over time, lowering the train ticket prices, because easier comparison of ticket prices and services, encourages operators to compete and offer more attractive ticket prices. 

But this package is not only good for passengers. 

It is also good for businesses including SMEs, innovation and the European rail sector as a whole:

Smaller and newer operators will gain better visibility and fairer access to customers.

Travel platforms and SMEs will be able to offer more integrated services.

And as booking becomes simpler, we expect more Europeans to choose rail more often.

That means more passengers for operators, stronger connectivity across Europe and more sustainable transport.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

As I said in the beginning, freedom of movement is one of Europe's greatest achievements.

But freedom of movement must also be easy to use in our everyday life.

Today's Passenger Package brings us closer to a truly integrated European transport area, one where travelling across borders is as simple, as seamless as possible.

One journey, one ticket, full rights for the passengers.

That is the direction we move in. 

This is the Future.

And this is what this package is about.

Thank you.