EN EN

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 13.5.2026

COM(2026) 233 final

2026/0114 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

amending Regulation (EU) 2021/782 as regards the protection of passengers with single

tickets

{SWD(2026) 233 final}

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

The European Union has long upheld a commitment to ensuring a high level of passenger

protection in transport, which is a cornerstone of EU transport and consumer policy. The EU

stands out globally for the comprehensive passenger rights it provides across all modes of

transport, including rail. At the same time, its legal framework has progressively adapted to

evolving mobility patterns and passenger expectations. Rail occupies a particularly important

position in this framework, due to its role in boosting connectivity and competitiveness, in

supporting the internal market and in contributing to the EU’s climate objectives. Rail

transport is among the most sustainable modes of travel and is increasingly promoted as an

alternative to road and air transport, especially for long-distance and cross-border journeys.

Nevertheless, the Single European Railway Area remains incomplete, despite decades of

market opening. Seamless cross-border rail travel continues to be held back by market

fragmentation, persisting monopolistic structures, and technical and organisational barriers.

This has a negative effect on passenger experience.

A key problem that this proposal seeks to address is the insufficient protection of passengers

travelling on multi-operator rail journeys. In practice, many rail journeys – particularly those

involving cross-border or long-distance travel – require passengers to use the services of

several railway undertakings. Even when passengers purchase their journey in a single

transaction on one booking platform, the resulting ticket(s) often do not qualify as through-

tickets under current EU law. As a result, passengers who miss a connection due to delays or

cancellations may be left without rights to assistance, re-routing, reimbursement or

compensation, despite their reasonable expectation of being protected for the entire journey.

Although Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council1

strengthened rail passenger rights and introduced some obligations to offer through-tickets,

these obligations remain very limited in scope. Some voluntary cooperation agreements

between railway undertakings are in place, such as the Agreement on Journey Continuation

(AJC)2 and ‘Hop on the next available train’ (HOTNAT)3. However, these provide only

partial and non-binding solutions and do not ensure uniform protection to passengers across

the Union. This leads to unequal treatment of passengers depending on the operators involved

and the Member States concerned. This in turn undermines confidence in rail travel and

reduces its attractiveness compared with other modes of transport, notably air travel.

1 Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on rail

passengers’ rights and obligations (recast) (OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 1). 2 The AJC is a voluntary agreement among European rail operators allowing passengers to continue

disrupted international journeys on the next available train at no extra cost

https://www.cer.be/cer-eu-projects-initiatives/agreement-on-journey-continuation-ajc. 3 HOTNAT is a Railteam alliance service allowing passengers to board the next available high-speed

train at no extra cost if a delay or cancellation causes a missed connection between member operators

https://www.railteam.eu/en/services-on-your-journey/hop-on-the-next-available-train-hotnat/.

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The Political Guidelines for the European Commission 2024-2029 contain a clear objective to

ensure that Europeans can buy a single ticket on a single booking platform and enjoy

passengers’ rights for the whole trip. Stakeholder consultations show strong support from

consumer and passenger organisations for closing these protection gaps. This support was

voiced in the call for evidence held by the Commission between July and September 2025. In

contrast, railway undertakings express reservations about the initiative, warning of the

increased costs of rail tickets.

The proposal is therefore grounded in the need to close existing gaps in passenger protection

and adapt the legal framework to current booking practices, where multi-leg multi-operator

journeys are increasingly purchased as a single transaction on a single booking platform.

Under the proposal, holders of single tickets for multi-operator journeys will receive

protection (assistance, reimbursement, re-routing, compensation) if a delay or cancellation of

an earlier service causes a missed connection. To this end, the proposal introduces the notion

of a single ticket defined as valid evidence, regardless of its form, of a through-ticket or of the

conclusion of two or more transport contracts for a single journey purchased in a single

commercial transaction from a railway undertaking, ticket vendor or tour operator.

To enable passengers to buy these single tickets, railway undertakings, ticket vendors and tour

operators should be prevented from segmenting or selling as separate tickets any journeys

they can sell under a single ticket. At the same time, for journeys under a single ticket

exceeding 12 hours, the right to compensation should arise only in relation to the delay

affecting the specific individual leg (or through-ticket). This should not apply where the

journey under the single ticket involves a night train service or where the single ticket only

consists of one through-ticket. In addition, railway undertakings should not be liable for the

rights under this Regulation where a ticket vendor or tour operator combines its services in a

single ticket without respecting the applicable minimum connection times.

Generally, while railway undertakings remain liable for passenger rights, they may entrust

another railway undertaking, ticket vendor or tour operator with the processing of the rights to

reimbursement, rerouting, assistance and compensation. Passengers should be clearly

informed before purchase of the single ticket about this transfer of tasks. This transfer should

not affect the liability of the transferring railway undertaking.

The proposal is based on EU’s competence in the field of transport under Article 91 of the

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). It complements the proposals for

Regulations on Multimodal Booking (RMB) and on Rail Ticketing (RTR), adopted together

with this proposal4. By strengthening passenger rights for multi-operator journeys, the

proposal aims to:

• ensure a high and uniform level of protection across the Union;

• support the shift towards more sustainable transport;

4 COM(2026) 231 and COM(2026) 232.

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• contribute to completing a genuinely integrated and competitive European rail

system.

The initiative is not part of the Regulatory Fitness programme (REFIT).

• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area

The EU has put in place a comprehensive and evolving framework for passenger rights across

all modes of transport, including rail. In the rail sector, this framework was primarily set out

in Regulation (EU) No 1371/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council5. This was

replaced by the recast Regulation (EU) 2021/782, which strengthened and harmonised rail

passenger rights throughout the Union. The improvements introduced by Regulation (EU)

2021/782 included improved information requirements, enhanced enforcement mechanisms,

and stronger protection for persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility.

Furthermore, it strengthened standardised compensation and reimbursement procedures,

including by the introduction of a common form for such requests, the use of which should be

further encouraged6.

This proposal is consistent with, and complementary to the existing legal framework. Rather

than replacing the current rules, it builds on Regulation (EU) 2021/782 by addressing a

specific gap identified in its application. The gap in question is the limited protection afforded

to passengers travelling on multi-operator journeys when tickets are purchased in a single

transaction on a single booking platform but do not qualify as through-tickets. While the

current Regulation encourages railway undertakings to offer through-tickets and imposes a

limited obligation to do so, the proposal extends passenger protection in situations which fall

outside the existing provisions.

In this way, the proposal strengthens the objectives of the existing policy framework. It will

ensure more uniform and effective protection for rail passengers, particularly on cross-border

and connecting journeys. It also complements the related MTBR and RTR proposals. Those

proposals aim to improve access to integrated ticketing and travel information, but do not in

themselves regulate passenger rights in the event of missed connections.

This proposal is also consistent with the Enforcement Omnibus (COM(2023) 753) and

Multimodal passenger rights proposals (COM(2023) 752). All three share the high-level

objective of strengthening passenger protection during disruptions like missed connections

across operators or modes. They all aim to ensure full rights to assistance, re-routing, and

enforcement without gaps.

5 Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on

rail passengers’ rights and obligations (OJ L 315, 3.12.2007, p. 14). 6 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/949 of 27 March 2024 establishing a common form

for rail passengers’ reimbursement and compensation requests for delays, missed connections and

cancellations of rail services in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament

and of the Council (OJ L, 2024/949, 2.4.2024). The common form can be found on the Commission

website and is adapted to the needs of persons with visual disabilities:

https://transport.ec.europa.eu/reimbursement-and-compensation-requests-form_en .

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• Consistency with other Union policies

In its Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy7, the Commission committed to improving the

implementation of EU passenger rights. This involves making the rights clearer for both

carriers and passengers, ensuring adequate assistance and reimbursement in the event of

disruptions, and applying appropriate sanctions when the rules are not properly observed. The

strategy also highlights the potential benefits of extending passenger rights within a

multimodal framework (see Action 63 of the strategy). The current proposal is fully aligned

with these objectives, strengthening the EU’s passenger rights policy and complementing

existing legislative measures. This initiative also aligns with the EU’s 2021-2030 Strategy for

the Rights of Persons with Disabilities8 by ensuring that all passengers, including those with

reduced mobility, receive seamless protection and assistance throughout their entire journey,

including when connections are missed between different rail operators. In addition, the

initiative supports the EU High-Speed Rail Plan’s9 objective to expand reliable, accessible

cross-border rail connectivity by minimising disruptions from missed connections. Lastly, the

initiative is also in line with the European Green Deal objectives and the European Climate

Law10. No significant harm is expected on the environment due to the policy intervention. The

initiative contributes towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #13 (“Climate action”).

The current proposal is deemed to have no digital relevance. It does not introduce, modify, or

affect the use of digital means, data aspects, or provision of digital-public services. The scope

of the proposal is limited to introducing rights for passengers having single tickets for multi-

operator journeys and therefore falls outside the application of the digital-by-default principle.

2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY

• Legal basis

The legal basis for adopting EU legislation in the field of a common transport policy is Article

91(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This underpins the

passenger rights Regulations currently in force.

• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)

Rail travel within the EU increasingly involves cross-border and long-distance journeys

operated by multiple railway undertakings. Such situations cannot be adequately addressed by

national measures alone, as passengers’ rights and operators’ obligations frequently extend

beyond the territorial competence of individual Member States. Different national rules

regarding scope and enforcement would create inconsistencies and legal uncertainty. In

contrast, the proposal will ensure similar levels of passenger protection across the EU.

Existing voluntary cooperation agreements lack binding force and do not provide sufficiently

comprehensive coverage or legal certainty for passengers. As many railway undertakings

increasingly operate across several Member States, ensuring uniform rights and safeguarding

7 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:5e601657-3b06-11eb-b27b-

01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF. 8 https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-

rights/disability/union-equality-strategy-rights-persons-disabilities-2021-2030_en. 9 https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/rail/high-speed-rail-plan_en. 10 Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality.

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passengers in cases of missed connections can only be achieved at Union level. EU-level

action would ensure harmonised and enforceable rights for reimbursement, re-routing,

compensation and assistance for journeys involving multiple railway undertakings. This

supports the proper functioning of the internal market, guarantees equal conditions for

operators and provides passengers with the same level of protection wherever they travel

within the Union. Harmonised rights also make rail transport more attractive and support

broader EU objectives such as environmental and transport policy goals.

• Proportionality

The policy choices set out in this proposal do not exceed what is necessary to address the

identified shortcomings in the protection of rail passengers, particularly in cases involving

multiple railway undertakings under a single ticket purchase. As demonstrated in the staff

working document accompanying this initiative, the selected measures provide an appropriate

balance between enhancing passenger rights and avoiding unnecessary burdens on railway

undertakings, intermediaries and national administrations. The proposed amendments extend

existing rights (information, reimbursement, re-routing, assistance and compensation) in a

targeted manner to ensure they are applied effectively in cases of missed connections. These

measures are strictly limited to what is necessary to guarantee legal certainty and uniform

protection for passengers throughout the Union. At the same time, they do not impose

disproportionate administrative or financial obligations on operators or national enforcement

bodies. The proposal represents the most suitable instrument for: (i) achieving the desired

level of passenger protection; (ii) ensuring that rights are applied consistently in cross-border

and multi-operator contexts; and (iii) supporting the proper functioning of the internal market.

It aligns with the principle of proportionality as laid down in Article 5 of the Treaty on

European Union (TEU). More detailed explanation is provided in the accompanying staff

working document, which demonstrates that the chosen measures are effective and efficient,

and do not go beyond what is necessary to attain the policy objectives.

• Choice of the instrument

Since the proposal concerns a revision of an existing regulation (Regulation (EU) 2021/782

on rail passengers’ rights and obligations), the chosen instrument is also a regulation.

3. RESULTS OF EX POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER

CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

• Stakeholder consultations

Strong support for strengthening EU rail passenger rights, particularly for multi-operator and

cross-border journeys, was evident from the responses to the Commission’s call for evidence

in connection with this proposal. At the same time, the responses revealed differing

perspectives on the scope of passenger rights, the allocation of liability, and potential impacts

on the rail sector. There was consistent support for extending passenger rights among

members of the public, consumer organisations and NGOs, who highlighted that passengers

currently bear most of the risk in cases of delays, cancellations and missed connections. They

also pointed to fragmented ticketing systems, unclear responsibility and inconsistent

compensation practices, and many of them called for a journey-based approach to passenger

rights. The proposal reflects these views by strengthening protection for journeys purchased in

a single transaction, by clarifying responsibilities and by offering legal certainty for

passengers.

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Business stakeholders expressed more mixed views. Large incumbent railway undertakings

and their associations supported stronger passenger protection in principle but favoured

voluntary schemes such as the AJC and HOTNAT. They also warned against over-regulation

and negative impacts on service supply. New rail entrants, intermediaries and other business

stakeholders were generally more supportive of the initiative, while underlining the need for

realistic minimum connection times and a clear and workable allocation of liability. The

proposal reflects these considerations through a targeted approach that seeks to strengthen

passenger protection while ensuring operational feasibility and proportionality.

Public authorities broadly supported strengthening passenger rights and clarifying the rules on

through-tickets, but differed on the appropriate scope of obligations. They also emphasised

the need for consistency with existing legislation and effective enforcement, which provided

input for the proposal’s focus on legal clarity and consistent application across Member

States.

• Collection and use of expertise

Two external contractors, Milieu Consulting and Transport & Mobility Leuven, contributed to

preparing the support study. The study is publicly available, together with this proposal.

• Impact assessment

The proposal is supported by a Commission staff working document on the costs and benefits

of the proposal. The assessment updates and builds on the impact assessment accompanying

the proposal for a Regulation on rail passengers’ rights and obligations11 in two main areas.

The first of these is the policy measure requiring single journeys which are sold in a single

purchase, under a single transport contract with multiple tickets, to be always considered as a

through-ticket by railway undertakings and ticket vendors. This grants the passenger rights

under the Regulation (i.e. on information, assistance, reimbursement, re-routing and

compensation) for the whole journey. The second area is the measure clarifying that the

possibility to purchase through-tickets has to be offered wherever this is technically possible.

This should not, however, oblige railway undertakings to conclude agreements with each

other, as this would interfere in their business conduct and commercial freedom. Since this

cost and benefit analysis updates a previous impact assessment, a new impact assessment was

not necessary.

Since passengers will be granted additional rights, they are the main beneficiaries of the

proposal. They would also benefit from cost savings in terms of time and effort. Total benefits

for passengers, expressed as present value over 2028-2050 relative to the baseline, are

estimated at EUR 7.78 billion at EU level.

The assessment indicates that railway undertakings would face total costs of EUR 2.14

billion, expressed as present value over 2028-2050 relative to the baseline. This would result

from the action they would need to take in areas such as: (i) defining the extent of their

financial liability; (ii) coordinate disruption agreements with other railway undertakings; (iii)

updating technical request-handling processes; (iv) revising terms and passenger information;

(v) training sales and support staff; (vi) reviewing legal and financial implications; (vii)

provide assistance, reimbursement, re-routing and compensation of passengers, including

11 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52017SC0318.

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administrative costs12 resulting from having to deal with additional requests from passengers

who miss connections during multi-operator journeys. On the other hand, railway

undertakings are expected to benefit from higher demand for rail travel due to increased

consumer confidence. Intermediaries are expected to face some one-off adjustment costs

(EUR 12.84 million) resulting from IT adjustments and contract revisions, but they would

benefit from higher volumes of tickets sold.

National enforcement bodies are expected to incur one-off adjustment costs of EUR 0.03

million at EU level, linked to understanding the amendments, assessing legal implications and

adapting complaint-handling. While the number of complaints may increase due to more

single tickets, greater legal clarity will simplify enforcement. Overall, additional enforcement

costs for national enforcement bodies and other complaint bodies are expected to remain very

limited.

Overall, the assessment demonstrates that the proposal would result in net benefits estimated

at EUR 5.63 billion expressed as present value over 2028-2050 relative to the baseline. The

benefit to cost ratio is estimated at 3.6.

The climate consistency check has been performed. As shown in the Commission staff

working document, the proposal is consistent with the environmental objectives of the

European Green Deal and the European Climate Law.

• Fundamental rights

Article 38 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights requires that Union policies ensure a high

level of consumer protection. Strengthening the rights of rail passengers travelling on multi-

operator services in the EU will further raise the overall high level of consumer protection.

4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS

The proposal has no implications for the EU budget.

5. OTHER ELEMENTS

• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements

The Commission will monitor the implementation and effectiveness of this initiative. Progress

indicators will include the number of single tickets sold, the number of through-tickets sold,

and the number of complaints and compensation payments. The Commission will gather this

information from periodic reports prepared by the national enforcement bodies under

Regulation (EU) 2021/782.

• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal

The proposal complements the current regulatory framework on rail passenger rights through

limited and targeted amendments to Regulation (EU) 2021/782.

Article 1: Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2021/782

12 The annual average recurrent administrative costs for railway undertakings over a ten-year period are

estimated at EUR 96.1 million relative to the baseline.

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This article introduces the notion of a ‘single ticket’, spells out the passenger protection

regime for such tickets, including on the right to compensation for rail journeys under a single

ticket exceeding 12 hours, and adds the requirement for those selling such tickets to respect

minimum connection times.

Article 2 contains the common provisions of the Regulation with regard to entry into force.

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2026/0114 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

amending Regulation (EU) 2021/782 as regards the protection of passengers with single

tickets

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular

Article 91(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee13,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions14,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1) Effective rail passenger rights should encourage an increase in travel by train. This is

an objective set by the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy adopted by the

Commission in December 202015.

(2) Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council16 aims to

ensure that passengers are protected when travelling within the Union. Passengers

should enjoy uniform rights and high standards of protection throughout their journey.

However, passengers who book a journey with multiple railway undertakings in a

single commercial transaction with a single ticket vendor currently often lack such

protection, risking disruption to their journey and unforeseen costs for travel,

accommodation and refreshments.

(3) At present, there is a limited number of voluntary agreements to facilitate cooperation

in this field between the relevant railway undertakings. Such agreements are intended

to provide journey continuation for passengers making a single journey with multiple

tickets on services of different railway undertakings. However, those agreements are

often non-binding, of limited scope and unknown to passengers, leading to

inconsistencies in their application.

13 OJ C , , p. . 14 OJ C , , p. . 15 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European

Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility

Strategy – putting European transport on track for the future’, 9.12.2020, COM(2020) 789 final. 16 Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on rail

passengers’ rights and obligations (OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 1, ELI:

http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/782/oj).

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(4) To address the shortcomings in current practice, the rights to reimbursement, re-

routing, compensation and assistance laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/782 should

be extended to all trips involving several train services operated by multiple railway

undertakings which are sold for one journey under a single ticket. Extending those

rights to all trips under a single ticket would enhance passenger welfare and provide

comprehensive protection throughout the entire journey, especially in cases of missed

connections between services operated by different railway undertakings.

(5) In particular, the right to compensation should apply to the entire journey under the

single ticket, except where the single ticket covers a combination of several transport

contracts and the scheduled journey time under the single ticket exceeds 12 hours, in

which case compensation should be determined per individual transport contract. This

limitation is justified by the potential financial risks associated with the possibly

significant compensation cost for a journey of such a length, both for the

compensation payable and the administrative costs linked to its processing and

payment. At the same time, this limitation should not apply to a single ticket

corresponding to a through-ticket, as a through ticket constitutes a single transport

contract that is either offered by a sole railway undertaking or by several cooperating

railway undertakings. That limitation should also not apply where the journey under

the single ticket includes a night train service, in light of the specific operational

characteristics of such services, including their frequencies and duration, which places

the passenger in a particularly vulnerable position in the event of missed connections

during rail journeys under the single ticket which include night train services, and also

given the need to promote night trains as a sustainable and reliable alternative for

long-distance travel.

(6) To ensure the effective exercise of those rights, passengers should be able to purchase

single tickets. Therefore, railway undertakings, ticket vendors and tour operators

should be prevented from segmenting or selling under separate commercial

transactions any journeys which can be sold as a single ticket.

(7) When offering single tickets, realistic and applicable minimum connection times

should be taken into account to reduce the risk of missed connections.

(8) Claiming reimbursement and compensation under Regulation (EU) 2021/782 should

be easy for passengers. Railway undertakings are required to inform passengers about

their rights and passengers have the right to submit their request using the common

form adopted under Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/94917.

(9) Minimum connection times aim to limit the risk of missed connections at the stage of

booking and should therefore be applied when a passenger buys a single ticket from a

ticket vendor or tour operator who combines services of different railway

undertakings. Where a ticket vendor or tour operator fails to comply with this

requirement when offering a single ticket, and the passenger misses one or more

connections during the journey, they should be liable to protect the passenger by

offering the choice to the passenger between reimbursement of the re-routing costs

incurred by the passenger or full reimbursement of the single ticket. Furthermore, they

should be liable to pay an additional compensation based on the amount paid for the

17 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/949 of 27 March 2024 establishing a common form

for rail passengers’ reimbursement and compensation requests for delays, missed connections and

cancellations of rail services in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament

and of the Council (OJ L, 2024/949, 2.4.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/949/oj).

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single ticket. This liability of ticket vendors and tour operators aims to ensure that the

minimum connection times are respected. In addition, where a railway undertaking

sells a single ticket including at least one of its own services and fails to respect

minimum connection times, the passenger should remain entitled to comprehensive

protection.

(10) Railway undertakings, ticket vendors and tour operators should be encouraged to

cooperate for the benefit of passengers travelling under a single ticket. Therefore,

while railway undertakings should remain liable in the event of missed connections

occurring in the course of a railway journey under a single ticket, they should be

allowed to entrust another railway undertaking, ticket vendor or tour operator with the

processing of any rights to reimbursement, rerouting, assistance and compensation.

Passengers should be clearly informed before purchasing a single ticket about such

transfer of tasks. That transfer should not affect the liability of the transferring railway

undertaking.

(11) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with

Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the

Council18 and delivered an opinion on [],

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EU) 2021/782 is amended as follows:

(1) Article 3 is amended as follows:

(a) point (9) is replaced by the following:

‘(9) ‘through-ticket’ means a ticket or tickets representing a transport contract

for successive railway services operated by one or more railway

undertakings;’;

(b) the following point (9a) is inserted:

‘(9a) ‘single ticket’ means valid evidence, regardless of its form, of a through-

ticket or of the conclusion of two or more transport contracts for a

journey purchased in a single commercial transaction from a railway

undertaking, ticket vendor or tour operator;’;

(c) point (20) is replaced by the following:

‘(20) ‘missed connection’ means a situation where a passenger misses one or

more services in the course of a rail journey sold in the form of a single

ticket, as a result of the delay or cancellation of one or more previous

services, or of the departure of a service before the scheduled departure

time;’;

(d) the following point (23) is added:

18 Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the

protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions,

bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC)

No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39, ELI:

http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1725/oj).

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(e) ‘(23) ‘night train service’ means a rail passenger service which is scheduled to

run predominantly during nighttime hours and which is composed entirely or in

part of rolling stock equipped with dedicated sleeping accommodation, such as

berths, couchettes or sleeping cabins.’;

(2) Article 12 is amended as follows:

(a) the title is replaced by the following:

‘Tickets for journeys including one or more connections’;

(b) in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, the second sentence is deleted;

(c) paragraphs 2 to 7 are replaced by the following:

‘2. For journeys involving long-distance or regional rail passenger services

under a single ticket, the railway undertaking whose delayed or cancelled

or early departed service causes a missed connection with one or more

services under that same single ticket shall be liable in accordance with

Articles 18, 19 and 20 for all relevant disruption occurring during the

entire journey if the passenger misses one or more connections. Railway

undertakings whose services under a single ticket are missed due to a

missed connection shall allow the passenger to continue the journey on

their next service, subject to the availability of seats.

3. When offering tickets, railway undertakings, ticket vendors and tour

operators shall not segment or sell under separate commercial

transactions any journey which can be sold under a single ticket.

4. When offering single tickets, railway undertakings, ticket vendors and

tour operators shall adhere at least to the applicable minimum connection

times laid down in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU)

2026/253*.

5. Where a railway undertaking, ticket vendor or tour operator sells a single

ticket for a journey which does not adhere to the minimum connection

times referred to in paragraph 4 and the passenger misses one or more

connections:

(a) the railway undertaking shall not be liable in accordance with

paragraph 2, unless it sold the single ticket and operates at least one

of the services under that ticket;

(b) the ticket vendor or tour operator shall be liable to pay

compensation equivalent to 75 % of the total amount paid for the

single ticket and to offer the choice between a reimbursement of

the total amount paid for the single ticket or of the necessary,

appropriate and reasonable costs for re-routing incurred by the

passenger.

6. The railway undertaking liable in accordance with paragraph 2 may

entrust another railway undertaking, ticket vendor or tour operator with

the processing of the rights under this Regulation, provided that the

passenger is informed about this transfer of tasks prior to purchasing the

single ticket. The transfer of tasks shall not affect the liability of the

transferring railway undertaking.

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7. Paragraphs 3 to 5 shall not apply to single tickets which consist of only

one through-ticket.’

_____________

* Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/253 of 6 February 2026 on a technical

specification relating to the telematics subsystem of the rail system in the European Union for

interoperability of data sharing in rail transport (TEL TSI) and repealing Regulations (EU)

No 454/2011 (TAP TSI) and (EU) No 1305/2014 (TAF TSI) (OJ L, 2026/253, 10.2.2026,

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/253/oj).’;

(d)

(3) in Article 19, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1. Without losing the right of transport, a passenger is entitled to compensation for

delays from the railway undertaking if he or she is facing a delay between the places

of departure and final destination stated in the ticket or single ticket for which the

cost has not been reimbursed in accordance with Article 18. The minimum

compensation for delays shall be as follows:

(a) 25 % of the ticket price for a delay of 60 to 119 minutes;

(b) 50 % of the ticket price for a delay of 120 minutes or more.

Where a passenger has a single ticket for a scheduled journey of 12 hours or more

between the places of departure and final destination as stated in the single ticket the

passenger shall only be entitled to compensation under the first subparagraph in

relation to delays affecting the individual transport contracts in the execution of

which the delays occurred. Where applicable, passengers shall be informed of that

limitation prior to purchasing the single ticket.

The second subparagraph shall not apply to single tickets which include a night train

service or to single tickets which consist of only one through-ticket.’.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in

the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

    Resolutsiooni liik: Riigikantselei resolutsioon Viide: Kliimaministeerium /  / ; Riigikantselei /  / 2-5/26-01401

Resolutsiooni teema: Reisijate pakett COM(2026)232 ja COM(2026)233

Adressaat: Regionaal- ja Põllumajandusministeerium Ülesanne: Tulenevalt Riigikogu kodu- ja töökorra seaduse § 152` lg 1 p 2 ning Vabariigi Valitsuse reglemendi § 3 lg 4 palun valmistada ette Vabariigi Valitsuse seisukohtade ja otsuste eelnõud järgmiste algatuste kohta, kaasates seejuures olulisi huvigruppe ja osapooli:

- Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on rail ticketing, COM(2026)232

- Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EU) 2021/782 as regards the protection of passengers with single tickets,COM (2026)233

EISi toimiku nr: 26-0177 Tähtaeg: 31.07.2026

Adressaat: Justiits- ja Digiministeerium, Kliimaministeerium Ülesanne: Palun esitada oma sisend Regionaal- ja Põllumajandusministeeriumile seisukohtade kujundamiseks antud eelnõu kohta (eelnõude infosüsteemi (EIS) kaudu). Tähtaeg: 24.07.2026

Lisainfo: Eelnõu on kavas arutada valitsuse 13.08.2026 istungil ja Vabariigi Valitsuse reglemendi § 6 lg 6 kohaselt sellele eelneval nädalal (05.08.2026) EL koordinatsioonikogus. Esialgsed materjalid EL koordinatsioonikoguks palume esitada hiljemalt 31.07.2026. 

Kinnitaja: Merli Vahar, Euroopa Liidu asjade direktori asetäitja Kinnitamise kuupäev: 06.07.2026 Resolutsiooni koostaja: Sandra Metste [email protected],  

.

EN EN

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 13.5.2026

COM(2026) 232 final

2026/0115 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on rail ticketing

{SEC(2026) 300 final} - {SWD(2026) 300 final} - {SWD(2026) 301 final}

(Text with EEA relevance)

EN 1 EN

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

The Commission Communication ‘The European Green Deal’1 and the Climate law2 and

subsequent amendment3 set both: (i) a climate-neutrality objective to be achieved by the EU

by 2050, and (ii) a clear objective to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by

2030 and 90% by 2040, compared with 1990 levels. The Communication also calls for a 90%

reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transport by 2050 compared with 1990 levels,

while working towards the zero-pollution ambition4. In addition, it calls for a reduction in: (i)

the health impacts of air pollutant emissions by more than 55% by 2030 compared with 1990

levels; and (ii) the share of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30% by 2030

compared with 1990 levels. Transport accounts for around 25% of the EU’s total greenhouse

gas emissions, and these emissions have increased in recent years. Because rail transport

is both largely electrified and an energy efficient mode of transport, greater use of rail

services should help to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption by the

transport sector.

In 2020, rail transport accounted for 5.1% of passenger transport between EU countries and

11.5% of freight transport between EU countries, but for only 0.4% of greenhouse gas

emissions from transport in the EU5. Rail transport is highly energy efficient – accounting for

only 0.6% of the energy consumption of all modes of transport6within the EU – and most rail

traffic runs on electrified lines. EU policy has consistently promoted rail transport, not only

because of these energy and emissions advantages, but also because of rail transport’s clear

socio-economic benefits, high level of safety and capacity to promote territorial cohesion.

An efficient ticketing system is essential for the functioning of the railway passenger

market. The suboptimal functioning of the railway ticketing market in the EU has been noted

among others in: (i) the Commission Communication action plan to boost long-distance and

1 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council,

the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions (The European Green

Deal), COM/2019/640 final, https://commission.europa.eu/publications/communication-european-

green-deal_en. 2 Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing

the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU)

2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’), OJ L 243, 9.7.2021, p. 1. 3 Council of the EU, 2040 climate target: Council gives final green light, Press release, 5 Marc, 5 March

2026, https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2026/03/05/2040-climate-target-

council-gives-final-green-light/. 4 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European

Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Pathway to a Healthy Planet for

All EU Action Plan: 'Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil', COM/2021/400 final, https://eur-

lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0400&qid=1623311742827. 5 European Parliamentary Research Service, Briefing - Improving Use of Rail Infrastructure Capacity,

PE 754.599,

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2023/754599/EPRS_BRI%282023%29754599_

EN.pdf. 6 Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, Ninth monitoring report on

the development of the rail market under Article 15(4) of Directive 2012/34/EU of the European

Parliament and of the Council, COM(2025) 439 final,

https://transport.ec.europa.eu/document/download/49ed336c-86ea-461c-b20c-

1397fab497f5_en?filename=COM_2025_439_F1_REPORT_FROM_COMMISSION_EN_V2_P1_419

1768.PDF.

EN 2 EN

cross-border passenger rail of 20217, (ii) the political guidelines for the European Commission

2024−20298; and (iii) the Commission Communication on Connecting Europe through high-

speed rail of 20259.

After four legislative railway packages, the single European railway area has been opened to

competition, resulting in a better, more diverse and more affordable offering to passengers. In

2024, kilometres travelled by passengers on EU railways grew by 5.8%10, driven by strong

consumer demand and the launch of new services, including by new operators. However,

although significant progress has been made on other fundamental elements of the single

European railway area (such as common infrastructure development, improved

interoperability and better capacity management), rail ticketing remains a significant

structural weakness. The digital revolution in retail experienced in other sectors (hotels and

air travel) has not materialised for rail. The slower pace of market opening in rail compared

with, for example, air travel services, has resulted in considerable differences in the

corresponding markets for online ticketing.

Incumbent companies act as gatekeepers, and they operate the vast majority of passenger rail

transport services while also owning their online ticketing service provider. These companies

can both: (i) use their incumbency to disadvantage competing online ticketing service

providers by sharing data and offers selectively; and (ii) exclude competing railway operators

by refusing to sell on their main online ticketing service the tickets offered by these

competing operators. This situation limits price transparency and reduces the visibility of new

operators to consumers, undermining the business case for new rail services that would

otherwise drive affordability and induce a modal shift. For new operators, efficient online

ticketing is key to reaching customers. For consumers, buying rail tickets is too difficult,

especially when travelling cross-border or when the trip involves the use of trains

from multiple operators. This was recognised in the political guidelines for 2024-202911,

which states that people should be able to use open booking systems to purchase trans-

European journeys with several providers. This challenge is further confirmed in both the

Letta report on the future of the single market12 and the Draghi report on the future of

7 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, Action Plan to

Boost Long Distance and Cross-border Passenger Rail, COM/2021/810 final, https://eur-

lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0810. 8 Ursula von der Leyen, Europe’s Choice – Political guidelines for the next European Commission 2024-

2029, https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/e6cd4328-673c-4e7a-8683-

f63ffb2cf648_en?filename=Political%20Guidelines%202024-2029_EN.pdf. 9 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European

Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Connecting Europe through High-

Speed Rail, COM(2025) 903 final, https://transport.ec.europa.eu/document/download/774e79c9-1ece-

4514-8f16-a2b98049c82e_en?filename=COM_2025_903_HSR.pdf. 10 Eurostat, Rail passenger transport increased by 5.8% in 2024, News article, 31 October 2025,

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20251031-1. 11 Ursula von der Leyen, Europe’s Choice – Political Guidelines for the Next European Commission

2024-2029, https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/e6cd4328-673c-4e7a-8683-

f63ffb2cf648_en?filename=Political%20Guidelines%202024-2029_EN.pdf. 12 Enrico Letta, Much More Than a Market - Speed, Security, Solidarity - Empowering the Single Market

to Deliver a Sustainable Future and Prosperity for All EU Citizens,

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/ny3j24sm/much-more-than-a-market-report-by-enrico-

letta.pdf.

EN 3 EN

European competitiveness13. It has also been confirmed by the outcomes of flash

Eurobarometer 55114.

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU, Article 102) prohibits abusive

behaviour by companies holding a dominant position on any given market. The

Commission, as well as national courts and competition authorities across the EU, initiated

proceedings on the basis of Article 102 TFEU that revealed practices by incumbent

companies such as favouring direct distribution channels, restricting access to ticketing

content and data, and imposing unreasonable fees and unreasonable technical requirements on

third-party online ticketing service providers.

Independent online ticketing service providers are emerging but their growth in the ticketing

market is still modest. With a growing number of rail operators and a risk of fragmentation of

the ticketing offer, it is becoming all the more important for passengers to be able to find,

compare, combine and book tickets in one place.

This proposal addresses the above-mentioned issues in the ticketing market. First, it obliges

operators and organisers of rail services to share their rail products with online ticketing

service providers, when requested.

Second, this proposal obliges railway operators with a market share of 50% or above of

national railway services to open their online ticketing service to any requesting operator or

organiser of railway services. Currently, only incumbent state-owned operators have market

shares of 50% or above of the passenger rail services market and, as explained above, with

their inherited brand recognition and established online ticketing service, they also have a

significant presence in national railway ticketing markets. This 50% threshold is based on

relevant case-law and Commission decision-making practice in the application of EU

competition rules. The notion of ‘significant market presence’ is in line with the notion of

‘significant market power’ in the Communication from the Commission – Guidelines on

market analysis and the assessment of significant market power under the EU regulatory

framework for electronic communications networks and services (C/2018/2374) (EUR-Lex -

52018XC0507(01) - EN - EUR-Lex), which recalls that according to established case-law15,

very large market share held by an undertaking for some time – in excess of 50 % — is in

itself, save in exceptional circumstances, evidence of the existence of a dominant position.

This proposal attaches certain conditions to the agreements that are to be concluded following

these obligations. These conditions ensure that parties that have an obligation or a right to

enter into a commercial agreement do not suffer or impose unreasonable conditions.

This initiative was included in both the Commission 2022 work programme and in actions 37

and 65 of the sustainable and smart mobility strategy. The initiative has been developed in

close relation with the proposal for a Regulation on Multimodal Booking (RMB), which uses

the same impact assessment as this initiative.

13 Mario Draghi, The Draghi Report on EU Competitiveness,

https://commission.europa.eu/topics/competitiveness/draghi-report_en#paragraph_47059. 14 Directorate General for Communication, Flash Eurobarometer FL551 : Multimodal Digital Mobility

Service, https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/s3178_fl551_eng?locale=en. 15 Judgment of 13 February 1979, Hoffmann-La Roche v Commission, 85/76, EU:C:1979:36, paragraph

41; judgment of 3 July 1991, Akzo v Commission, C-62/86, EU:C:1991:286, paragraph 60; and

judgment of 12 December 1991, Hilti v Commission, T-30/89, EU:T:1991:70.

EN 4 EN

• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area

Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council16 establishing the single

European railway area recognises the importance of market-developed common information

and through-ticketing systems. The Directive says that these systems should be interoperable

and non-discriminatory and enable passengers to plan journeys and book

tickets across the EU. The Directive states that Member States may require operators

of domestic passenger services to participate in common information and integrated

ticketing schemes for the supply of tickets, through-tickets and reservations, provided these

schemes do not distort the market or discriminate between railway undertakings. The

Directive requires the Commission to report to the European Parliament and the Council on

the availability of common information and through-ticketing systems, and provides that this

report should be accompanied, if appropriate, by legislative proposals. In previous documents,

the Commission has determined that the availability of through-tickets is limited at present.

With the current proposal, the Commission plans to create the framework conditions that

would enable online ticketing service providers to have a complete offering of railway

products, as well as the right to combine these at will at the request of the consumer (provided

minimum connecting times are respected for the stations where a change of trains is required).

Under the rail interoperability Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the

Council17 the Commission developed functional and technical specifications for telematics

applications (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/25318

or Technical Specification for Interoperability (TSI) Telematics), supporting the

interoperability of data sharing in rail transport. This requires timetable data for rail services

to be shared via national access points deployed by Member States for EU-wide multimodal

transport information systems. It also lays down the data format to be applied based on

European standards as well as the licences to be used when sharing such data for rail travel.

• Consistency with other Union policies

The European Green Deal Communication confirmed the EU’s goal of achieving climate

neutrality by 2050 and the need to reduce transport emissions by 90% by 2050 compared with

1990 levels. The sustainable and smart mobility strategy further elaborated on the

Communication’s goals for transport. The strategy called for stronger measures to incentivise

the use of multimodal transport. The milestones set by the sustainable and smart mobility

strategy included making scheduled collective travel for journeys under 500 km carbon

neutral, as well as doubling high-speed passenger traffic by 2030 and tripling it by

2050 compared to 2015 levels. 

On digital transport policies, the ITS Directive19 lays down a framework for both the

deployment of intelligent transport systems in the road sector and interfaces between these

road systems and systems for other modes of transport. Commission Delegated Regulation

16 Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012

establishing a single European rail area (recast), OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 32. 17 Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the

interoperability of the rail system within the European Union (recast), OJ L 138, 26.5.2016, p. 44. 18 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/253 of 6 February 2026 on a technical specification

relating to the telematics subsystem of the rail system in the European Union for interoperability of data

sharing in rail transport (‘TEL TSI’) and repealing Regulations (EU) No 454/2011 (‘TAP TSI’) and

(EU) No 1305/2014 (‘TAF TSI’), OJ L, 2026/253, 10.2.2026. 19 Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on the framework

for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for interfaces with

other modes of transports, OJ L 207, 6.8.2010, p. 1.

EN 5 EN

(EU) 2017/1926 20, on EU-wide multimodal travel information services requires Member

States to set up national access points for passenger information, including real-time data for

all modes, but only for information purposes. 

As announced in the European data strategy, the Commission is developing actions to build

a common European mobility data space that can facilitate access to, pool and share data

on transport and mobility. These actions will take into account data-sharing mechanisms

developed in transport fora and relevant legislation, including the RMB and this proposal.

On general data policies, by setting sectorial measures in relation to online ticketing service

providers, this proposal complements and does not affect the application of the Platform to

business Regulation21, the Digital Services Act (DSA)22, the Digital Markets Act (DMA)23

and the Data Act (DA)24. In particular, the DA also has particular relevance through

harmonised rules on data sharing including rules on unfair contractual agreement terms. 

The Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices25 and its revision both prohibit undisclosed

advertising and paid promotion that result in higher rankings for products within search

results. This proposal is linked to the RMB proposal, which complements the above acts

through measures that: (i) ensure that search results on multimodal ticketing services are

displayed in a neutral way; (ii) prohibit self-preferencing and paid prominence, allowing

advertised content only under certain conditions; and (iii) set out a list of mandatory ranking

criteria.

On policies dealing with the rights of rail passengers, this proposal is closely linked to

Regulation (EU) 2021/782 on rail passengers’ rights and obligations (RPRR)26. The

RPRR entered into force in June 2021 and applies from June 2023. It replaces the initial EU

rules in the domain that applied since 2009. Among other things, the Regulation:

(i) improves the provision of real-time travel information; (ii) introduces data-sharing rules

for operators and third parties (including ticket vendors and other railway undertakings) when

they have an agreement; (iii) adds a self-rerouting right; and (iv) requires operators under the

same ownership to offer through-tickets. A targeted revision of this Regulation is being

undertaken in parallel to this proposal to increase rights for rail passengers with a single ticket

for a single journey with multiple rail operators, booked on a single online ticketing

service in a single transaction.  This initiative complements this revision by creating the

conditions that would enable rail travellers to book these single tickets. In addition, the

Commission adopted a proposal in 2023 for passenger rights in the context of multimodal

journeys that imposes rules to protect passengers when they transfer between different

transport modes. 

20 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1926 of 31 May 2017 supplementing Directive

2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the provision of EU-wide

multimodal travel information services, OJ L 272, 21.10.2017, p. 1. 21 Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on

promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services, OJ L 186,

11.7.2019, p. 57. 22 OJ L 277, 27.10.2022, p. 1. 23 Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on

contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU)

2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act), OJ L 265, 12.10.2022, p. 1. 24 Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2023 on

harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 and

Directive (EU) 2020/1828 (Data Act), OJ L, 2023/2854, 22.12.2023. 25 OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, p. 22. 26 Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on rail

passengers’ rights and obligations (recast), OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 1.

EN 6 EN

2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY

• Legal basis

The legal basis for the proposal is Article 91(1), point (d) of the Title VI of the Treaty on the

Functioning of the EU (TFEU). Article 91 establishes the EU’s prerogative to pursue

the objectives of the Treaties within the framework of a common transport policy and to set

the appropriate rules to that end. By contributing to the functioning of the transport ticket

distribution market in conformity with the objectives set out in the sustainable and smart

mobility strategy, this initiative forms part of the common transport policy. The transport

ticket distribution market encompasses services inherently linked to transport services. The

initiative thus takes into account the distinctive features of transport. The application of this

initiative will not seriously affect the standard of living and level of employment in certain

regions, and the operation of transport facilities.

• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)

In some Member States, legislation is in place that already addresses railway ticketing or

aspects of railway ticketing.  However, cross-border and long-distance intra-EU

travel requires an EU-wide approach to ensure harmonised rules for operators,

public authorities and ticket vendors alike. Furthermore, EU-level legislation ensures that

citizens in all Member States can take advantage of improved accessibility

and bookability for railway tickets, thereby benefitting from the opportunity to choose a

sustainable mode of transport for their trips, including cross-border. With progress being

made in the process of market-opening and the appearance of additional companies on the

railway market, EU-level legislation helps to make these new-entrants visible on ticketing

websites acting in the EU. This is especially relevant for cross-border services, so that

equal levels of access to railway products for citizens on both sides of the border is

ensured.   Discrepancies between Member States and local authorities in implementing new

rules for online ticketing could further fragment the market. This could result in higher costs

and reduce the benefits for online ticketing service providers, authorities, operators and

transport users. EU-level intervention is needed to prevent divergent strategies with

unintended effects.

• Proportionality

This proposal will enable consumers to benefit from a greater and easier choice of

railway products. In parallel, it strengthens the position of railway online ticketing service

providers and it widens access to indispensable railway ticketing channels for smaller and

new-entrant railway operators. In doing so, this proposal will improve the functioning of

the single European railway area (and the functioning of the single market more generally),

and support the EU's objective of economic, social and territorial cohesion. Action at EU

level with clear and harmonised rules will remove obstacles for railway operators and online

ticketing service providers, and will make rail travel more attractive. This in turn will support

EU level objectives to green the transport sector. 

• Choice of the instrument

By laying down a harmonised, directly applicable framework for the obligatory ‘sharing’

of railway products, as well as for the obligatory 'hosting' of railway products on incumbent’s

online ticketing services, a Regulation is a better way to achieve the initiative’s objectives

than a Directive. A regulation will avoid any differences in national rules and practices, that

could create obstacles for online ticketing service providers and railway undertakings

that operate cross-border. With the ongoing process of market opening in rail, the number of

railway undertakings active in the single European railway area is expected to grow. It is

EN 7 EN

therefore important that equal rights and obligations apply to these undertakings, so that they

can operate in an equal legal framework, especially when they compete with each other.

3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER

CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

• Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation

Not Applicable

• Stakeholder consultations

This proposal, and the legal proposal on multimodal digital mobility services, are based on the

same impact assessment.

As part of the preparation of that impact assessment, various stakeholder consultation

activities were carried out, seeking both qualitative (opinions, views, suggestions) and

quantitative (data, statistics) information. These activities stretched from 2020 to 2025, during

the review of the CRS Code of Conduct in December 2020 and later during the impact

assessment supporting the multimodal digital mobility services and this proposal. Citizens

were asked for their views on five occasions, the two Inception Impact Assessments (IIA),

two Online Public Consultations (OPC) and a Eurobarometer survey.

For the CRS Code of Conduct, an IIA asking feedback to all interested stakeholders ran from

09 July 2020 until 04 September 2020. It received 13 responses. For

the multimodal digital mobility service proposal, an IIA asking feedback to all interested

stakeholders ran from 05 October 2021 until 02 November 2021. It received 40 responses. An

OPC for CRS was launched, on the Commission’s centralised ‘Have your say’ platform, on

23 February 2021 and remained open until 18 May 2021, receiving 23 responses from citizens

and organisations on the potential revision of the CRS Code of Conduct. For multimodal

digital mobility service an OPC was launched27 on the Commission’s centralised ‘Have your

say’ platform, on 1 December 2021 and remained open until 23 February 2022, receiving 336

responses from citizens and organisations on the new multimodal digital mobility service

proposal.

A Eurobarometer survey28 has been conducted during the summer of 2024 and published by

Commission services on 1 April 2025. This survey collected the booking and ticketing

practices and experiences of a representative sample of the EU population, aged 15 and over,

in each of the 27 Member States of the EU. In total, 25 805 interviews were conducted via an

online survey. This survey provides insights on EU citizens’ travel habits, preferences and

experiences, particularly for regional and long-distance journeys. It examines key aspects,

such as: (1) frequency of travel for leisure and work, (2) factors influencing travel planning

and booking decisions, (3) attitudes towards environmentally friendly travel, (4) usage of

different transport modes and multimodal journeys, (5) ease of booking multimodal and

multi-operator journeys, and (6) barriers to combining different transport modes or operators.

The results notably highlight the obstacles encountered by citizens when looking for

sustainable travel options online, as well as their willingness to book such journeys. It outlines

the difficulty for citizens to book multimodal and multi-operator journeys, and the extra

burden citizens face when booking multi-operator rail journeys.

27 See https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13133-Multimodal-Digital-

Mobility- Services/public-consultation_en. 28 See https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/3178.

EN 8 EN

• Collection and use of expertise

The impact assessment accompanying this proposal is informed by an external support study

carried out by a consultant.

Stakeholders provided a significant amount of additional information in the context of the

targeted consultation activities (surveys, interviews and workshops). This included detailed

information on the market structure of the transport market, market structure and business

practices in the different multimodal digital mobility service segments (B2C and B2B), which

helped confirm available information from previous studies and inform the modelling

assumptions and analysis.

The information included aspects such as: typical provisions in commercial agreements

offered by multimodal digital mobility online ticketing service providers to operators, in

particular as regard distribution fees; display practices on multimodal digital mobility online

ticketing service providers; trends in the online ticketing market and evolution of the

B2B ticketing market; interactions between CRS, travel agents and carriers; and SME’s share

and role in different types of multimodal digital mobility service.

Overall, the sources used to draft the impact assessment report were numerous, exhaustive

and representative of the various stakeholder groups.

• Impact assessment

This proposal is accompanied by an impact assessment report. A draft report on that impact

assessment was submitted to the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB) on 10 March 2026. The

RSB issued a positive opinion with reservations on 13 April 2026. The impact assessment

report was adjusted accordingly to address the RSB’s comments.

The impact assessment screened a comprehensive list of possible policy measures and

options, based on the likely effectiveness, efficiency and proportionality of the proposed

measures in relation to the given objectives, as well as their legal and technical feasibility.

Four policy options were evaluated as part of the impact assessment, which was conducted

jointly with the multimodal booking (RMB) proposal.

Policy option 1 proposed a minimalist approach. It contained policy measures common to all

four policy options including measures that establish minimal requirements for ensuring fair

treatment of information and data on MDMS. It also set out the key principles for all

commercial agreements between indispensable MDMS providers and transport operators, and

between indispensable railway undertakings (RUs) and MDMS providers.

This option fully addresses the first specific objective of improving transparency and

establishing a level playing field for transport operators on MDMS by extending the rules of

the CRS code of conduct to all MDMS providers. It sets thresholds for identifying MDMS

providers and RUs with significant market presence, which would be designated by national

enforcement bodies or the European Commission depending on the market in which they have

significant market presence. The Commission would publish a list of MDMS providers with

significant market presence. Such measures would be needed to ensure transport operators are

protected in commercial agreements with indispensable MDMS providers, including by

means of provisions that (1) safeguard commercially sensitive data of operators, (2) prohibit

the inclusion of unjustified or unnecessary contract conditions that could prevent the

conclusion of the agreement, and (3) ensure the remuneration received by online ticketing

service providers is based on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory criteria. Under this

policy option, Member States would be required to appoint a national authority to settle

possible disputes between parties. Moreover, an EU-level network of such authorities would

EN 9 EN

be set up to ensure consistent enforcement across the EU. In addition, MDMS providers

would be required to display information on greenhouse gas emissions, where that

information is provided by the transport operator, while B2C MDMS online ticketing service

providers would have to share data with the public authorities for mobility management

purposes.

To ensure the range of rail services offered on MDMS is more comprehensive, this policy

option offers protection under the proposal for Regulation on rail ticketing to MDMS

providers in their commercial agreements with indispensable RUs by setting rules on

distribution fees and prohibiting restrictive clauses in contracts (exclusivity clauses, unfair

and unjustified conditions, marketing clauses and other technical restrictions), thereby

addressing imbalances in bargaining power during the negotiation of commercial agreements.

Policy options 2, 3 and 4 build on policy option 1 and were specific to the proposal for a

Regulation on rail ticketing.

Policy option 2 strengthens the Rail Ticketing Regulation proposal by mandating that RUs

enter into commercial agreements with requesting online ticketing service providers, provided

that those providers fulfil minimum requirements. The commercial agreements between RUs

and MDMS providers would have to follow fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory

conditions. In particular, RUs cannot prevent their tickets from being combined with tickets

from other operators, allowing online ticketing service providers to sell them as single tickets.

Under this option, MDMS providers would be capable of expanding and ultimately providing

a complete offer.

Policy option 3 builds on policy option 2 and includes in the Rail Ticketing Regulation

proposal a provision that indispensable RU online ticketing service providers shall enter into

agreements with requesting RUs operating in the same geographical area as the indispensable

RU online ticketing service providers, including cross-border services to and from the

Member State concerned. They must apply fair, non-discriminatory and reasonable contract

conditions. PO3 would thus foster the completeness of the offer on both independent MDMS

and indispensable RU online ticketing service providers, providing travellers ample choice on

all online ticketing service providers, including the ones they use most.

Finally, policy option 4 proposes an alternative for the Rail Ticketing Regulation proposal by

mandating the unbundling of passenger rail transport and online ticketing service providers

(i.e. divesting RU online ticketing service providers), so as to remove their incentive to

discriminate against their competitors.

• Regulatory fitness and simplification

The proposal builds on the fact that Member States already collect certain data in the

framework of the Rail Market Monitoring Scheme that will be used for assessing market

shares of railway undertakings per Member State. In addition, the proposal builds on Member

States already having established rail regulatory bodies as enforcement authorities for the

national railway market, including a mechanism for cross-border cooperation and

coordination. This proposal does not contain any obligations for SMEs.

• Fundamental rights

The proposal has no effect on the protection of fundamental rights. The handling of personal

data, both by online ticketing service providers and by railway undertakings or railway

service organisers, must comply with the existing European legal framework, in particular the

GDPR.

EN 10 EN

4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS

Two full-time equivalent (FTE) will be required to support the designation process introduced

by this proposal by the European Commission, streamline coordination with national

enforcement bodies, and maintain an accurate, up-to-date list of RUs with significant market

presence, ensuring market transparency and effective enforcement.

5. OTHER ELEMENTS

• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements

The Commission will monitor the implementation of these initiatives through a number

of actions and a set of core indicators that will measure progress towards achieving

the objectives. In addition, the national enforcement bodies will play a key role in monitoring

implementation. At the latest five years after the start of implementation of the legislations,

the Commission plans to carry out an evaluation to verify to what extent the objectives of

these initiatives have been reached. The evaluation is to be undertaken at a point in time when

sufficient data are available on actual implementation. In that way, it can be assessed ex-post

whether the initiatives are efficient effective coherent, relevant and have EU added value.

Such an analysis will include synergies with the Regulation on multimodal booking and the

targeted revision of the Rail Passenger Rights Regulation.

More detail on monitoring is provided in Chapter 9 of the SWD accompanying this proposal.

• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal

Article 1 defines the subject matter of the Regulation;

Article 2 sets out the scope of the Regulation;

Article 3 presents a series of definitions;

Article 4 sets out an obligation to provide content to online ticketing service providers;

Article 5 sets out an obligation for indispensable railway online ticketing service providers to

host rail products;

Article 6 sets out rules on fair and non-discriminatory contract conditions;

Article 7 describes the process for identifying railway undertakings with significant

market presence;

Article 8 sets out rules on booking horizons;

Article 9 identifies the competent national enforcement bodies;

Article 10 details the tasks and competencies of national enforcement bodies;

Article 11 details complaint rules;

Article 12 sets out rules on penalties for infringements of this Regulation;

Article 13 sets out the conditions for exercising of the delegation;

Article 14 sets out reporting obligations;

Article 15 sets the date of entry into force of the Regulation.

EN 11 EN

2026/0115 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on rail ticketing

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular

Article 91(1), point (d) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee29,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions30,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1) As rail transport is largely electrified and energy efficient, greater use of rail services

should help to reduce transport emissions and energy consumption. In order to achieve

the Union’s objectives of sustainable, smart and resilient mobility, rail transport

should become more attractive in in particular as regards affordability, reliability, and

services that better meet the needs of travellers.

(2) An efficient online ticketing system is essential for the functioning of the railway

passenger market. Various competition cases at Union and national level indicate that

the railway online ticketing market is not functioning optimally. The scarce

availability of tickets issued by new-entrant companies on the well-established online

sales channels of incumbent railway undertakings makes it difficult for passengers to

find a complete overview of available rail services. Likewise, the incomplete

availability of rail products of incumbent railway undertakings offered by independent

online ticketing service providers, makes them a less attractive purchasing channel for

consumers.

(3) The fragmentation of railway schedule information and ticketing across the Union

constitutes an obstacle to the effective functioning of the internal market for rail

passenger services. Easy access to all rail products, starting from the information on

alternatives operated by competing railway undertakings, is key to making the railway

system accessible, attractive and affordable for consumers. Passengers should be able

to find, compare, combine and purchase tickets for railway journeys on a single

ticketing channel of their choice, saving time and effort in finding the offer that best

matches their needs. Online ticketing service providers and railway undertakings

29 OJ C , , p. . 30 OJ C , , p. .

EN 12 EN

should be able to offer customers ever more integrated and competitive services,

including single tickets combining the services of different operators, so that

passengers can make full use of potential of the European railway system.

(4) Railway undertakings may not have an interest in distributing the tickets for their

products through online ticketing service providers that they do not control or where

competitors are also present. That may deprive customers from the possibility of

having access to a single ticket offering. Accordingly, online ticketing service

providers should be able to sell and combine railway products offered by railway

service providers and have the right to enter into commercial agreements with railway

service providers for the display, re-linking, reselling and distribution of their rail

products.

(5) Specific regulatory requirements should be introduced to avoid possible market

distortions caused by shareholding or controlling links between online ticketing

service providers and railway undertakings with significant market presence in the

railway service market. Significant market presence should be assumed to exist where

a railway undertaking holds a market share of 50% or above, as supported by relevant

case law and Commission decision-making practice in the application of Union

competition rules31.

(6) Online ticketing service providers owned or controlled by a railway undertaking with

significant market presence in a Member State have inherited quasi-monopolistic

positions in the rail ticketing market and are the standard reference for rail passengers.

Even after the entrance in the market of independent online ticketing service providers

or rail undertakings, their customer base remains by far the largest, due to brand

recognition, persisting purchasing habits, and difficulties faced by alternative online

ticketing service providers in gaining passengers’ confidence. Because of their large

market share, online ticketing service providers owned or controlled by a railway

undertaking with significant market presence in a Member State are indispensable

railway online ticketing service providers for any railway undertaking offering

transport services in the respective national market, but they are often unwilling to

host the rail products of railway service providers that compete with their vertically

integrated railway undertaking. This prevents the customers of those indispensable

railway online ticketing service providers from having access to a complete ticketing

offering. To ensure broader choice for consumers and avoid penalising other railway

undertakings, such indispensable railway online ticketing service providers should

offer their services on non-discriminatory terms to any requesting party and always

provide the information about the schedule of services offered by competing railway

undertakings. Accordingly, railway undertakings active in those national markets

should have the right to enter into commercial agreements with those providers for

the re-linking, reselling and distribution of rail products.

(7) While commercial agreements are the basis for establishing respective obligations and

benefits, the market processes may be incapable of ensuring fair economic outcomes

with regard to the rail ticketing market. Although Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty

on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) apply to the conduct of online

ticketing service providers, the scope of those provisions is limited to certain instances

31 Judgments of the Court of Justice of 13 February 1979, Hoffmann-La Roche v Commission, 85/76,

EU:C:1979:36, paragraph 41 and of 3 July 1991, Akzo v Commission, C-62/86, EU:C:1991:286,

paragraph 60; and judgment of the Court of First Instance of 12 December 1991, Hilti v Commission,

T-30/89, EU:T:1991:70,

EN 13 EN

of market power, for example dominance on specific markets and of anti-competitive

behaviour, and enforcement occurs ex-post and requires an extensive investigation of

often very complex facts on a case by case basis. Moreover, existing Union law does

not address, or does not address effectively, the challenges to the effective functioning

of the internal market posed by the conduct of online ticketing service providers that

are not necessarily dominant in competition-law terms.

(8) To ensure that online ticketing service providers and railway undertakings are not

confronted with unreasonable obligations, parties to those agreements should be

required to accept fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions. In

particular, the remuneration of third-party online ticketing service providers by railway

undertakings and the pricing by indispensable online railway ticketing service

providers should be considered unfair if it confers an advantage on those providers or

the railway undertakings which is disproportionate to the cost of the service provided

to the railway undertakings. The following benchmarks can serve as a yardstick to

determine the fairness of the pricing and other general conditions: prices charged or

conditions imposed for the same or similar services by other providers; prices charged

or conditions imposed by the provider for different related or similar services or to

different types of users; prices charged or conditions imposed by the provider for the

same service in different geographic regions; prices charged or conditions imposed by

the provider for the same service that it provides to the railway undertaking vertically

integrated with it.

(9) In order to promote rail as an attractive alternative to less sustainable travel options,

tickets for railway services should be made available by the railway undertaking

sufficiently in advance to allow passengers to plan journeys effectively and online

ticketing and other railway service providers to be able to provide their services such

as single tickets, particularly when coordinating connections across multiple operators.

The [new Regulation on the use of infrastructure capacity] requires infrastructure

managers to publish the working timetable 5.25 months ahead of the start of the

timetable period. Accordingly, as soon as services have been allocated infrastructure

capacity in the working timetable the related tickets should become available and

railway undertakings and ticket service providers should be able to sell tickets for the

related railway services at least five months in advance.

(10) In order to provide customers with a full overview of available railway connections

and ensure the same visibility to all service providers, the indispensable railway online

ticketing service providers should, independently of receiving any request from

railway service providers, display on their website the full railway transport offer

across service providers, and include them in the result of searches conducted by

customers. For that purpose, they should use the information available through the

national access points established under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU)

2017/192632 and Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the

Council33, which constitute a single point of access for data users to the static, historic,

32 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1926 of 31 May 2017 supplementing Directive

2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the provision of EU-wide

multimodal travel information services (OJ L 272, 21.10.2017, p. 1, ELI:

http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2017/1926/oj). 33 Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on the framework

for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for interfaces with

other modes of transports, OJ L 207, 6.8.2010, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2010/40/oj).

EN 14 EN

observed and dynamic travel and traffic data of different transport modes, and are

essential to supportfair competition and consumer choice.

(11) In accordance with Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the

Council34 , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/25335 laid down a

technical specification for interoperability (TSI) relating to the ‘telematics applications

for passenger and freight services’ subsystem of the rail system in the Union. It lays

down common, specific and interface requirements for data sharing in rail transport,

including obligations on data sharing and re-linking. This includes timetables,

connection times, station accessibility, tariffs, condition of carriage, as well as real-

time and forecast train traffic data. For rail, those datasets are required to be

comprehensive, regularly updated by railway undertakings and accessible at least via

national access points and can also be used for distribution purposes. When data

remains incomplete and fragmented, this complicates the formation of single tickets,

notably for journeys across borders. A single entry point for consulting data across all

27 national access points would simplify access to relevant data in the whole EU and

promote the provision of trans-European rail services.

(12) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation,

implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to set out detailed

requirements for the harmonised interpretation of fair and non-discriminatory contract

conditions between railway service providers and online ticketing service providers.

Implementing powers should also be conferred on the Commission to allow it to

designate railway undertakings having significant market presence and remove them

from the list. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU)

No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council36.

(13) Since the objectives of this Regulation, which include the promotion of cross-border

rail-travel offering as a sustainable way of mobility and the subsequent need for rules

that uniformly apply to cross-border tickets, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the

Member States, but can rather, by reason of the cross-border aspects of online

ticketing services, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in

accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on

European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that

Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those

objectives.

(14) Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council37 lays

down fully harmonised horizontal rules on the provision of intermediary services,

34 Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the

interoperability of the rail system within the European Union (OJ L 138, 26.5.2016, p. 44, ELI:

http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/797/oj). 35 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/253 of 6 February 2026 on a technical specification

relating to the telematics subsystem of the rail system in the European Union for interoperability of data

sharing in rail transport (‘TEL TSI’) and repealing Regulations (EU) No 454/2011 (‘TAP TSI’) and

(EU) No 1305/2014 (‘TAF TSI’)

(OJ L 2026/253, 10.2.2026, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/253/oj). 36 Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011

laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by the Member States

of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13, ELI:

http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/182/oj). 37 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a

Single Market for Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act) (OJ L

277, 27.10.2022, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj).

EN 15 EN

including online platforms and online search engines, in the Union. This Regulation

should not amend or in any way alter the scope of that Regulation.

(15) To the extent railway services providers, online ticketing service providers and

indispensable railway online ticketing service providers need to exchange personal

data to provide display, re-linking, reselling or distribution of rail products, such

exchange should be in line with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament

and of the Council38. Where those parties agree to implement specific cybersecurity

measures as part of the contractual conditions, such measures should also ensure a

level of security appropriate to the risk to personal data protection.

(16) The obligations imposed on railway service providers and certain online railway

ticketing service providers under this Regulation should be without prejudice to

Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and to the application of national competition rules. This

Regulation aims to protect a different legal interest from that protected by Union

competition rules.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subjet matter

This Regulation lays down the obligations of railway service providers and of certain online

railway ticketing service providers regarding the provision of railway service’s information

and the conclusion of commercial agreements for the display, re-linking, resale or distribution

of rail products.

Article 2

Scope

1. This Regulation applies to:

(a) railway service providers;

(b) online ticketing service providers.

It applies to railway services partly or fully operated in the Union.

2. This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Regulation (EU)

XX [RMB]39 and other Union legal acts regulating other aspects of the provision of

information society services.

3. This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Articles 101 and 102 of the

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to the application of national

competition rules.

4. This Regulation does not apply to:

(a) metro and tram services;

38 Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the

protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of

such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016,

p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj). 39 Regulation (EU) XX on multimodal booking.

EN 16 EN

(b) railway services which are operated for strictly historical reasons or touristic

use that do not usually serve normal transport needs;

(c) railway services on standalone networks intended only for the operation of

urban or suburban railway services;

(d) online search engines, as defined in Article 2, point (5), of Regulation (EU)

2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council40.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘railway undertaking’ means a railway undertaking as defined in Article 3, point (1),

of Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council40;

(2) ‘ticket’ means a ticket as defined in Article 3, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2021/782

of the European Parliament and of the Council41;

(3) ‘online ticketing service’ means an information society service consisting, in addition

to displaying, in re-linking, reselling or distributing rail products, in either a

business-to-consumer (B2C) or a business-to-business (B2B) relationship;

(4) ‘railway service provider’ means a railway undertaking, a competent authority

responsible for a public service railway contract or any other legal entity operating or

organising rail passenger services;

(5) ‘re-linking’ means the redirection of an end user to the relevant online ticketing

service where the availability of one or more displayed rail products can be checked

and the rail products selected by the end user can be purchased;

(6) ‘reselling’ means a service, associated to one or more rail products, provided by a

retailer as defined in Article 3, point (42), of Implementing Regulation (EU)

2026/253;

(7) ‘distributing’ means a service, associated to one or more rail products, provided by a

distributor as defined in Article 3, point (38), of Implementing Regulation (EU)

2026/253;

(8) ‘commercial agreement’ means a written agreement between a railway service

provider and an online ticketing service provider on the display, re-linking, resale or

distribution of rail products;

(9) ‘look-to-book ratio’ means the ratio between the number of requests related to the

sale of tickets (‘look’) made to a railway service provider’s online ticketing service

and the number of actual sales (‘book’) made during a given period of time;

(10) ‘rail product’ means rail product as defined in Article 3, point (4), of Implementing

Regulation (EU) 2026/253;

40 Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012

establishing a single European railway area (OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 32, ELI:

http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2012/34/oj). 41 Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on rail

passengers’ rights and obligations (OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 1, ELI:

http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/782/oj).

EN 17 EN

(11) ‘reservation’ means a reservation as defined in Article 3, point (8), of Regulation

(EU) 2021/782;

(12) ‘vertically integrated’ means the organisational, financial and administrative

integration of the entities concerned under conditions that allow one of them to

control the other directly or indirectly within the meaning of Article 3 of Council

Regulation (EC) No 139/200442;

(13) ‘single ticket’ means a single ticket as defined in Article 3, point (9a), of Regulation

(EU) 2021/782;

(14) ‘content’ means all rail products, as well as associated discounts and functionalities,

including real-time data, that relate to the railway passenger services of a railway

service provider and that are displayed on the railway service provider’s own online

interface or on any other digital channel in agreement with the railway service

provider;

(15) ‘online interface’ means an online interface as defined in Article 3, point (m), of

Regulation (EU) 2022/2065.

Article 4

Obligation to provide content to online ticketing service providers (sharing obligation)

1. A railway service provider shall conclude a commercial agreement with a requesting

online ticketing service provider for the purpose of providing content for the display,

re-linking, resale or distribution of its rail products.

The agreement referred to in the first subparagraph shall not cover tickets that allow

their holders to travel on multiple transport modes, provided that tickets for the

relevant railway service are made available and can be purchased as a stand-alone

rail product.

A railway service provider shall enter into negotiations for the conclusion of the

agreement referred to in the first subparagraph within two months of receiving the

request of the online ticketing service provider. Unless otherwise agreed between the

parties, the agreement shall be concluded within eight months from receiving the

request.

2. Subject to any decision pursuant to Article 11(5), paragraph 1 of this Article shall not

apply where the requesting online ticketing service provider refuses to comply

with the conditions required by the railway service provider in accordance with

Article 6(2).

Article 5

Obligation for indispensable railway online ticketing service providers to host rail

products (hosting obligation)

1. An online ticketing service provider shall be deemed an ‘indispensable railway

online ticketing service provider’ if it is vertically integrated with a railway

undertaking that is designated under Article 7 as having a significant market

presence in any given Member State.

42 Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between

undertakings (the EC Merger Regulation) (OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1, ELI:

http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/139/oj).

EN 18 EN

2. An indispensable railway online ticketing service provider shall conclude a

commercial agreement with a requesting railway service provider for the purpose of

displaying, re-linking, reselling or distributing the rail products of that provider for

rail passenger services that are operated, or have their origin or destination, in the

Member State in which the railway undertaking that is vertically integrated with the

online ticketing service provider has significant railway market presence within the

meaning of Article 7.

An indispensable railway online ticketing service provider shall enter into

negotiations for the conclusion of the agreement referred to in the first subparagraph

within two months of receiving the request of the railway service provider. Unless

otherwise agreed between the parties, the agreement shall be concluded within eight

months from receiving the request.

3. Subject to any decision pursuant to Article 11(5), paragraph 2, of this Article shall

not apply where the requesting railway service provider refuses to comply with the

conditions required by the indispensable railway online ticketing service provider in

accordance with Article 6(4).

4. Independently of any request, and not later than [Publications Office, please insert

the date 12 months of the entering into force of this Regulation], an indispensable

railway online ticketing service shall display and include in relevant search results,

all available railway services that are operated or have their origin or destination, in

the Member State in which the railway undertaking that is vertically integrated with

the online ticketing service provider has significant railway market presence within

the meaning of Article 7 of this Regulation. The schedule of available services shall

be provided on the basis of the information available through the national access

points established by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1926.

Article 6

Fair and non-discriminatory conditions

1. Railway service providers entering into commercial agreements pursuant to

Article 4(1) shall:

(a) not attach any unfair conditions to the commercial agreement or require the

acceptance of any supplementary conditions that are not necessary for the

display, re-linking, resale, or distribution of their rail products;

(b) upon request, make all content related to their rail products available to the

online ticketing service provider, including those subject to availability and

reservations or yielded prices within the meaning of Article 3, point (45), of

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/253;

(c) upon request, supply to the online ticketing service provider all the real time

data for the related railway passenger services which those railway service

providers make available to consumers through any of their own online

interfaces, digital ticketing channels or communication channels;

(d) ensure that all data, including content, provided in the context of the

implementation of the commercial agreement is accurate, complete and up-to-

date;

(e) allow the online ticketing service provider to combine any rail products,

including those of different railway service providers, provided minimum

EN 19 EN

connection times laid down in accordance with Article 15 of Implementing

Regulation (EU) 2026/253 are applied;

(f) allow the online ticketing service provider, when it combines rail products, to

sell that combination as a single ticket;

(g) ensure, where it is agreed that remuneration shall be applied, that such

remuneration is fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory;

(h) ensure that requirements on look-to-book ratios are fair, reasonable and non-

discriminatory, and in particular that, where relevant, those requirements are at

least the same as those agreed with their own, vertically integrated, online

ticketing service provider;

(i) not engage in any behaviour that undermines effective compliance with the

obligations laid down in points (a) to (h) regardless of whether that behaviour

is of a contractual, commercial or technical nature, or of any other nature.

2. Railway service providers may require online ticketing service providers entering

into commercial agreements pursuant to Article 4(1) to accept reasonable conditions,

including the following:

(a) transmission of data related to queries and transactions taking place on the

online ticketing service;

(b) compliance with minimal technical capabilities in accordance with Articles 4,

6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 18 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/253

and the Annex thereto;

(c) demonstrating financial stability and solvency, including compliance with

applicable accounting regulations, and demonstration of sufficient financial

resources to fulfil obligations under the commercial agreement;

(d) providing business continuity plans;

(e) the implementation and maintenance of cybersecurity measures to protect

against unauthorised access, data breaches and other cyber-threats;

(f) requiring guarantees that harmful or indecent advertising content will not be

displayed alongside their rail products;

(g) the timeliness of data exchange and payments.

Reasonable one-off costs incurred for the connection to the respective operational

systems of the railway service provider shall be borne by the requesting online

ticketing service.

3. An indispensable railway online ticketing service provider entering into a

commercial agreement pursuant to Article 5 shall:

(a) not attach any unfair conditions to the commercial agreement or require the

acceptance of any supplementary conditions that are not necessary for the

display, re-linking, reselling or distribution of rail products;

(b) ensure that all data, including content, provided in the context of the

implementation of the commercial agreement is accurate, complete and up-to-

date;

(c) ensure, where it is agreed that remuneration shall be applied, that such

remuneration is fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory;

EN 20 EN

(d) agree to requirements on look-to-book ratios that are fair, reasonable and non-

discriminatory;

(e) where relevant, ensure the protection and appropriate handling of the

following:

(i) personal data in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679;

(ii) sensitive commercial data;

(f) not engage in any behaviour that undermines effective compliance with the

obligations laid down in points (a) to (e) regardless of whether that behaviour

is of a contractual, commercial or technical nature, or of any other nature.

4. Indispensable railway online ticketing service providers may require railway service

providers entering into commercial agreements pursuant to Article 5 to accept

reasonable operational and technical conditions, including the following:

(a) compliance with minimal technical capabilities in accordance with Article 7,

10, 11 and 14 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/253 and the Annex

thereto;

(b) the implementation and maintenance of cybersecurity measures to protect

against unauthorised access, data breaches and other cyber threats;

(c) where relevant, ensure the protection and appropriate handling of the

following:

(i) personal data in line with Regulation (EU) 2016/679;

(ii) sensitive commercial data;

(d) the timeliness of data exchange and payments.

5. The Commission may lay down, by means of implementing acts, detailed provisions

for the harmonised interpretation of fair and non-discriminatory conditions in

commercial agreements between railway service providers and online ticketing

service providers concluded pursuant to Articles 4 and 5. Those implementing acts

shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article

13(2).

Article 7

Railway undertakings with significant market presence

1. A railway undertaking shall be designated as having significant railway market

presence in a given Member State where it provides 50 per cent or more of the rail

passenger services in that Member State, expressed in passenger kilometres.

2. The market presence referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be determined on

the basis of data provided by Member States to the Commission pursuant to

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/110043.

3. The Commission shall adopt a decision designating a railway undertaking as having

significant railway market presence pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article by means

of implementing acts, within six months of receiving the data referred to in

43 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1100 of 7 July 2015 on the reporting obligations of

the Member States in the framework of rail market monitoring (OJ L 181, 9.7.2015, p. 1, ELI:

http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2015/1100/oj).

EN 21 EN

paragraph 2 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance

with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 13(2). The Commission shall,

without undue delay, publish and keep up to date a list of railway undertakings

having significant railway market presence on a dedicated website.

4. If the circumstances that led to the designation of a railway undertaking have

changed such that the railway undertaking has had a railway passenger market share

of less than 50 per cent in the Member State to which the designation relates over an

uninterrupted period of one year, the railway undertaking may ask the Commission

to terminate its designation as a railway undertaking having significant market

presence in that Member State and remove it from the list referred to in paragraph 3

of this Article. The Commission shall assess that request on the basis of the latest

available data referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and, where the request has

been assessed as well-founded, shall adopt an implementing act terminating the

designation of that railway undertaking as having significant market presence and

removing it from the list. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance

with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 13(2).

Article 8

Booking horizon

Railway service providers shall make tickets for a railway service available for sale at least

five months before the operation of that railway service, provided it has been included in the

working timetable as defined in Article 5, point (14) of [Regulation on the use of rail

infrastructure capacity]. This requirement shall not limit the ability of the railway service

provider to vary its fares or add new services to the working timetable over time. Tickets for

added services shall be made available without delay after the inclusion in the working

timetable.

Article 9

National enforcement bodies

1. Member States shall designate the regulatory body referred to in Article 55 of

Directive 2012/34/EU as the national enforcement body under this Regulation.

Member States to which Article 55 of Directive 2012/34/EU does not apply

shall designate as the national enforcement body the enforcement body they

designated for Regulation [RMB].

2. The national enforcement body of the Member State in which a railway service

provider is established shall have the power to enforce this Regulation in relation to

that railway service provider.

3. The national enforcement body of the Member State in which an online railway

ticketing service provider is established shall have the power to enforce this

Regulation in relation to that online railway ticketing service provider.

4. Where an online railway ticketing service provider does not have establishment in

the Union, the national enforcement bodies of all Member States shall have the

power to enforce this Regulation in relation to that online railway ticketing service

provider.

EN 22 EN

Article 10

Tasks and competences of national enforcement bodies

1. Member States shall ensure that the tasks and responsibilities of the national

enforcement body are clearly defined and cover at least the following:

(a) monitoring compliance with this Regulation and taking measures to ensure its

correct implementation;

(b) handling complaints of alleged breaches of this Regulation;

(c) acting on their own initiative to ensure compliance with this Regulation;

(d) imposing penalties laid down in accordance with Article 12, where the national

enforcement body establishes that the provisions of this Regulation have been

breached;

(e) cooperating with national enforcement bodies of other Member States and with

the Commission to ensure the coherent enforcement of this Regulation.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, railway service providers, online ticketing service

providers and any other entity where relevant shall provide the competent national

enforcement body with relevant documents and information at their request without

undue delay and, at the latest, within one month from the receipt of the request. In

complex cases, the national enforcement body may, when requested, extend that

period to a maximum of three months from the receipt of the request.

3. A decision of the national enforcement body shall be binding on all parties referred

to in that decision. It shall not be subject to the control of another administrative

instance. The national enforcement body shall be able to enforce its decisions with

the appropriate penalties.

4. Member States shall ensure that decisions taken by the national enforcement body

are subject to judicial review. The action challenging the decision of the national

enforcement body may have suspensive effect on that decision only when the

immediate effect of the decision may cause irreversible or manifestly excessive harm

to the party bringing the challenge.

5. Member States shall ensure that decisions taken by the national enforcement bodies

are published.

6. National enforcement bodies shall cooperate with national enforcement bodies of

other Member States and with the Commission to ensure the coherent enforcement of

this Regulation, mutual assistance in market monitoring tasks, enforcement,

designation process and complaint handling, including through the exchange of

relevant information while duly respecting the confidentiality of commercially

sensitive data. The national enforcement bodies shall cooperate within the network of

regulatory bodies referred to in Article 57(1) of Directive 2012/34/EU, through joint

consultations and investigations, by adopting opinions or recommendations, or

through other relevant activities. Where a national enforcement body

is designated pursuant to Article 9(1), second subparagraph, of this Regulation, that

body shall be invited to join the network for the purposes of this Regulation. 

7. By [30 June 2030], and every two years thereafter, the national enforcement bodies

shall publish reports with statistics on their activity under this Regulation, including

on penalties applied. Those reports shall be made publicly available on their

websites.

EN 23 EN

Article 11

Complaints

1. Online ticketing service providers shall have the right to lodge a complaint alleging a

breach of this Regulation with the national enforcement body of the Member State

where they are established.

2. Railway service providers shall have the right to lodge complaints alleging a breach

of this Regulation with the national enforcement body of the Member State in which

they are established.

3. An online ticketing service provider that is not established in the Union shall have

the right to lodge a complaint alleging a breach of this Regulation with the competent

national enforcement body of the Member State in which the party allegedly

committing the infringement is established or in whose territory the railway services

concerned, or a part of those services, were provided.

4. The national enforcement body that receives a complaint pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2

and 3 of this Article shall assess the complaint. Where appropriate, it shall transmit it

without delay to the competent national enforcement body in accordance with Article

9.

5. The competent national enforcement body shall handle complaints within a

reasonable time. Where the complaint concerns failure to conclude a commercial

agreement referred to in Article 4(1) and Article 5(2) within eight months, the

national enforcement body shall issue a decision within six months of receiving the

complaint, setting out the terms of the agreement to be concluded.

6. National enforcement bodies shall refuse to handle a complaint if another complaint

on the same subject between the same parties has already been lodged with another

national enforcement body or an effective remedy has been sought before a national

court of a Member State.

7. The national enforcement body of the Member State where the online ticketing

service provider is established and the national enforcement body of the Member

State in which the rail service concerned, or part thereof, takes place, shall cooperate

in accordance with Article 10(6).

8. National enforcement bodies shall provide information on the existence of a

complaint to the national enforcement bodies of the Member States:

(a) in which the online ticketing service provider that is subject to the complaint is

established;

(b) in which the railway undertaking that is subject to the complaint is established;

(c) in whose territory the transport services were provided.

The national enforcement body handling a complaint may also request relevant

information from the national enforcement bodies referred to in the first

subparagraph and shall take that information into account before taking a decision.

Article 12

Penalties

1. Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of

this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are

EN 24 EN

implemented and enforced. Those penalties shall be effective, proportionate,

dissuasive and non-discriminatory.

2. Member States shall notify those rules and measures to the Commission by [date of

application of the Regulation] and shall notify the Commission without delay of any

amendments to them.

Article 13

Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Single European Rail Area Committee

(SERAC) established by Article 62(1) of Directive 2012/34/EU. That committee

shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No

182/2011 shall apply.

Article 14

Report

By [Publications Office: please insert the date 5 years after the date of application of the

Regulation], the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of this Regulation and submit a

report to the European Parliament and the Council on its main findings related to its

implementation.

Article 15

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in

the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from [12 months after entering into force].

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

EN 25 EN

LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL AND DIGITAL STATEMENT

1. FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

1.1. Title of the proposal/initiative

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF

THE COUNCIL on rail ticketing.

1.2. Policy area(s) concerned

Transport, digital services.

1.3. Objective(s)

1.3.1. General objective(s)

Promote rail single ticketing for multi-operator journeys.

1.3.2. Specific objective(s)

Improve completeness of rail offer on online ticketing service providers.

1.3.3. Expected result(s) and impact

Specify the effects which the proposal/initiative should have on the beneficiaries/groups targeted.

The proposal is expected to enhance the attractiveness of rail, by making more of the

existing offers easily available on online ticketing service providers and fostering

combinations of those products, also for multi-operator journeys, into single tickets.

This is expected to encourage modal shift and thereby contribute to the Green Deal

objectives.

1.3.4. Indicators of performance

Specify the indicators for monitoring progress and achievements.

The main milestones considered for monitoring progress and achievements of the

objective are to (i) increase the online offer of rail tickets, including single tickets for

multi-operator journeys (ii) achieve fair and non-discriminatory commercial

agreement negotiations between passenger railway service organisers and online

ticketing service providers. Progress towards this objective will be monitored using

two key indicators: the number of passenger railway service providers present (i) on

indispensable railway online ticketing service providers; and (ii) on key online

ticketing service providers.

1.4. The proposal/initiative relates to:

☑a new action

a new action following a pilot project / preparatory action44

the extension of an existing action

a merger or redirection of one or more actions towards another/a new action

44 As referred to in Article 58(2), point (a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation.

EN 26 EN

1.5. Grounds for the proposal/initiative

1.5.1. Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for

roll-out of the implementation of the initiative

Key requirements include:

(a) Implementation by the rail sector of the data exchange requirements set by the

Technical Specification for Interoperability Telematics, that was adopted in

early 2026.

(b) Adequate enforcement by the national Railway Regulatory Bodies of the

compliance to this Regulation. The Regulation is to apply from twelve months

after entering into force, which would approximately be the second half of

2028.

(c) Before the entry into force DG MOVE plans to organise information meetings

with stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation.

1.5.2. Added value of EU involvement (it may result from different factors, e.g.

coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For

the purposes of this section 'added value of EU involvement' is the value resulting

from EU action, that is additional to the value that would have been otherwise

created by Member States alone.

EU level action is justified because the objectives of the proposed action cannot be

sufficiently achieved by the Member States acting on their own. While legal

measures addressing railway passenger service organisers and online ticketing

services can be developed at regional or national level, the continuity of the EU

transport system requires an EU-wide approach, particularly in rail. A fragmented

ticketing offer creates barriers to seamless international travel, limits the

effectiveness of multimodal transport solutions and limits the effectiveness of public

funding of railway infrastructure and of PSO services. EU-level intervention can help

overcome these obstacles by harmonising data-sharing practices, mandating and

simplifying contract negotiations and fostering competition.

1.5.3. Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past

Lessons can be drawn from the aviation sector and more specifically from the Code

of Conduct on Computerised Reservation Systems (CRS): Council Regulation

No 2299/8945 was adopted to ensure equal treatment of all airlines whose flights

were included in a CRS as to promote competition between airlines in the indirect air

ticket distribution sector. It introduced requirements for results to be shown on an

unbiased display that did not favour the CRS’s parent carriers (or any other carriers)

and to ensure that parent carriers did not favour their own CRS over the others as

well as to ensure that travel agents and finally consumers have access to offers

without bias. The CRS Code of Conduct was evaluated in 2020. The evaluation

concluded that the objectives of (i) ensuring a level playing field and (ii) increasing

transparency remain relevant. The evaluation showed that the Code has not fully

ensured a level playing field for all participating carriers, as regards access to, and

use of CRS services, since it did not lead to better balancing of the bargaining power

45 Council Regulation (EEC) No 2299/89 of 24 July 1989 on a code of conduct for computerized

reservation systems, OJ L 220, 29.7.1989, p. 1

EN 27 EN

of different-sized air carriers vis-à-vis CRSs. However, the evaluation concluded that

the transparency requirements, in the form of the neutral display, remain important,

since travel agents, both offline and online, and travel management companies still

heavily rely on CRS data especially for business travel. Finally, the evaluation

concluded that while promoting rail and multimodal transport remains important, this

should be pursued through broader initiatives rather than CRS-specific rules.

1.5.4. Compatibility with the multiannual financial framework and possible synergies with

other appropriate instruments

The proposal is consistent with other EU instruments and relevant EU policies. and

in particular:

Digital transport policies: Under the Delegated Regulation on multimodal travel

information services (MMTIS) Member States must establish national access points

constituting a single point of access for data users to the static, historic, observed and

dynamic travel and traffic data of different transport modes, for the purpose of

providing multimodal travel information services. Exchange between online ticketing

service providers capable of reservations, bookings, or ticketing however requires

additional data (e.g. real-time fares).

Horizontal data policies: To complement the general principles of the Digital

Markets Act, sectorial measures are included in the Rail Ticketing

Regulation proposal to enhance transparent consumer information and to enhance a

level-playing field for rail ticketing among stakeholders. The Rail Ticketing

Regulation proposal is complementary to the Digital Services Act (DSA) provisions

as it also supports a safe, predictable, and trusted online environment. Synergies with

the Data Act (DA) materialise through harmonised rules on data sharing including

rules on Business to Government (B2G) data sharing and rules on unfair contractual

agreement terms.

Commercial practices policies: The revised Directive on Unfair Commercial

Practices prohibits undisclosed advertising and paid promotion for higher ranking of

products within search results on online distribution platforms. These rules

complement the Rail Ticketing Regulation proposal, which gives rail service

providers the right to be present on the most important rail online ticketing service

providers.

1.5.5. Assessment of the different available financing options, including scope for

redeployment

The recurrent adjustment costs for the European Commission are related to the

requirement for the European Commission to designate indispensable railway online

ticketing service providers with significant market present (SMP) and to coordinate

with national regulatory bodies and to monitor the respective national markets. This

is assumed to require 2 FTE per year from 2028 onwards.

EN 28 EN

1.6. Duration of the proposal/initiative and of its financial impact

limited duration

 in effect from [DD/MM]YYYY to [DD/MM]YYYY

 financial impact from YYYY to YYYY for commitment appropriations

and from YYYY to YYYY for payment appropriations.

☑unlimited duration

Implementation with a start-up period from 2028 to 2030,

followed by full-scale operation.

1.7. Method(s) of budget implementation planned

☑Direct management by the Commission

☑ by its departments, including by its staff in the Union delegations;

 by the executive agencies

Shared management with the Member States

Indirect management by entrusting budget implementation tasks to:

 third countries or the bodies they have designated

 international organisations and their agencies (to be specified)

 the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund

 bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71 of the Financial Regulation

 public law bodies

 bodies governed by private law with a public service mission to the

extent that they are provided with adequate financial guarantees

 bodies governed by the private law of a Member State that are entrusted

with the implementation of a public-private partnership and that are

provided with adequate financial guarantees

 bodies or persons entrusted with the implementation of specific actions in

the common foreign and security policy pursuant to Title V of the Treaty

on European Union, and identified in the relevant basic act

 bodies established in a Member State, governed by the private law of a

Member State or Union law and eligible to be entrusted, in accordance

with sector-specific rules, with the implementation of Union funds or

budgetary guarantees, to the extent that such bodies are controlled by

public law bodies or by bodies governed by private law with a public

service mission, and are provided with adequate financial guarantees in

the form of joint and several liability by the controlling bodies or

equivalent financial guarantees and which may be, for each action,

limited to the maximum amount of the Union support.

Comments

EN 29 EN

2. MANAGEMENT MEASURES

2.1. Monitoring and reporting rules

The proposed measure is focused on policy action and monitoring and does not

foresee any revenue or expenditure management, only the recruitment of additional

human resources (2 FTE).

2.2. Management and control system(s)

2.2.1. Justification of the budget implementation method(s), the funding implementation

mechanism(s), the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed

The expenditure corresponding to these measures will be managed in line with

corporate processes.

2.2.2. Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up

to mitigate them

The Commission applies thorough controls on the management of employment

contracts and DG MOVE abides by strict ethical standards. The legislative proposal

does not entail any revenue collection and does not require any additional control

mechanism.

2.2.3. Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio between

the control costs and the value of the related funds managed), and assessment of the

expected levels of risk of error (at payment & at closure)

The overall risk of errors is expected to be very low and is already covered by the

existing control environment. No automated controls are expected to be required.

2.3. Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities

The legislative proposal does not entail any revenue collection by DG MOVE.

Regarding the expenditures, they are foreseen for the hiring of additional human

resources. The risk of fraud and irregularities is considered very low and will be

covered by existing controls. DG MOVE revised its antifraud strategy in line with

OLAF guidelines in 2020 and plans for a subsequent update in 2026. The local

strategy includes relevant actions to ensure awareness raising on fraud prevention,

dedicated risk assessment actions and ensures an effective and efficient cooperation

with investigative bodies. The corporate framework ensures the right of access to

information, premises and staff to the external (European Court of Auditors) and

internal (IAS) auditors.

EN 30 EN

3. ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

3.1. Heading(s) of the multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget

line(s) affected

Existing budget lines

In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines.

Heading of

multiannual

financial

framework

Budget line Type of

expenditure Contribution

Number

Diff./Non-

diff.46

from

EFTA

countries 47

from

candidate

countries

and

potential

candidates 48

From

other

third

countries

other assigned

revenue

4

Budget line will be available once we have

the new MFF budget structure

Non-diff. NO NO NO NO

46 Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-diff. = Non-differentiated appropriations. 47 EFTA: European Free Trade Association. 48 Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential candidates from the Western Balkans.

EN 31 EN

3.2. Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations

3.2.1. Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations

☑ The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations

 The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below

EUR million (to three decimal places)

Heading of multiannual financial framework 4 ‘Administrative expenditure’ 49

DG: MOVE

Year

202

8

Year

2029

Yea

r

203

0

Year

2031

Year

2032

Year

2033

Year

2034

TOTAL

MFF

2028-2034

Human resources 0.38

8 0.388

0.38

8 0.388 0.388 0.388 0.388 2.716

Other administrative expenditure 0.01

0 0.010

0.01

0 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.070

TOTAL DG

MOVE Appropriations

0.39

8 0.398

0.39

8 0.398 0.398 0.398 0.398 2.786

49 The necessary appropriations should be determined using the annual average cost figures available on the appropriate BUDGpedia webpage.

EN 32 EN

TOTAL appropriations under

HEADING 4 of the multiannual

financial framework

(Total commitments

= Total payments) 0.3980.3980.3980.3980.3980.3980.398 2.786

EUR million (to three decimal places)

Year Year Year Year Year Year Year TOTAL

MFF 2028-

2034 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034

TOTAL

appropriations under

HEADINGS 1 to 4

Commitments 0.3980.3980.3980.3980.3980.3980.398 2.786

of the multiannual

financial framework Payments 0.3980.3980.3980.3980.3980.3980.398 2.786

EN 33 EN

3.2.3. Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations

 The proposal/initiative does not require the use of appropriations of an

administrative nature

☑ The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative

nature, as explained below

3.2.3.1. Appropriations from voted budget

VOTED APPROPRIATIONS Year Year Year Year Year Year Year TOTAL

2028 -

2034 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034

HEADING 4

Human resources 0.388 0.388 0.388 0.388 0.388 0.388 0.388 2.716

Other administrative expenditure 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.0100.0100.010 0.070

Subtotal HEADING 4 0.398 0.398 0.398 0.398 0.398 0.398 0.398 2.786

Outside HEADING 4

Human resources 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.0000.0000.000 0.000

Other expenditure of an administrative nature

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.0000.0000.000 0.000

Subtotal outside HEADING 4 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

TOTAL 0.398 0.398 0.398 0.398 0.398 0.398 0.398 2.786

The estimated impact on expenditure and staffing for 2028 and beyond is added for illustrative

purposes only and does not pre-judge the next Multiannual Financial Framework. The source of

financing and scope of Union financial commitment in the post-2027 period remain subject to the

outcome of interinstitutional negotiations on the MFF 2028-2034 and thereafter shall be determined

through the annual budgetary procedure. All appropriations and staffing allocations as of 2028 are

indicative.

3.2.4. Estimated requirements of human resources

 The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources

☑ The proposal/initiative requires the use of human resources, as explained below

3.2.4.1. Financed from voted budget

Estimate to be expressed in full-time equivalent units (FTEs)

VOTED APPROPRIATIONS Year Year Year Year Year Year Year

2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034

 Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary staff)

20 01 02 01 (Headquarters and Commission’s Representation

Offices)

2 2 2 2 2 2 2

20 01 02 03 (EU Delegations) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

(Indirect research) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

(Direct research) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Other budget lines (specify) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

EN 34 EN

VOTED APPROPRIATIONS Year Year Year Year Year Year Year

2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034

• External staff (inFTEs)

20 02 01 (AC, END from the

‘global envelope’) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

20 02 03 (AC, AL, END and JPD

in the EU Delegations) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Admin. Support

line

• at

Headquarte rs

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

[XX.01.YY.YY] • in EU

Delegations 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

(AC, END - Indirect research) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

(AC, END - Direct research) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Other budget lines (specify) -

Heading 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Other budget lines (specify) -

Outside Heading 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TOTAL 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

The staff required to implement the proposal (in FTEs):

To be covered by

current staff

available in the

Commission

services

Exceptional additional staff*

To be financed

under Heading 7

or Research

To be financed

from BA line To be financed from fees

Establishment

plan posts 2 N/A 0

External staff

(CA, SNEs, INT) 0 0 0

Description of tasks to be carried out by:

Officials and temporary staff The additional work on implementing the Regulation will require an

internal redeployment of 2 establishment plan posts as from the

adoption of the Regulation. The additional work relates to: designation

of indispensable railway online ticketing service provider at Member

State level: The Regulation introduces a requirement for the EC to

designate indispensable railway online ticketing service provider – this

EN 35 EN

will require EC to deal with notifications received from Member States,

monitor developments and monitor the market to ensure that all relevant

service providers notify. EC might also need to deal with

complaints/further investigations related to the designation process.

Over time, EC will need to monitor developments and manage the list of

designated entities (with potential additions or removals from the list).

Further, coordination with national regulatory bodies is needed: the EC

needs to verify notifications from Member States, coordinate with

national enforcement bodies, publish and update dynamic lists on the

EC website. The recurrent process of assessing notifications

received, monitoring the EU market and the coordination with

national regulatory bodies requires dedicated, highly

specialised capacity, especially in view of the specific railway

requirements.

Two FTE are therefore foreseen to streamline coordination, reduce

delays in designations, and maintain an accurate, up-to-date public

register, ensuring market transparency and effective enforcement under

the new regulatory framework. Given the required very specialised

knowledge and the combination of competences (specialised

competition background combined with legal drafting skills), the needs

could be fulfilled by 2 AD posts.

External staff

3.2.5. Overview of estimated impact on digital technology-related investments

Compulsory: the best estimate of the digital technology-related investments entailed

by the proposal/initiative should be included in the table below.

Exceptionally, when required for the implementation of the proposal/initiative, the

appropriations under Heading 7 should be presented in the designated line.

The appropriations under Headings 1-6 should be reflected as “Policy IT expenditure

on operational programmes”. This expenditure refers to the operational budget to be

used to re-use/ buy/ develop IT platforms/ tools directly linked to the implementation

of the initiative and their associated investments (e.g. licences, studies, data storage

etc). The information provided in this table should be consistent with details

presented under Section 4 “Digital dimensions”.

TOTAL Digital and IT

appropriations

Year

2024

Year

2025

Year

2026

Year

2027

TOTAL

MFF

2021-2027

HEADING 7

IT expenditure (corporate) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

EN 36 EN

TOTAL Digital and IT

appropriations

Year

2024

Year

2025

Year

2026

Year

2027

TOTAL

MFF

2021-2027

Subtotal HEADING 7 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Outside HEADING 7

Policy IT expenditure on

operational programmes 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Subtotal outside HEADING

7 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

TOTAL 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

3.2.6. Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework

The proposal/initiative:

☑ can be fully financed through redeployment within the relevant heading of the

multiannual financial framework (MFF)

 requires use of the unallocated margin under the relevant heading of the MFF

and/or use of the special instruments as defined in the MFF Regulation

 requires a revision of the MFF

3.2.7. Third-party contributions

The proposal/initiative:

☑ does not provide for co-financing by third parties

 provides for the co-financing by third parties estimated below:

Appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places)

Year 2024

Year 2025

Year 2026

Year 2027

Total

Specify the co-financing body

TOTAL appropriations co-

financed

3.3. Estimated impact on revenue

☑ The proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue.

 The proposal/initiative has the following financial impact:

 on own resources

 on other revenue

EN 37 EN

 please indicate, if the revenue is assigned to expenditure lines

EUR million (to three decimal places)

Budget revenue line:

Appropriations

available for the

current financial

year

Impact of the proposal/initiative50

Year 2024 Year 2025 Year 2026 Year 2027

Article ………….

For assigned revenue, specify the budget expenditure line(s) affected.

Other remarks (e.g. method/formula used for calculating the impact on revenue or

any other information).

4. DIGITAL DIMENSIONS

4.1. Requirements of digital relevance

If the policy initiative is assessed as having no requirement of digital relevance, provide an

explanation as to why digital means are not used.

This initiative has no requirements of digital relevance: It does not concern a delivery of a

public service. It imposes obligations on certain market players in the area of online train

ticketing. Data exchange as a result of these obligations is to be structured in compliance

with existing legislation, notably the Technical Specification for Interoperability Telematics

(TSI TEL), Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/253, adopted in February

2026.

Otherwise, please list the requirements of digital relevance in the table below:

Reference to

the

requirement

Requirement

description

Actor(s)

affected or

concerned by

the

requirement

High-level

Processes Categories

50 As regards traditional own resources (customs duties, sugar levies), the amounts indicated must be net

amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 20% for collection costs.

EN 38 EN

4.2. Data

This imitative does not introduce a new reporting obligation, as it makes use of existing

obligations under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1100. Any data

exchange that would be needed between stakeholders, will be based on an commercial

agreement, and will be governed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/253

(TSI Telematics).

4.3. Digital solutions

4.4.Interoperability assessment

4.5. Measures to support digital implementation

No digital solution is introduced by this initiative.

The initiative does not introduce digital public services.

No requirements of digital relevance identified in section 4.1.