Joint letter: We can make travelling by rail cheaper by reducing rail tolls
An alliance of rail operators, ticket vendors and civil society, committed to make rail more affordable, calls upon the the Member States to:
- Reduce rail tolls for trains with high capacity. Passenger trains should aim at offering as many seats as possible per train to incentivise a high load factor;
- Reduce rail tolls for night trains and cross-border trains;
The alliance also calls upon the European Commission to:
- Revise the Single European Railway Area Directive (2012/34/EU) to set incentives for lower rail tolls for the segments mentioned above. The upcoming guidelines4 will not be sufficient to achieve change. Legislative action is needed to stop excessive tolls.
Renfe’s Commitments: Good First Step, but not Enough to Ensure Transparent and Impartial Rail Ticket Retail for EU Citizens
The EU Commission last week accepted the Spanish state-owned passenger rail incumbent Renfe's commitments to a fairer, more transparent market - a step that ALLRAIL welcomes.These commitments, now legally binding, constitute a positive step following the DB precedent last year in Germany and can lead to enhanced competition in the European rail ticketing market, allowing independent ticket vendors more chance to compete with the in-house ticket vendor of market-dominant Renfe.
Czech Republic: Court Declares Non-Reappointment Of Rail Regulator’s Ex-President Unlawful, Amidst Plans to Dissolve The Regulator
The Czech Republic's rail regulator, ÚPDI, is on the brink of dissolution, despite a recent court decision on the process of reappointment of the ex-President. Our previous warnings are now a stark reality.
The Ministry of Transport's quick pivot to merge ÚPDI with the National Competition Authority (NCA) under flimsy cost-saving pretexts exposes deeper issues.
Progress With Passenger Rail Market Opening Remains Extremely Weak – There Is Still So Much To Do
Last week, the 8th EU Rail Market Monitoring Report (RMMS) was published. It claims that new entrants now have 14% market share in EU passenger rail, but we think this is inflated – in reality it is just 6%. For passenger rail, the RMMS Report is a climate disaster.
Bahnreisende in Großbritannien können ihre Fahrscheine wesentlich leichter als in der EU kaufen – Es ist Zeit, dies zu ändern
Im Großbritannien werden alle Bahnfahrkarten bei allen Fahrkartenverkäufern verkauft. Die Deutsche Bahn (DB) und ihr Lobbyverband verweigern dies jedoch in Deutschland und der EU - warum schränken sie die Bahnoptionen ein, die Fahrgäste buchen können?