Simplified International Train Ticket Purchases on the Horizon
Purchase transcontinental train journey passes online, much like buying airline tickets - Purchasing Train Tickets Abroad: A Similar Process to Buying Airline Tickets
European train journeys are set to become more convenient from autumn 2024. The Deutsche Bahn will connect to a unified technical interface, aiming to streamline the previously fragmented system. By the end of 2026, the DB will be able to sell tickets from all major neighboring country railways directly through bahn.de and the DB Navigator app.
Michael Peterson, member of the DB long-distance traffic board, notes the robust growth in international long-distance traffic. In 2024, the state-owned company experienced its strongest year in this sector with a growth of 22% compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019.
Currently, many obstacles exist when traveling by train in Europe. Matthias Gastel, Green politician, and member of the German Bundestag, highlights the complex ticket purchasing process as a significant issue. For cross-border trips, multiple tickets are often required, each purchased individually. This not only proves troublesome for passengers but also leaves them without passenger rights, such as in the case of missed connecting trains. For competitor services like Flix, tickets cannot be purchased via the Bahn due to the DB's high commission expectations.
Additionally, technical problems arise when operating cross-border tracks. Sebastian Wilken, an international train travel blogger, points out issues related to power supply, signaling technology, track gauge, language skills of train drivers, and more.
European railways have agreed to implement the Open Sales and Distribution Model (OSDM) interface standard to address these issues. DB manager Peterson describes OSDM as the "language in which European railways and distribution service providers will exchange their data with each other." By adopting this standard, operators will have access to each other's entire ticket portfolio. Initially, Austrian and Swiss federal railways ÖBB and SBB will be the first to implement OSDM from autumn 2025, with more partners joining monthly. The DB expects almost all of Europe to be covered by the end of next year, paving the way for a unified rail network.
While the implementation of OSDM offers advantages for DB customers, such as easier booking and direct price information, it also faces challenges due to high costs and complex implementation for new market entrants. Flix, a competitor of the Bahn, has expressed concerns about these difficulties.
The need for a streamlined rail travel process has also been recognized by the EU Commission, which plans to present a legislative proposal "on uniform digital booking and ticket services" to ensure Europeans can purchase a single ticket on a single platform for trans-European trips. The DB shares the EU Commission's goals but has concerns about the authority's proposed standard not aligning with OSDM.
Overall, the implementation of OSDM aims to improve international train ticket purchases by creating a more efficient system for accessing and booking tickets across multiple rail operators. This will offer benefits such as a convenient single transaction for complex journeys, real-time data exchange for competitive pricing, and enhanced passenger experiences with updates via mobile phones. Despite these advantages, challenges like high costs and complexity for new entrants may slow down the integration process.
- The implementation of the Open Sales and Distribution Model (OSDM) interface standard in European railways, starting with ÖBB and SBB from autumn 2025, is aimed at making international train ticket purchases easier by providing a unified language for exchanging data between European railways and distribution service providers.
- As the European Union Commission plans to present a legislative proposal "on uniform digital booking and ticket services," aligning with the goals of Deutsche Bahn, the streamlined rail travel process is expected to further unfold, enabling Europeans to purchase a single ticket for trans-European trips on a single platform, benefiting from a more efficient system and enhanced passenger experiences.
