For further details see here a recent article in The Guardian >> https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/26/uk-government-backs-return-of-international-rail-travel-to-kent-stations?utm_term=68d61345380b57f0124f3767119ca142&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUK_email

MEANWHILE, THERE WILL BE FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN DECEMBER WITH TRAIN SERVICES ON THE EUROPEAN MAINLAND >>>

From the December timetable change, there will be more Eurocity services between Berlin, Poznan and Warsw and a new direct service from Leipzig to Wroclaw, Krakow and Premsyl in southern Poland.

In Austria, the new “Koralbahn” tunnel will open in December, reducing journey times between Vienna and Klagenfurt in Southern Austria by about 45 minutes. This will also reduce the daytime journey between Vienna and Venice – which are two very popular destinations.

AND EASIER THROUGH TICKETING >>>

After a break of a few years, you can now again book through tickets from London with Deutsche Bahn to destinations in Germany and beyond.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wants Europeans to have easier international train travel. In her new term, it will be possible to travel across several countries with a single train ticket, she promised at her re-election.

“Cross-border rail travel is still too difficult for many residents,” Von der Leyen wrote in her political policy guidelines 2024-2029, a document she sent to the European Parliament on the occasion of her re-election. In the document, the Commission president points out that a separate ticket is now required for each rail operator. There is also no protection for passengers if trains are late, break down or if they miss a connection.

Climate targets

The barriers to international rail transport are driving the EU’s climate goals into the wheels, the Brussels top woman believes. “To meet those targets, we need to make it easier for residents to switch to more sustainable options.” There should therefore be a booking system that allows travellers to buy a single ticket across Europe. This should also better define their rights, Von der Leyen said.

This is not the first time Von der Leyen has made plans to streamline international rail transport. Back in 2020, she also presented plans for a new ticketing system. However, that stalled, partly because the proposal did not pass quality control.

Re-election

Ursula von der Leyen was elected for her second term as Commission president last month. In the European Parliament, a majority of 401 MEPs backed the re-election. There were 284 dissenting votes and 22 invalid votes. Von der Leyen has headed the European Commission since 2019.

UPDATE ON RAIL/SEA BUS LINK AT DIEPPE:

We can now confirm that this useful link to the station connects with all sailings between Newhaven and Dieppe.

See here for further details

https://lewesrail.org.uk/news/newhaven-dieppe-ferry-bus-link-in-dieppe-reinstated/

 On January 13th the European Passengers’ Federation (of which ERC(UK) is an associate member) marked its 20th birthday with a special event at the European Parliament in Brussels.

ERC(UK) and the German association PROBAHN helped sponsor the event, and two of our members attended along with 35 other colleagues from Continental public transport users’ associations, lobbyists and decision-makers. 

The event was hosted by Irish MEP Ciaran Cuffe and speakers included representatives of the Community of European Railways, ALLRAIL plus train campaigner and blogger Jon Worth.  

Topics covered in the presentations and discussion embraced cross-border services and passenger rights.  

For a full report see: http://www.epf.eu/wp/epf-celebrates-turning-20/

TO EUROPE BY RAIL/SEA/RAIL

One of the few convenient links to Europe by sea is the twice daily Stena Line service from Harwich to Hook van Hollande. While in the UK the ship connects directly into the UK rail network at Harwich, passengers arriving at Hook van Hollande have to buy a separate Metro Card for the Rotterdam area Metro service before connecting into the Dutch rail network.

In conjunction with our Dutch colleagues, we asked if they could sell the cards on board the ship to save passengers having to queue for the ticket machine on the platform. Stena Line are not yet willing to sell metro cards on board the vessel but have now set up a link (in English) explaining how these can be bought on the ferry using an app. They have also agreed to include this information in e-mails sent in advance to customers making a booking. For further information please see: –

https://www.ret.nl/home/reizen/stenaline.html

BIKES ON EUROSTAR

The cyclists’ organisation Cycling UK has been pressing Eurostar to allow cyclists again to carry their bikes on its trains.  For now, they have re-introduced this only for the London – Paris service, subject to space being available for large items of luggage.  Intending passengers must first book their Eurostar ticket and then contact the operator to book a space for their bike.

We obviously hope that these arrangements will be extended for the Brussels and Amsterdam services in due course. 

Thanks to rail campaigners all over Europe there is finally some hope on the horizon. Back in October, a formal agreement was announced by all main train operators across Europe that they will adapt their ticketing systems by 2025, so that “passengers will have a seamless user experience when searching, selecting, buying and using rail services”. For further details see: https://www.railtech.com/policy/2022/10/11/cer-and-uic-in-2025-passengers-will-have-a-seamless-user-experience-buying-rail-services/

Fifteen railway companies, including Deutsche Bahn, Renfe, SNCF, Trenitalia and ÖBB, have recently agreed to offer rail passengers who miss their connecting international train due to a delay, a place on the next possible train at no additional cost. This was announced in a press release by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) last October. We cannot understand why Eurostar and Thalys have not signed up to this sensible agreement. For further details see: https://www.railtech.com/all/2022/10/24/railways-agree-on-follow-up-journey-without-extra-costs-in-case-of-missed-connection/

Recently, Deutsche Bahn announced their plan to bring about a nationwide regular interval timetable from 2030. They are building on the established Swiss “Taktfahplan” but, on a much larger scale for a larger network. This will mean that across the whole of Germany you will be able to make smart connections at all major stations(called hubs) at the same time every hour throughout the day. In many cases this will also be possible every half hour. To achieve this they have an ambitious plan to build more high-speed lines, raise speed limits on some existing lines and electrify 70% of the network.

Last month on the 22nd October our sister organization “Back-on Track Belgium” gave a presentation in a Webinar as part of the EU regions & Cities week. They explained how up to 6 Night train services could provide useful links connecting many parts of East, West, North and Southern Europe. This would also provide better rail travel opportunities for UK residents with one simple change to & from Eurostar at Brussels.

NEW HOPE FOR SIMPLER TICKETING ?

The International Union of Railways (UIC) has announced it will introduce a new Open Sales and Distribution Model (OSDM) platform supplied by Hit Rail to replace their existing Price and Fare Information Storage (PRIFIS) international tariffs distribution tool in April 2021. We hope this might lead to simpler ticketing options, avoiding the need to often shop around several different sales outlets.