German cartel office slaps DB on the wrist for “abusing its market power”
Deutsche Bahn (DB) is in breach of antitrust law as the DB Group is abusing its market power against mobility platforms, the German Federal Cartel Office ruled this week. The state-owned railway company has been...Read more
Leading associations fear half-baked measures on EU ticketing regulation
10 European and international associations sent an open letter to European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans this Wednesday, after learning that the Commission is considering to downgrade its original ambition regarding upcoming regulation on ticketing....Read more
EU intervention for ticketing? These are the different views
The EU wants to improve ticketing for multimodal services, and is working on new regulation. For some, this is long-overdue progress, others question its necessity and draw attention to issues to avoid. RailTech attended a...Read more
Germany’s long-awaited 49-euro ticket on sale on Monday
The German new flat-fee public transport ticket is on sale since this Monday. The Deutschland ticket costs 49 euros per month and can be used in regional trains, commuter trains and other forms of local...Read more
Do we really need a EU-wide solution for train ticketing issues?
Booking international train tickets in many cases remains an uphill battle. But how all-encompassing does a solution have to be? Should there be a continent-wide roadmap or will strategic local steps suffice? This was the...Read more
Spain greenlights extension of free train passes until year-end
The Spanish Government has approved the extension of the free subscriptions for Cercanías, Rodalies and Media Distancia trains as well as state-owned bus lines. The 50-percent discounts on Avant high-speed services for regular travellers are...Read more
What will 2023 bring for international European passenger rail?
InterviewImproving rail ticketing, more investments in high-speed rail, and better capacity allocation. That is what the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) hopes to see in the next year. What is CER currently...Read more
New business models to bring innovation to international rail-retail
Partner contentBooking an international train journey, especially one involving several countries, can present difficulties. Well-known rail YouTuber Thibault Constant in recent comments to RailTech compared it to solving a Rubik’s cube. Mark Mallants and Leen Dewicke...Read more
Ireland and France work on single combined rail-ferry ticket
To promote sustainable travel between the two countries, Ireland and France plan to launch a ticket that combines French and Irish trains with a ferry ticket. It is said to be available by the summer...Read more
Sqills pushes new boundaries as unit of Siemens Mobility
A little over one year ago, Siemens Mobility wrapped up the acquisition of Dutch company Sqills, a provider of SaaS inventory, reservation and ticketing software solutions. Company CEO and co-founder Bart van Munster looks back...Read more
Can cross-border ticketing become European?
AnalysisCross-border rail traffic is a recurring topic and receives a lot of attention. Or not enough, as the case may be. Good intentions to simplify things often come up against very heavy legal regulations for...Read more
What can countries learn from Sweden when it comes to multi-modal ticketing?
Already a frontrunner in ticketing for public transport, Sweden will be the first country to have a nationwide ticket distribution system based on the Open Sales and Distribution Model (OSDM), developed by Estonian-based company Turnit....Read more
France considers price cap for rail tickets with rising inflation
French transport minister Clément Beaune is working with SNCF to establish a tariff cap for rail tickets to make sure the increase remains lower than the inflation, he said on French television this week. The...Read more