EU proposes end to ‘five tabs, three apps and a prayer’ for cross-border train bookings
Cross-border train journeys through several European countries are the stuff of many a holidaymaker’s dreams.But the reality of trying to buy the tickets, navigating multiple websites without knowing who can help if a connection is missed, can prove less than relaxing.As one MEP puts it, it can often require “five tabs, three apps and a prayer”.Now, however, the European Commission has proposed that before the end of the decade passengers should be able to buy one ticket for one journey and be better protected when trains are late or cancelled.“Europeans will be able with the click of a button to plan, compare and purchase multimodal journeys across borders while benefiting from stronger rail passenger rights, greater transparency and better protection every step of the way,” the EU transport commissioner, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, said on Wednesday, as he published new rules intended to transform the “excessively complex” experience he said rail travellers met when booking tickets.
Asked about the timing, he said: “Before the end of this commission mandate [in 2029] we will have this new era of rail on the ground working.”Under the plans, major railway companies, such as Deutsche Bahn, SNCF and Trenitalia, would be forced to sell competitors’ tickets on their websites, and share data with booking platforms enabling an offer of single tickets for long cross-border journeys.In an expansion of consumer protection laws, passengers would be entitled to help in the event of a missed connection: the operator that caused the delay would ensure the passenger has the right to hop on the next train, or reimbursement, food and accommodation, depending on the circumstances.The plans have to be agreed by EU member states and the European parliament before they become law, and they already face stiff opposition from train operators.The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) said: “Underneath the surface of this rosy vision lies unprecedented and unjustified regulatory interventionism.
”The CER said the rail tickets market “largely meets” customer expectations, citing a Eurobarometer survey where 73% of people said it was easy to book two or more connecting trains for one journey.But the same survey also found 43% of total respondents had not booked such journeys.The railway group also argues the plans would give too much power to large tech companies operating as booking platforms, enabling them “to dictate higher distribution fees and drive up ticket prices”.In contrast, consumer groups welcomed the plans.“Booking a rail ticket has become far too complex in recent years.
New EU rules would go a long way to making that easier, by opening up sales on more platforms,” said the head of the European Consumers Organisation, Agustín Reyna.A 2025 YouGov poll of seven European countries found that two out of three long-distance rail passengers encountered difficulties when buying tickets, while 43% said they would take a train more often if ticket reservations were easier.A separate university study found that booking a train took 70% longer than booking a flight.Responding to the charge of regulatory overreach, Tzitzikostas said the proposals were “100% pragmatic” and everyone, including rail companies, would see benefits when they were implemented.Ticket prices, he predicted, would fall as a result because of greater transparency and competition: “As booking becomes simpler we expect more Europeans to choose rail more often.
”A study by Greenpeace in 2025 found flights were cheaper than trains on 54% of 109 cross-border routes.Rail travel also tended to be more expensive when multiple operators and tickets were involved, the NGO said.France, the UK, Spain and Italy were among the most expensive countries for cross-border rail.Lena Schilling, an Austrian Green MEP on the European parliament’s transport committee, said: “Why does crossing EU borders by rail require five tabs, three apps and a prayer?”The proposals, she added, needed to deliver on three points: “Seamless cross-border booking across Europe, full passenger rights and clear liability for the entire journey, and open access to ticketing data so travellers can book on the platform of their choice.”
Royal Opera House calls for release of Georgian bass singer jailed over democracy protests
The Royal Opera House in London has urged Keir Starmer to intervene in the case of Paata Burchuladze, a world-renowned bass singer who has been imprisoned in Georgia since October on a charge of leading a coup against the country’s authoritarian leader.The 71-year-old has performed at the Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and collaborated with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. He was arrested after joining a protest outside the presidential palace in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Last week he was given a seven-year jail sentence which Burchuladze suggested to the court was equivalent to a life sentence given his age.Burchuladze became a rallying figure at nightly demonstrations against the government’s perceived pivot away from the west last autumn
‘Using his Terminator voice, Arnie said: “Your song. Give it to me. Now”’: Bad to the Bone’s creation – and aftermath
Before Bad to the Bone, we just played obscure blues songs from the archives. But when we toured with the Rolling Stones, I noticed the reaction to their Start Me Up. I said: “Man, we’d better hurry up and write an original song with a catchy intro or, five years from now, people will go, ‘Oh yeah, George Thorogood – wasn’t he good at playing Chuck Berry or something?’”Bad to the Bone is a male fantasy. Let’s face it: every guy wants to be bad. We were raised on Hollywood movies and all those tough guys, like Bernardo from West Side Story, or Howlin’ Wolf – we opened for him in 1974 and he had a ferocious reputation
What is a ‘Scientology speedrun’ and why is social media suddenly obsessed with it?
Ima, if someone said “Scientology speedrun” to me I would think about Tom Cruise in tight shorts. But that is not what is happening, is it?Not quite, Cait. The Scientology speedrun appears to have spawned in March when content creator Swhileyy filmed himself rushing the Church of Scientology on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. That video gained 90m views before it was deleted.Since then, groups of mostly young men have documented themselves charging into the LA centre, pulling in millions of views on TikTok
Joseph Fiennes on parenting, politics and banning children from social media: ‘Stand up, Keir, this is your kids’ generation’
He’s played English titans from William Shakespeare to Gareth Southgate, but what does the actor really think about the country today?The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.We are at a corner table in a breakfast place in Chelsea, Joseph Fiennes opposite me on the banquette with his jack russell, Noa. “Dog duty,” he says, apologetic
The Guide #242: Everyday Hollywood film comedies have faded but can they make a comeback?
There was a striking moment during this week’s episode of The Rewatchables, the wildly popular film-recap podcast that I reach for when I’ve had my fill of history/football/glum current affairs pods. The episode was revisiting 90s comedy There’s Something About Mary, a film that in some ways holds up hilariously, and in others has aged about as well as a bottle of semi-skimmed on a summer’s day in Death Valley. As part of the episode, the podcast’s panel were going through their favourite comedy films by decade and were spoilt for choice – until, that is, they reached the 2020s, when they seemed to collectively draw a blank. “The Drama’s pretty funny …” one offered tentatively. Finally, host Bill Simmons cut through the umming, ahhing and awkward silence to get to the heart of the matter: “Do we have comedies any more? What happened to comedies?”Yes, what did happen to comedies? Or rather, what happened to the “everyday” American comedies like There’s Something About Mary that once set up a permanent frat house residence in cinemas? You know the ones I mean: those that took a familiar real-world situation – teens trying to lose their virginity, a man clashing with his girlfriend’s dad, a maid of honour struggling to arrange a hen do, stunted adolescents refusing to fly the nest – and stretched them to absurd and lurid extremes
Ah, ah, ah, ah - I saved my dad’s life with a little help from The Office and the Bee Gees
When my father collapsed suddenly, an episode of the US comedy in which Steve Carell does CPR to the tune of Stayin’ Alive sprung miraculously to mindIt was a boiling hot day last summer, four days after my dad’s 73rd birthday. Mum was plating up dinner and Dad was on the sofa complaining about how stifling it was. I was meant to head to work, for my job as a personal trainer, but decided to take the evening off. It was just as well: as I turned back to Mum, Dad collapsed backwards and suffered a massive cardiac arrest.Mum was hysterical
‘Hold the line’: Burnham tells allies in parliament he still has options to return
‘It’s more incrementalism’: Starmer’s safe king’s speech fails to quell mutiny
Starmer has ‘full confidence’ in Streeting despite health secretary’s allies saying he is planning to resign – as it happened
Labour politicians should put the country before their party | Letters
Labour lost the vote of small business owners like me | Letter
King’s speech might be the last word on Starmer as reluctant monarch does his duty | John Crace