cross border rail

Before anything else, the tl;dr: If you want better cross border rail in Europe then come join us at erpu.eu — we are bringing passengers together to advocate for the trains we all need and deserve. Go sign up at erpu.eu and then come back here to read the rest of this.

With that out of the way, I want to explain why I’m excited to be part of this. Yes, trains are cool but, for me, there is more to it than that. This project sits at the intersection of bigger issues.

First, there isn’t a magic bullet to reducing climate change. But, a massive modal shift away from air and road travel to rail is clearly needed. Shouting at and shaming people to change their behavior doesn’t work. Right now, flying and driving are often cheaper and easier in Europe. That is, assuming a train connection is even possible. Trains have be to a real option for everyone, not just train nerds who know the tricks for multiple different websites, remember the quirks of misaligned schedules, and are willing to pay extra and be inconvenienced. And the thing is, we don’t even need trains to be amazing; we just need them to be less shit. This is an area where, with a bit of collective action, we have an opportunity to implement readily available solutions and make a real impact on the future of climate change.

Second, thirty years ago the Schengen Agreement gave us the vision of a Europe without borders. We need a rail network that lives up to that vision. This goes to the core of our right to freedom of movement, because rights that cannot be practically exercised by everyone aren’t worth much. Insisting on this ideal is especially crucial right now. We live in a moment when Schengen, and the vision of an open world, is under pressure from those who only know how to amplify exclusion and blame the “other”.

And when we talk about fostering openness and connection I don’t just mean linking capital cities for business travelers with attache cases. A united Europe shouldn’t just be a united economy and bureaucracy. I mean cross-border transit that is truly accessible and affordable for everyone so that our borders become more traversable and permeable. I want to see the Europe we will build when we can all move more freely¹ and have transit that brings us closer together.

And lastly, many of the challenges facing cross border rail are technical—matters of dense public policy and the details of train operations. I, by nature, have a nerdy disposition. I like this stuff. But, I am not at my core a train nerd. Luckily many of the others involved are. This is a team effort! What I am is an organizer. Linking the technical nerd shit with solid, community based, organizing and then translating that into concrete wins is my jam. So that’s why I’m not just excited that this is happening but excited that I get to be part of it.

And the organizing challenge here is particularly important. Because this is a transnational problem we are building a transnational, direct membership, organization. And, even though many of our political problems in Europe are shared and transcend borders, our political parties, organizations, and avenues for addressing them as individual citizens all too often don’t. It shouldn’t just be corporations, lobbying consortiums, and the political elite that have access to Brussels. That’s why this kind of EU-first, cross-border, direct organizing is key for meeting the moment we’re in. It mirrors the world we want to see and I think is something we are all going to have to figure out how to get better at.

So yes: trains are cool and I want to be able to get from my home in Barcelona to visit my family in Naarden more easily. That alone should be a good enough reason to improve cross border rail. But it’s also vital for our future sustainability, openness, and democratic culture.

The European Comisssion is asking for public input on their plans to update the current rail passenger rights legislation. The window for that ends tomorrow!

Cross border rail travel often requires combining tickets from multiple different rail operators. Because of this, when passengers miss connections because of delays or disruptions no one is held responsible for helping them get back on their way, unlike for example with air travel. The European Commission wants to change the rules to address this. Their proposal is that any journey bought as a single transaction on a ticket platform—even if it is made up of multiple tickets from different operators—should count as a through-ticket, and thus be afforded the appropriate passenger rights.

This is a step in the right direction and would be an improvement over the current situation, but it also it isn't enough. Not all journeys can be currently purchased as a single transaction.

I think it's important that the EU hears from us that (1) this is issue is something that we care about, (2) Their proposal would meaningfully improve #CrossBorderRail in Europe, and (3) it's only the minimum and should be adopted and built upon even further in the future.

If you are seeing this before September 22, 2025 you should go give your own feedback!

Here is what I wrote:

As a frequent user of cross border rail in Europe, for work, to visit family, and exploration of our shared continent I (unfortunately) have first hand experience with the shortcomings of the current ticking situation. The proposed changes are an important step in the right direction and would make a real and meaningful difference for us, the passengers. However, while necessary, they are only the bare minimum.

There is still work to be done to ensure that it actually becomes possible to purchase most trips as a single transaction on a ticket platform. And even then, there will be journeys where purchasing tickets in a single transaction is not possible for technical reasons such as how they are sold or when they become available, or because of the use of local discount cards, etc., for which this narrow approach is simply insufficient.

I hope that a strong and robust version of the current proposal is enacted and can be used as a basis for further legislation in the future.

And here are takes from some other folks:

• Thoughts from Jon Worth
• Oliver Blanthorn’s comment
• Cycle-on-Rail’s feedback