Warm welcome for EU-wide rail tickets plan
Posted, May 05, 2011 @ 00:00
Brussels, 5th May 2011 -- Proposals put forward by the European Commission today aimed at creating a unified system for booking rail tickets right across the EU has received strong backing from Jacqueline Foster MEP, Conservative transport spokesman in the European Parliament.
Mrs Foster has long called for a single system similar to the airlines' Computerised Reservation System which would enable passengers to book train tickets to destinations across the Continent without having to book separately in each country. She said that the plans will make it much easier for British consumers to have the option of choosing rail for shorter journeys across much of Europe.
The commission has proposed a new regulation that will standardise key ticketing and reservation information. This will be followed by a further measure next year which will bring about interoperability of travel operators' IT systems. Travellers would then be able to reserve journeys right across the EU far more easily than under the current fragmented system which sees consumers trying to negotiate hard-to-fathom foreign websites and different ticketing systems.
Mrs Foster first grilled EU transport commissioner Kallas on the need for an EU-wide rail ticketing service during his confirmation hearing in January 2010.
Mrs Foster said:
"This is excellent news for travellers. Travelling across Europe by rail requires passengers to tackle a whole number of different ticketing systems, often in different languages. This system would enable people to go to their local ticket office and book a trip to Barcelona as easily as a trip to Brighton.
"Airlines have had a system in place for years and rail travel needs to catch up. Many people may prefer to opt for rail travel for journeys to northern Europe but they are put off by the lack of a common ticketing system.
"This is a good example of a simple measure the EU can take to make consumers' lives easier and we welcome it."
ENDS
Notes:
The Commission press release can be found here: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/534&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Mrs Foster has recorded a video on the booking system: http://youtu.be/SqWL3SCpwko