A single train ticket will be launched in Europe this year: dates announced

A single ticket is a real step towards a more convenient and accessible Europe for travellers. The pilot implementation of the system will start in the coming months. Find out what the new project is all about and when it will be launched

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This autumn, travelling by train across Europe will become easier: a single ticket system for international trains is planned to be introduced across the continent. This step should put an end to the difficulties passengers face when trying to book tickets for different sections of a cross-border journey.

What will change?

The first railway operators will start connecting to the new unified system in autumn 2025. These include Deutsche Bahn in Germany, ÖBB in Austria and SBB in Switzerland. According to Deutsche Bahn representative Michael Peterson, travelling will become as convenient as booking tickets for domestic routes.

‘Now I will be able to book an international trip as easily as a domestic one,’ he emphasised.

Other countries will also be connected to the system in the future. By the end of 2026, the entire European Union is expected to be covered by the new sales model. This means that a ticket from Warsaw to Barcelona or from Oslo to Athens, for example, can be purchased with a single click on one website, without the need for separate tickets.

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Why is this important?

Currently, travellers have to buy tickets for each leg of their journey separately. This not only causes inconvenience but also problems with passenger rights. For example, if one train is delayed, it is often impossible to transfer to the next one without losing money.

With the introduction of a single booking system, such cases will become the exception.

Peterson assures that it will no longer be necessary to have two or three tickets for one route, with rare exceptions.

What is known about the new system?

The new system is based on the OSDM (Open Sales and Distribution Model) standard, which was developed to unify digital data exchange between railways and booking services.

This approach is also supported by the European Commission. According to EC President Ursula von der Leyen, a legislative proposal will be presented in 2025 to create a single digital service for booking and purchasing tickets, which will allow Europeans to use a single ticket for the entire route and all associated passenger rights.

The only concern for operators is the risk that the European Union will propose a different digital standard instead of the already implemented OSDM. According to Peterson, this could result in a loss of time and money already invested in technical infrastructure.

Visit Ukraine: booking tickets in just a few minutes

- One service for all types of transport. No need to go from site to site looking for different options - Visit Ukraine offers the opportunity to compare prices for buses, planes and trains on one site.

- Convenient online bus ticket comparison. On the portal, you can see all available options from different companies, which makes it possible to choose the best one in terms of price and convenience.

- Easy online booking. Booking tickets on the website is an extremely simple process. You simply choose the route, carrier and date, and then you can pay directly through the website. The whole process takes only a few minutes.

Reminder! A new railway route between Poland and Ukraine will be launched in June 2025. Find out which stations are included in the route, how long the journey will take and what plans there are to expand the service in the future.

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