With just a few clicks: Book international train tickets like flying

The ticket purchase for train trips through Europe should be easier from autumn. Then the Deutsche Bahn is connected to a technical interface that is intended to standardize the previously fragmented system. By the end of 2026, the DB will “be able to sell tickets of all large lanes in our neighboring countries directly via Bahn.de and the DB Navigator app,” promises the company.

“International long-distance transport is booming,” says DB long-distance traffic director Michael Peterson of the German Press Agency. 2024 was the strongest year for the federal group in this area with growth of 22 percent compared to the pre-Corona year 2019.

“There is no integrated European rail network”

Again and again the train takes up new connections to its portfolio, most recently an ICE direct connection between Berlin and Paris. Nevertheless, there are several problems when driving in Europe. “There is no integrated European rail network,” says Greens politician Matthias Gastel. The member of the Bundestag has been dealing with the train for years and sits on the supervisory board of the rail infrastructure daughter Infrago.

The problems started when buying a ticket. So far, several tickets that have to be bought individually have so far been necessary for cross -border journeys. This is not just cumbersome. The passenger rights also do not apply – for example in the event of a missed junction. Tickets from competitors like Flix cannot be bought on the train anyway – according to Gastel because the DB expects a “horrendous high commission that can only be deterred”.

There are also technical problems in the operation of cross -border routes. “The problems often start when a train route reaches a national border,” says Sebastian Wilken, who writes about the international train journey on his Zugpost blog. It is about the power supply, for example, the guiding and safety technology or the track width of the rails, but also about the language skills of the train drivers.

At least when buying a ticket, it will soon be easier. European lanes agreed years ago to the introduction of the OSDM interface standards (Open Sales and Distribution Model). Train manager Peterson speaks of the “language in which the European lanes and sales service providers then exchange their data with each other”. The DB thus has access to the complete ticket portfolio of the corresponding railways and vice versa.

Soon from Oslo to Athens with a ticket

Initially, this applies to the Austrian and Swiss Federal Railways ÖBB and SBB from autumn 2025. New partners should then be added month after month. “We assume that Europe will be almost nationwide by the end of next year,” said Peterson. “We get closer to a big goal.” The ticket booking across Europe – be it from Oslo to Athens or Warsaw to Barcelona – is possible in a booking step via the usual sales channels.

Rails and sales service providers are free to implement the OSDM standard. This has no influence on any remuneration that the lanes pay for the sale of tickets. Bahn competitor Flix was not involved in the development. On request, the company shares with: “Although OSDM offers some positive properties, but also contains challenges – especially for new market participants.” Flix names the costs and the complex implementation.

According to the group, DB customers have several advantages. “I can then book an international trip as easily as a national trip,” says Peterson. The note “Determine Price” is then largely history for international connections. Instead, customers receive a price information directly. In addition, “lanes can also access cheap prices of other railways and combine them”. During the trip, passengers are provided with information via cell phone. And: Tickets for regional traffic abroad can then be bought easier

“Lighthouses in a huge fog sea”

So something is happening in international rail traffic. Zugpost blogger Wilken also evaluates new connections such as Berlin-Paris. However, there are far too few of such connections, he speaks of “lighthouses in a huge fog sea”. And Gastel also says that there is a lot going on in international long -distance traffic – “but very slow and it is incredibly complex, cumbersome, expensive. There are simply a lot of stones that lie on the rails.”

It has long been known in Brussels that there is a need for action. New connections such as the planned between Munich and Rome are supported by the EU Commission. However, the guidelines of the head of the government Ursula von der Leyen also say that cross -border rail travel is still too complicated for many citizens. “People should be able to use open booking systems in order to be able to acquire trans -European trips from several service providers without losing their entitlement to reimbursement or replacement trips.”

The EU Commission will present a legislative proposal “on uniform digital booking and ticket services”. The latter should ensure that “Europeans and Europeans can buy a single ticket on a single platform and perceive their passenger rights for the entire trip”.

“Basically, I have no fears at all what the EU Commission wants to regulate because we want the goals exactly the same,” says Peterson. However, the authority wants to prescribe a standard other than OSDM. “My fears are alone that we have invested in OSDM for years, that we implemented it in IT – that costs money, that takes time – and that the EU would not get the corresponding regulation on the way before 2026.”

Community of the European Railways Cer to OSDM Zugm Post