Travel News

Eurostar, Trenitalia, Deutsche Bahn: What are the perfect and worst rail operators in Europe?

December 10, 2024

The report’s authors say the outcomes of its survey underline the necessity for improvements to rail services across Europe.

Europe’s rail services fall wanting expectations and expensive ticket prices don’t necessarily translate to higher-quality services, a latest report has found.

The survey from the campaign group Transport and Environment (T&E) ranked 27 different rail operators across the continent. Each was evaluated on eight different criteria: ticket prices, special fares and reductions, reliability, booking experience, compensation policies, traveller experience, night trains and cycling policy.

It comes amid a growing consensus that rail travel in Europe must be improved with T&E saying it underlines the necessity for industry-wide reforms.

Which rail operators are the perfect in Europe?

Italy’s Trenitalia got here out on top of T&E’s rating, earning a median rating of seven.7 out of 10, with the operator standing out for its travel experience. It’s followed by Switzerland’s SBB with a rating of seven.4 which was found to have essentially the most punctual trains in Europe.

Also with a rating of seven.4 was Czechia’s RegioJet, which has among the most inexpensive ticket prices within the continent, in accordance with the report.

Which rail operators are the worst in Europe?

Eurostar was at the underside of the list with a median rating of 4.9 out of 10 across the eight criteria. T&E says this reflects its steep prices – that are price 25 per cent of the rating – and poor reliability.

The report found that Eurostar was almost twice as expensive as other European operators on routes of comparable lengths.

A Eurostar spokesperson says the operator is “surprised” by the survey results and doesn’t agree with the conclusions of the report.

They point to recent changes for the reason that data was collected, saying the booking experience is now the identical for all trains, cycling policies have been updated, and a service to purchase discounted last-minute fares has been relaunched.

The Eurostar spokesperson adds that automated refunds aren’t offered to permit customers to decide on the kind of compensation they wish to receive.

“We’re confident that if this report were redone again, the scores could be higher,” the operator says.

Eurostar is joined at the underside of the list by Greece’s high-speed Hellenic Train, and France’s low-cost rail service Ouigo.

What are essentially the most reliable rail operators in Europe?

Reliability and ease of booking are price 15 per cent of an operator’s rating within the rating.

In the highest three overall, Switzerland’s SBB is within the lead for reliability alongside Belgium’s SNCB, and Spain’s Renfe.

On the subject of booking experience, SBB also tops the list, followed by Deutsche Bahn and Austria’s ÖBB. This covers features like how long tickets are offered prematurely and in the event that they might be sold by external platforms.

Just 11 out of the 27 operators included within the survey achieved punctuality rates over 80 per cent, nonetheless.

Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, Portugal’s CP, and Sweden’s Snälltåget rank lowest for reliability.

What are essentially the most and least expensive rail operators in Europe?

Comparing price per kilometre, travelling by train within the UK was particularly expensive. Great Western Railway was essentially the most pricey, with fares two and half times higher than the typical EU/Swiss operator.

Eurostar was the second worst for price – at twice the worth of other European operators. The report notes that it’s noticeably expensive in comparison to other international rail corporations, costing as much as five times as much as RegioJet.

The third costliest was the UK’s Avanti West Coast, with fares one and a half times greater than the typical EU/Swiss operator.

Essentially the most cost-competitive operator in Europe was Germany’s latest entrant, Flixtrain. It was found to be 4 times cheaper than Deutsche Bahn, the major rail operator it competes with in Germany. Ouigo and RegioJet join Flixtrain in the highest three most inexpensive operators.

For special fares, like discounts for families or specific age groups, Bulgaria’s BDZ, Portugal’s CP, Greece’s Hellenic Trains, Sweden’s SJ, and Italian operators Italo and Trenitalia scored the perfect out of the 27 operators.

The report also found that prime prices don’t necessarily mean higher service. ÖBB and Trenitalia had a few of the perfect price-to-quality ratios in Europe, while Eurostar and Avanti had high fares but were found to deliver subpar services.

High ticket prices are ‘driving passengers away’

Victor Thévenet, rail policy manager at T&E, says the “ticket” to creating rail travel accessible to all Europeans is to make train travel cheaper.

Research by McKinsey has found that 49 per cent of individuals cite prices as the first consider selecting a mode of transport. Europe on Rail has also found that 73 per cent of individuals consider rail travel should generally be cheaper than air travel on the identical routes.

“Sky-high ticket prices are driving passengers away from trains,” Thévenet explains, adding that bringing costs down is a “shared responsibility between the industry and governments”.

“Rail operators must set customer-friendly fares, while Member States and the EU should ensure fair competition and lower rail tolls.”

How can European rail be improved?

Some improvements to European rail are already within the works.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently committed to making a Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation. This might allow passengers to simply book tickets for trains that cross country borders and operators without worrying about missing connections. They’d also profit from full EU passengers’ rights within the case of delays.

“The EU has opened a window of opportunity to finally mandate that train corporations share their tickets with booking platforms to enable cross-border booking in only one click,” says Thévenet.

“Along with the rollout of the European standard for command and control system ERTMS, which is able to increase train capability and punctuality, these regulations have the potential to make rail more reliable and easier to make use of. It’s now time for the Commission to point out these are usually not empty guarantees.”