For the first time, the organisation Transport & Environment (T&E) has ranked 27 European rail companies according to a series of criteria including price levels, train punctuality, ease of booking and ticket resale. To the overall ranking, Trenitalia comes out on topfollowed by Swiss railways SBB CFF, RegioJet, the company operating in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and SNCF. Ouigo and Eurostar are at the bottom of the rankings, in 25th place respectively.e and 27e places. Among the other major European companies, Spain's Renfe is in 7th place.e position, Italy's Italo just behind, Belgium's SNCB in 12ethe German DB in 16e and the Dutch NS in 23e place.
As far as prices are concerned, which account for 25% of the overall score, Ouigo ranks second given its status as a low-cost operator, just behind FlixTrain, its German equivalent belonging to the Flix Mobility group, which also operates FlixBux. The SNCF has been heavily criticised by its customers for its fares, which are considered too high. in 20e placewith its Eurostar subsidiary coming in at number 26.e with average ticket prices twice as high as the European average. However, according to the study, British rail operator Great Western Railway (GWR) offers the most expensive tickets. It should be noted that Deutsche Bahn does slightly better than SNCF in this respect, at 19%.e position.
Eurostar twice as expensive as the European average
When it comes to the booking experience on their platform and openness to distribution on other websites - which account for 15% of the final score - SBB, DB and ÖBB come out on top. Eurostar did slightly better than its parent company, 8e and 9ewhile Ouigo ranks 18e place. T&E believes that to develop rail travel in Europe, the reservation must be " efficient, flexible and ergonomic" . He added that the forthcoming European regulation on reservations and single ticketing will take account of this reservation experience. " The forthcoming legislation will help passengers to book cross-border and multi-operator tickets while enjoying all the rights of EU passengers in the event of delays." says the organisation.
Can do better for punctuality
The punctuality rankings are also not in the favour of SNCF and its subsidiaries. While Swiss CFF, SNCB and Renfe are in the top three, followed by NF and Trenitalia, SNCF is in 11th place.e place, Ouigo and Eurostar in 13e and 14e with scores of less than 5 out of 10. Also of note DB's very poor positionin 23e which is paying for the lack of regularity of its trains. It is worth noting that Trenitalia posted much better results than Italo (5e against 19e), even though both companies operate on the same high-speed network in Italy.
Only 11 out of 27 operators have punctuality in excess of 80%. To improve these figures, T&E stresses the need to maintain the rail networks and invest in signalling, particularly the ERTMS system, which will enable more trains to run on the rail networks while improving punctuality. Provided that " rail operators invest in new, modern rolling stock" says T&E.
SNCF offers the best travel experience
In a small consolation for SNCF, it came first with a score of 10/10 for on-board comfort during the journey, ahead of Trenitalia and DB. This ranking is based on a number of criteria, including the presence of wifi, the choice of catering, the availability of electrical sockets and the speed of the trains. Surprisingly, SNCB came last out of the 27 operators examined by T&E. The Belgian company can console itself by being the one that offers the best service... to cyclists!
T&E concludes its analysis with a number of recommendations for improving train ticket sales in Europe and decarbonising transport in Europe. The first is that the European Union should make " all rail operators to authorise ticket vending machines to resell tickets on fair termsreasonable and non-discriminatory" . The second is an extension of booking times, with tickets being made available for sale. "at least six months in advance" . As part of the process of opening up the rail market to competition, ". the EU and Member States should reduce rail tolls to lower operating costs in order to support new rail services" . Pricing is a crucial factor in boosting sales.
T&E sets out its recommendations
T&E is proposing the introduction of special fares for certain customer groups, such as families, and is campaigning for a reduction in VAT on train tickets. " Rail operators should [also] compensate passengers for delays of more than 15 minutes and fully refund tickets for delays of more than 60 minutes." . Finally, the most expensive, "the EU and the Member States should invest in the maintenance, modernisation and digitisation of the rail network to improve reliability" . The next EU budget and the forthcoming review of Connecting Europe Facibility (CEF) represent an opportunity to facilitate the financing of this work. While companies are invited " renovate existing rolling stock and purchase new trains, particularly for night services" .
