Mind the gap! Europe’s Rail Operators: a Comparative Ranking

A performing rail system is one of the cornerstones of the zero emission mobility system. Rail climate potential can be maximised if train operators improve their services and the EU and Member States support them with incentives and regulations.

T&E has launched a ranking analyzing 27 European rail operators’ key services. In this page you can go through its main findings.

Overall rail operators do not deliver satisfactory services. But differences between them show that strong improvements are possible. The sector has not managed to sort things out on its own, which is why policy change is urgently needed.

Our analysis highlights that Flixtrain, Ouigo and RegioJet offer the most affordable fares while Avanti, Eurostar and GWR rank as the most costly rail operators, as illustrated in the figure below. For routes of comparable lengths, Eurostar is almost two times more expensive than other European operators.

We compared prices of operators based on whether the operators provide public services obligations (PSO), or if it runs open access services (non PSO), and found no significant differences. See the methodological annex for further details.

Ticket prices were calculated by examining average ticket costs on weekdays, both seven and 28 days in advance. We collected only standard fares, simulating one-way trips for a middle aged individual travelling in 2nd class, without optional seat reservation or subscription. Special fares and reductions were analysed separately. To ensure comparability, we adjusted prices using comparative price levels indexes, resulting in a price index in euros per kilometre (€/km).

We recognise that the rail operators do not have the full control of ticket price. Ticket prices also reflect VAT and rail tolls set by national authorities and the infrastructure manager. However, operators remain a primary entity responsible for setting ticket prices, and limited transparency exists regarding the breakdown of ticket prices. Operators are fully responsible for offering special fares and discounts to passengers.

Despite external factors, comparing ticket prices for the same routes shows price differences. For instance, on the Milan to Rome route, Italo offers fares 1.2 times lower than Trenitalia. Similarly, Flixtrain’s fares for Berlin to Hamburg are 5.5 times lower than DB. This illustrates that a portion of the ticket pricing is set by the operator. Additional components of the ticket price include the staff and energy costs, as well as the company’s profit margin.

Incentivising rail through reducing rail tolls and VAT would be beneficial as it will:

• Lower the price, making rail travel more accessible to a broader range of citizens.

• Reduce operating cost for both incumbent and new rail operators, fostering greater competition, which should lead to a higher service quality. Track Access Charges are notably high in the Channel Tunnel or for the high-speed connection between France and Spain.

Our analysis considers several sub-criteria, including subscription plans, geographical fares, and discounts for specific passenger groups such as by age, for families, and for passengers with reduced mobility.

We found that six operators - BDZ, CP, Hellenic Trains, Italo, Trenitalia and SJ - lead the way in offering the most attractive special fares and reductions. In contrast, low-cost rail operators Flixtrain and Ouigo have the least appealing special fares, which aligns with their low-cost business model and is not necessarily a drawback.

Our findings indicate that Switzerland’s SBB is the most reliable rail operator with Belgium’s SNCB ranking second and the Span’s Renfe taking third place. In contrast, passengers are experiencing frequent delays and cancellations with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, Portugal’s CP and Snälltåget, a new rail entrant in Sweden. Bulgaria’s BDZ and Hungary's MÁV did not provide any delay data, and therefore received 0 points for reliability. The figure below provides an overview of the reliability ranking.

T&E calls on rail operators to:

We found that SBB, Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB provide the best booking experience overall while ZSSK, Hellenic Trains and BDZ are falling short in delivering a seamless experience. The details for these six operators are shown in the figure below.

Travelling by rail should be as convenient as driving a car or booking a flight. To attract more passengers to rail, the booking experience must be efficient, flexible and user friendly.

The booking experience grade is based on six sub-criteria: booking horizon, ticket cancellation policy, ticket modification policy, availability of tickets on third-party platforms, languages for online booking and mobile application ratings.

T&E calls on the EU and Member States to push rail operators to implement these measures by tabling the necessary legislation in 2025, including the Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation and a revision of the Regulation on rail passengers’ rights and obligations.

Our analysis found that SNCB, GWR, CP and Avanti offer the best compensation policies in Europe while BDZ, CFR, SBB, Snälltåget and ZSSK have the least favourable policies.

T&E calls on the EU to revise the Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 on passengers’ rights and obligation to mandate these changes from rail operators.

Our report evaluates the traveller experience based on five sub-criteria: the availability of Wi-Fi, catering options for passengers, the presence of power sockets, and the average speed of trains on studied journeys. While factors such as comfort and cleanliness are important we could not find sufficient data to assess these aspects.

We found that the main European rail operators SNCF, Trenitalia and Deutsche Bahn provide the best traveller experience, while NS, Hellenic Trains and SNCB receive the lowest score in this category.

Once a common mode of travel, the number of night trains declined sharply, and in some countries, such as Spain, they have disappeared entirely. This limits the ability to travel long distances by night, such as from France to Portugal.

Our analysis shows that the Austrian operator ÖBB and the Romania operator CFR are leading the revival, with 29 and 21 lines respectively.

T&E calls on the EU and Member States to:

The European Cyclists Federation (ECF) highlighted in its 2021 report Cyclists Love trains report that SNCB and SBB lead in bike-friendly rail services. In contrast, it is difficult to travel with a bike on SJ, Renfe, Ouigo, Italo and Eurostar, which have the least comprehensive rail and cycling policies.

The ECF assessed six sub-criteria to grade the companies, including bike spaces on train, bicycle hiring scheme, cost of bike ticket or reservation, booking channels, website languages, and site functionality.

T&E calls on rail operators to: