Rail market opening: competition leads to lower ticket prices, EU study finds

A study released by the European Commission today highlights the user benefits of competition in both passenger rail and rail freight services. It reveals that increased competition in the EU rail market has resulted in significant reductions in ticket prices for rail passengers and in freight transportation costs.

Efficiency gains are evident across all segments – passenger open access, public service obligations (PSO), and freight. For instance, in the open access market, Italy saw a 31% reduction in prices, while Austria recorded a 41% increase in service frequency, illustrating how competition enhances both affordability and service quality​. These efficiency improvements provide benefits such as lower fares, increased frequency, more comfort, and public cost savings. In the PSO market, where Member States compensate railway companies for providing essential but commercially unviable services, competitive tendering in France led to a frequency increase up to 110% on certain lines, alongside the introduction of new rolling stock. In the freight rail market, competition has led to decreased prices and operational costs, with a slight increase in demand, particularly in intermodal freight, as demonstrated by stable and resilient rail share growth in Germany​.

Although market opening in passenger transport is relatively recent, with full effects still pending, continued implementation of the Fourth Railway Package and associated measures will be key to realising its full potential​.

Key areas for improvement in the rail services market include infrastructure, ticketing, and equal access. In terms of infrastructure, enhancing interoperability, digitalisation, and developing flexible, coordinated timetables alongside efficient network traffic management at the EU level are essential. For ticketing, ensuring fair access to ticket platforms for all operators, as well as availability of ticket offers to independent ticket vendors, would promote transparency and competition. Additionally, equal access to infrastructure, rolling stock availability and financing, and service facilities must be ensured to allow all operators to compete on a level playing field.

Addressing these challenges is crucial for unlocking the full potential of competition, benefiting both the industry and consumers. The Commission therefore presented a proposal related to the capacity management of rail infrastructure to improve the efficiency in the use of the rail network. At the same time, the EU is investing heavily in its rail infrastructure via the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Under the latest CEF Transport calls for proposals (2023), in July 2024 the Commission selected 134 transport infrastructure projects to receive over EUR 7 billion. 81% of this investment was dedicated to rail projects (over EUR 5,7 billion). When the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is complete, it will cut rail travel times significantly. For example, in 2030, passengers will be able to travel between Copenhagen and Hamburg in 2h30 by train, instead of the 4h20 required today.

Background

The EU adopted four legislative packages between 2001 and 2016 with the aim of opening up to competition cross-border and domestic freight and passenger markets. This has been a major step towards creating an integrated European railway area and a genuine EU internal market for rail.

More information: European Commission