Traveling by train, which some politicians and self-proclaimed "climate protectors" claim to be so environmentally friendly, can become quite complicated within Europe, even when buying tickets. The EU Commission now wants to force the railway companies to cooperate. But the plans go much further and that doesn't suit Deutsche Bahn AG, for example, at all.

If you want to make a longer journey, it is often not possible to buy continuous tickets. Travelers are faced with the following problem again and again: From any transfer point, you can no longer buy the ticket in advance in your home country or via the Internet because, for example, the local railway company does not use Internet sales at all. Or this is only in the national language and there is therefore a language barrier.

Aviation is much more advanced here than rail transport, because at least within Europe - with a few exceptions - pretty much every flight route can be booked comfortably from home or via travel agencies. In the case of rail transport, this is simply not possible in many cases. The EU Commission sees this as a major "stumbling block" that could hinder the switch to rail transport.

It is now planned that the individual operators will be obliged to cooperate with each other so that the continuous sale of tickets is possible. However, the EU Commission does not want to leave it at that, but rather forces railway providers to open their sales systems to third-party providers and enable them to sell tickets throughout Europe. Commissions, which are to be borne by the railway companies, are then also due for this.

Sense and purpose: The EU Commission envisages that there will be websites in the future through which one can buy continuous tickets across the EU. This should eliminate the need to struggle through different websites, some of which are in different languages, or that you can only buy tickets on site at the counter or vending machine.

In Germany, Deutsche Bahn AG is fighting tooth and nail against the authority's plans. This is because they do not want sales via third-party providers who do not have to pay license fees for being allowed to sell train tickets at all. And you don't want to have to pay commissions at all. DB would probably prefer it if all tickets were only available via its own apps and website, because the counters and machines also cost money.

In any case, they are opposed to the plans of the EU Commission, which could lead to the systems having to be opened up to third-party providers and information such as cancellations, delays and so on having to be made available, plus commissions having to be assigned for the brokerage of tickets. In Brussels, however, people are of the opinion that the entire industry can benefit if specialized providers or the railway companies themselves offer tickets throughout Europe.