T&E: ‘Trenitalia is EU’s best rail operator, Eurostar ends last’

Italian rail operator Trenitalia, Swiss operator SBB, and Czech carrier RegioJet top a new ranking of European railway companies. The study was conducted by the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E), which advocates for more environmentally friendly transport. The Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB ranks in the middle. France’s Ouigo, Greece’s Hellenic Trains, and Eurostar close the rankings.

The new study ‘Mind the gap! Europe’s Rail Operators: A Comparative Ranking’ evaluates 27 European railway companies on eight criteria, including ticket prices, reliability, onboard facilities, and traveler experience.

Best marks

Trenitalia, SBB, and RegioJet get the best marks. Trenitalia, the primary train operator in Italy, stands out for its travel experience and special fares and reductions. Good for an overall score of 7.7 out of 10.

SBB, with a score of 7.4, is the most punctual operator, and RegioJet (also 7.4) has some of the most affordable tickets. Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB (7.1) and France’s SNCF (6.6) complete the top five.

Poor scores

By contrast, Eurostar (4.9) – NMBS/SNCB has an 18.5% stake in the Eurostar Group, which scores low because of its high prices, poor reliability, night trains, and cycling policy. On the latter two points, Hellenic Trains (5.1) and Ouigo (5.2), a low-cost service that cooperates with NMBS/SNCB, also score poorly. Sweden’s Snälltåget (5,2) and Dutch railways NS (5,3) are other railway companies scoring poorly.

With an overall score of 6.1, NMBS/SNCB finishes in the middle of the table, in 12th place out of 27. Regarding reliability, NMBS/SNCB is only surpassed by Switzerland’s SBB. Its compensation policy even puts the Belgian operator in the shared first place.

NMBS/SNCB has an excellent bicycle policy

Together with nine other companies, NMBS/SNCB does better than the European minimum requirements. For instance, passengers are fully reimbursed for delays of more than 60 minutes. NMBS/SNCB’s bicycle policy also scores high with a shared first place.

However, in terms of passenger experience, NMBS/SNCB falls far short. It finishes last with 2.7 out of 10. Along with Hellenic Trains, it is the only one not to offer Wi-Fi on board the train. Unlike 13 of the 27 other operators, NMSB/SNCB does not provide food on the train.

Higher level needed

For T&E, the results, based on publicly available data, mainly from railway companies’ annual reports and websites and government agencies, underline the need for reforms across the sector to raise European train services to a higher level because they do not meet expectations overall.

Also striking: expensive ticket prices do not necessarily lead to a higher quality of service. T&E, therefore, concludes that operators, Member States, and the European Commission should improve reliability, affordability, and booking experience. They should also compensate travelers for delays of more than 15 minutes and fully reimburse tickets when delays exceed 60 minutes.

Cheaper

It cites a performant rail system as one of the cornerstones of the zero-emission mobility system, alongside electric vehicles, buses, and clean fuels for aviation and shipping. In 2022, rail emissions accounted for 0.4% of transport emissions despite representing 7% of the EU’s passenger traffic. Between 1990 and 2023, transport emissions rose by 27%, with aviation emissions nearly doubling. In contrast, rail emissions decreased by 70% during the same period.

In addition, Europe on Rail also found that 73% of respondents think that rail travel on the same route should generally be cheaper than air travel. In general, rail trips are twice as expensive as flights.

According to T&E Flixtrain, Ouigo and RegioJet offer the most affordable fares. Avanti West Coast, Eurostar, and GWR rank as the costliest rail operators – coincidentally or not operating totally or partially in the UK. Eurostar is almost two times more expensive for routes of comparable lengths than other European operators.

T&E recommends reducing rail tolls for all cross-border trains and night trains and Member States implementing similar reductions for domestic journeys. Lower VAT for cross-border trains should also be considered, just as Member States should also consider reducing VAT or exempting domestic journeys from it.