Brussels, 24 March 2025
The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) has published its fifth progress report on the CER Ticketing Roadmap, introduced in autumn 2021. This roadmap outlines the rail sector’s vision for ticketing and distribution by 2025 and 2030, aiming to enhance the passenger experience within the Single European Railway Area. CER members actively support the European Commission’s policy agenda to simplify digital booking and ticketing. Achieving the Roadmap’s key milestones by the end of 2025 will significantly improve the European ticketing experience.
To track progress, CER passenger railways conduct biannual surveys, with results presented to the CER General Assembly. The current report summarises the latest survey conducted in November and December 2024, highlighting the current status and areas needing reinforcement.
Roadmap delivery is progressing well, with multilateral solution development nearing completion. Survey respondents are individually implementing these solutions, and their timelines have been largely reconfirmed. Any reported delays are being addressed collaboratively between the affected railways and the central project team.
The Online Sales & Distribution Model (OSDM) remains a crucial technical enabler for several Roadmap goals. In 2024, Sweden, one of the most competitive and open rail markets in the EU, adopted OSDM as the national standard for ticket distribution, benefiting both rail ticket retailers and distributors. Other CER member railways are also enhancing their sales and distribution systems to achieve OSDM readiness. While project maturity varies among railways, significant achievements will be communicated throughout the year. Use cases demonstrate that OSDM, developed in collaboration with third-party ticket vendors, is interoperable with other standards like the Network Exchange Format (NeTEx) for timetable data.
Additionally, Lithuanian CER member LTG Link has announced its intention to join the CIT Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) starting 1 April 2025. The AJC ensures passenger care during major delays and disruptions on multi-carrier journeys. Consequently, LTG Link passengers will be able to continue their journey in case of a missed connection, without any extra cost if this is due to a delay or cancellation. The AJC represents over 90% of CER members’ passenger traffic in the EU. CER invites and expects more railway undertakings to join, further fulfilling the goal of passenger protection across the EU.
The next implementation progress monitoring survey will be carried out in April/May this year. Significant outcomes will be shared following their endorsement by the members of CER.
CER Executive Director Alberto Mazzola said: “The full and timely implementation of the CER Ticketing Roadmap remains a top priority for CER members, as reaffirmed at the latest CER General Assembly. To improve international rail ticketing, we once again urge the European Commission to incorporate OSDM into the TSI TA Regulation (Technical Specification for Interoperability, Telematics Applications). The revision of this regulation should not be finalised without ensuring that the sector’s ongoing investments are safeguarded. The Roadmap’s second phase (2026-2030) will address rail in the multimodal context improving the rail passenger experience on journeys involving multiple transport modes.”
Source – CER