Streamlined European Train Travel: DB Navigator to Unify Cross-Border Ticket Purchases
Simplified international train journeys forthcoming
Beginning autumn 2025, purchasing train tickets for cross-border journeys throughout Europe will become more straightforward via the DB Navigator, the German Railway's ticketing platform. This innovation is made possible by the implementation of the Open Sales and Distribution Model (OSDM) interface standard, set to unify the currently fragmented cross-border ticket system. By the end of 2026, DB aims to sell "tickets from all major railways of our neighboring countries directly via bahn.de and the DB Navigator app."
Michael Peterson, the board member for long-distance traffic at DB, comments, "International long-distance traffic is booming." DB recorded its strongest year in this area in 2024, with a growth of 22 percent compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019.
Although new connections have been added, such as the recent ICE direct connection between Berlin and Paris, cross-border train travel in Europe still faces significant challenges. Matthias Gastel, a Green politician who has long worked on rail issues, highlights the need for an integrated European rail network, as one hassle remains: purchasing multiple tickets for cross-border trips that must be bought separately. Tickets from competitors like Flix cannot be purchased through DB due to allegedly high commissions intended to deter consumption.
Further complications arise with cross-border routes, where technical issues such as power supply, signaling technology, track width, and language skills of the drivers can create complications. However, the OSDM promises to simplify ticket buying, empowering customers to book international journeys as easily as national ones. In addition, the system provides real-time updates via mobile phones and facilitates the purchase of regional transport tickets abroad.
Initially, the OSDM will be implemented with Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) in autumn 2025, with additional partners joining in subsequent months. By the end of 2026, the system aims to cover nearly all of Europe. The European Commission is supportive of such initiatives and will propose a legislative framework to ensure uniform digital booking and ticketing services, enabling "European citizens to buy a single ticket on a single platform and exercise their passenger rights for the entire journey."
DB manager Peterson expressed confidence in achieving their goal, stating, "I have no concerns at all about what the EU Commission wants to regulate because we share the same goals." However, the company anticipates potential conflicts between the EU's proposed standard and the already invested resources and time in OSDM. It remains to be seen if the EU's regulations will coincide with DB's timeline.
Source: ntv.de, mau/dpa
- Deutsche Bahn
- Europe
- Transport Policy
- Consumer Protection
- As part of the Deutsche Bahn's effort to streamline European train travel, policy reforms may be implemented in areas such as employment policy, vocational training, technology, and education-and-self-development to create a more efficient workforce that can manage the complexities of the Open Sales and Distribution Model (OSDM) and provide better customer service.
- The implementation of the OSDM, aiming to unify the cross-border ticket system, could help establish a community policy that ensures European citizens have equal access to digital booking and ticketing services, enabling them to buy a single ticket on a single platform and exercise their passenger rights for the entire journey, fostering a more integrated and interconnected Europe.
