• Vincent@feddit.nl
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    5 months ago

    I took a trip from the Netherlands to Romania, and amazingly only had a single transfer.

    At least, that was the plan, but then a train went missing on the way there and we had an additional transfer. Pretty stressful. Way home was super smooth though.

    The one thing I don’t get the EU doesn’t bring down the hammer on is getting directions and buying tickets. Feels like that should be a relatively easy fix, forcing all European rail companies to align from the top down. But I’m probably unaware of something that makes that harder than it seems.

    • crispy_kilt@feddit.de
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      5 months ago

      Pretty much all train companies are vast old overcomolicated state-run monoliths that are very used to everyone working around them in their own country. Such organisations suddenly having to work together with others as equals requires a culture shift. Not to mention the technical challenges, the IT systems - if they even have any, or any from this century - are typically vastly different. They’d have to invest massively in modernisation and standardisation before they can even think of integration. This requires a multi-year effort and a lot of investment, which many states are not ready to make.

      Sauce: the Swiss state-run train company SBB/CFF/FFS is and has been working hard to integrate the systems of just our neighbours, and it has been … interesting.

      • Vincent@feddit.nl
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        5 months ago

        Oh yes, I’m not doubting it would be a multi-year effort, it’s more that I’m not aware of any such effort being in progress. Like, couldn’t the EU at least have set a goal of interoperability in x years?