The best railway company in Europe is the Italian Trenitalia, according to the NGO Transport and Environment (T&E), which on Monday published a ranking of 27 companies evaluated based on various criteria such as price and reliability, placing the Eurostar at the bottom of the group.
The train “is the pillar of mobility in most European countries, a pillar of mobility that is often criticized for its shortcomings,” explained Victor Thévenet, coordinator of rail affairs at the NGO. T&E’s aim with this study is to provide a comprehensive framework for comparison, which allows companies to draw inspiration from best practices to move forward, and to encourage governments to introduce more rail-friendly regulations.
A series of eight criteria was used to evaluate companies on medium- and long-distance routes, the most important of which is price. Reliability, available discount programs, compensation policies, passenger experience and the availability of night trains or bicycle spaces were also taken into consideration.
The company with the best feedback was Trenitalia: according to T&E, in fact, it offers one of the best quality-price ratios on the continent. It excels in almost every category, except for the bike offering.
Followed by FFS and RegioJet, which operates trains in the Czech Republic and neighboring countries. The Austrian company ÖBB placed fourth and SNCF fifth. At the bottom of the ranking, in 25th place, we find Ouigo – the low-cost subsidiary of SNCF, while the worst company on the continent is also the most expensive, according to T&E. Eurostar is in 27th place, just after the Greek Hellenic Trains.
T&E emphasizes that the quality of the service is not commensurate with its prices, which are normally double the European average. According to the ranking, the company – majority controlled by SNCF Voyageurs – also suffers from a lack of reliability, which further aggravates the final result.
Swiss
