Travelling to the Jungfraujoch in the Bernese Alps.
Keystone / Anthony Anex
The best railway company in Europe is Trenitalia, according to NGO Transport and Environment (T&E). Swiss Federal Railways came second and the Czech RegioJet third. Eurostar was rated worst.
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The train “is the mainstay of mobility in most European countries, a pillar of mobility that is often singled out for failure”, said Victor Thévenet, rail coordinator for the thinktank, which on Monday published a ranking of 27 companies evaluated according to criteria such as ticket prices and reliability.
With this study, Thévenet said T&E wanted to offer a comprehensive comparison framework, enabling companies to draw on good practices to move forwards and encourage states to implement more rail-friendly regulations.
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Trenitalia, according to the NGO, offers one of the best value for money on the continent and excels in almost all categories, with the exception of the offer for travellers with bicycles.
Eight criteria were used to evaluate companies on medium- and long-distance routes, the most important of which is ticket price. Other criteria included reliability, the offer of discounts, compensation policies, the offer of night trains and bicycle spaces.
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As for Eurostar, not only is it the worst company on the continent, it is also the most expensive. The prices of the SNCF Voyageurs subsidiary are double the European average and do not guarantee service quality, says T&E, which cites in particular its lack of reliability.
Translated from Italian by DeepL/ts
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