Want a cheap train from Brussels to Paris?
It sure ain't IZY!
And you better not speak German, Italian or Spanish (seriously)
Do read on in the #EUYearOfRail thread 🧵
There's a low-ish cost train service between Brussels and Paris called Thalys IZY - its own website is here 👇
izy.com/en
Services are reduced post-COVID, but it still runs...
But how do you book it?
Here's the train I want on the IZY site ✅
But presuming you might - naively - assume it's run by Thalys, you might think its trains were on the Thalys website
❌ But no, you'd be wrong - they don't show there 👇
booking.thalys.com
If you're starting in Belgium you might think SNCB could sell you a ticket for it... But no @SNCB_Int doesn't have it either ❌ 👇
b-europe.com
International rail portals @thetrainline @OmioGlobal don't have it either... ❌ 👇
omio.com
thetrainline.com
But what about French railways ticket portal @ouisncf?
That's where it gets **REALLY WEIRD**
OUI offers you these language/country options
Search using any of the 🇧🇪 options, 🇨🇭 (French, English) options, 🇫🇷, 🇱🇺, 🇬🇧 and 🇪🇺 and...
✅ the Thalys IZY train is shown
Search using the 🇪🇸, 🇮🇹 or 🇩🇪 options...
❌ the Thalys IZY is NOT shown
Weirdest of all is the 🇨🇭 German version that tells you the cheapest price is €49 for the day (the Thalys IZY train) but then gives you an error when you try to get it! 🤪
And if you click 🇷🇺 or rest of the world... you get sent to the Rail Europe portal instead, which does not find IZY trains at all ❌ 👇
raileurope.com
Seriously @OUIsncf what the hell is going on here?
Restricting sales of low cost trains based on the language someone speaks? @beuc @moniquegoyens @ufcquechoisir @Test_Achats might have something to say about that!
@Djebbari_JB @GeorgesGilkinet might have some views on this too
Crux here remains this: if we are to make travel by train, Europe-wide, as attractive as possible - ALL timetables, tickets and live running data for ALL trains, regardless of operator - need to be made available to third parties
Without that passengers can't get an overview!
Might also be of interest to @Transport_EU who are supposed to be making the European rail market work, and @CER_Railways who are supposed to believe in transparency of ticketing from their members.
/ends
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