A coalition of 15 NGOs, including Brussels-based Transport and Environment and the Campaign for Better Transport, have written to the European Commission calling for it to fully utilise its Multimodal Digital Mobility Services Regulation (MDMS) to support a transition to greener forms of transport and a subsequent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Their letter says the regulation "should enable a modal shift from air to rail at both national and cross-border levels" by enabling consumers to seamlessly combine low-carbon transport such as rail and bus.

However, they accuse the commission’s directorate general for mobility and transport of curtailing its ambitions for the MDMS regulation by failing to sufficiently extend its scope.

"The commission should not miss this window of opportunity to give consumers stronger capacity to travel cross-border and on multi-modal journeys, enabling a large number of passengers to shift from air to rail and reduce GHG emissions," said the coalition.

The 15 say one of the main barriers to cross-border travel is the complex ticket booking landscape, which often leads to travellers having to make "burdensome" multi-ticket bookings. "They must too often use booking tools showing mainly flight options," said the group, who warned this was deterring business travellers ready to transition to more sustainable forms of transport.

According to the campaigners, only operators with a more than 50% share of their domestic market are required to permit the sale of their domestic tickets on other platforms, "therefore excluding cross-border journeys from MDMS".

"It is totally incompatible with the objectives of the European Green Deal and will restrict the ability of climate-conscious consumers to shift from air to rail transport."

Meanwhile, the EU’s transport commissioner has joined rail minister Huw Merriman in signalling their support for rival train operating companies to rival Eurostar on the cross-Channel rail network.

Adina Valean told the Evening Standard an increase in rail competition across the EU in recent years had resulted in better services, lower prices and increase in passenger numbers. “This experience shows that increased competition on lines operating through the Channel Tunnel could bring important benefits to passengers," she told the paper.

It comes after Merriman last month told parliament’s transport committee the UK government was keen to encourage competition on the network and "get more operators on there", stating it was "the only way we’re actually going to bring prices down [on cross-Channel rail services]" and "get more people on it".

Eurostar was hit hard by the pandemic, cutting several routes – including its popular Disneyland Paris and Alps ski services – and now only serves six of the 13 stations it called at in 2019.