Onboard Entertainment Trends in Rail 2026

Onboard entertainment trends: What passengers really want

Rail travel is experiencing a strong resurgence across Europe. The liberalisation of the market, accelerated by the EU's Fourth Railway Package, has reshaped competition. Trenitalia launched its first private high-speed service in France (2021), Iryo entered the Spanish market (2022). Rail passenger numbers in the EU grew by +10% between 2023 and 2025, while the Digital Railway Market is forecast to grow at a 9.4% CAGR between 2025 and 2035.

This report is built on behavioural analysis from 6.2 million onboard sessions across Europe's rail network among Moment's clients in 2025: what passengers watched, read, played and listened to, and how those preferences shifted across seasons, routes and travel contexts.

Key insights from the onboard entertainment report

Passengers don't just glance at the screen. With 28 minutes of average video watchtime on journeys under three hours, engagement goes far deeper. These three figures are just the starting point.

What the full report reveals

The 2026 Onboard Entertainment Report breaks down exactly what passengers consume, when they consume it, and what that means for your content strategy:

• Which content categories drive the highest engagement by season
• How passenger demographics shift throughout the year and what that means for your catalogue
• The emerging formats quietly reshaping onboard consumption
• A seasonal editorial framework built directly from the data
• Strategic recommendations content managers can act on today

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Why onboard entertainment has become strategic

Onboard entertainment is no longer a complementary service. Understanding what passengers truly want is the first step to creating real value: a better passenger experience, stronger digital engagement, new ancillary revenue opportunities and a clearer brand identity. In a market where competition is accelerating and expectations are at a record high, the operators who act on data are the ones who turn journey time into value.

Download the report to find out what your passengers really want →

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