On Thursday 28 September, the European Commission presented a draft regulation to revise and enhance application of regulation 1371/2007 on the rights and obligations of rail passengers. This regulation seeks to provide better protection for travellers in the event of delays or cancellations.
The Commission justifies its proposal by the fact that current rules for protecting rail passengers, such as those included in regulation 1371/2007 are not applied in a uniform or exhaustive way throughout the European Union. Only five member states (Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Slovenia) effectively comply with the provisions of the regulation question. The other member states employ five-year exemptions notified to the Commission, which can be renewed on two occasions (these can be applied until 2024) and they also have the possibility of only applying a limited part of the text.
The Commission is therefore suggesting several measures, particularly the uniform application of the roles for long distance domestic and cross-border services and those at urban, suburban and regional levels, which would no longer be subject to exemptions once the proposed regulation enters into force. Derogations will therefore only involve very specific cases.
Another flagship proposal of the text presented by the European Commission involves cases of unforeseeable circumstances in which railway operators would be exonerated from their obligations to compensate passengers who have suffered damages. Although regulation 1371/ 2007 does not contain these kinds of provisions, the proposal suggests this option when delays are caused by “exceptional natural catastrophes”. This measure would therefore create a legal regime relatively close to the one applied in the civil aviation domain. Airline companies enjoy, under article 5§3 of regulation 261/2004, the possibility of not having to compensate passengers when they have experienced “extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken”. This provision has been cited on several occasions by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The European Commission is also proposing to make it obligatory for providing passengers with information about their rights. This would be mentioned in their tickets but also in clear procedures that ensure travellers are able to use their rights appropriately.
The text also suggests assistance for people with disabilities in all services, as well as the mandatory right to assistance on all services and full compensation for loss or repair of mobility equipment. Relevant information has to be given in accessible formats and rail staff in all member states must receive disability awareness training.
Proposal gets rather warm welcome. Wim Van de Camp MEP (EPP, Netherlands) warmly welcome the Commission proposal in a press release on 28 September and said that the current legal regime “is full of exceptions” and that the European railways are still “very fragmented”. Mr Van de Camp particularly underlined the rules and procedures for ensuring passengers can exert their rights and said that a lot of work still needs to be done.
Karima Delli (Greens/EFA), the chairperson of the European Parliament’s transport committee was delighted that the Commission proposal “harmonises rail passenger rights throughout the EU by scrapping national exemptions”. Nonetheless, she calls on the Commission to go further on the question of intermodality and “provide equipment that will allow for bicycles to be taken on-board trains”.
The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) pointed out that consumer protection was a railway transport priority and in this regard highlighted the efforts made by the sector since the entry into force of regulation 1371/2007 in 2009. CEER director, Libor Lochman, said, “It is essential that this revision enables rail operators to keep up the good work in this area to the satisfaction of the customers, without jeopardising the sector’s compete”. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)