On Friday 8 November, the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union submitted to the experts from the EU Council's Land Transport Working Party a fourth draft compromise on the recast of the regulation (1371/2007) regarding rail passengers’ rights and obligations.
Some changes are to be noted in relation to the previous draft compromise that Helsinki had tabled on 28 October (see EUROPE 12360/13).
In particular, this new text includes a new provision stipulating that delays occurring during those parts of the journey which do not fall within the scope of the regulation should be excluded from the calculation of the compensation for delays.
With regard to ticket sales, Helsinki suggests that Member States should have the possibility to extend to all passengers the possibility of acquiring their train ticket on board, at no additional cost, in the absence of an office selling tickets, a ticket machine or any other means of purchasing a ticket in advance. The previous text restricted this possibility to people with disabilities only.
While this new draft compromise will be examined by the national experts of the Land Transport Working Group on 13 November, a source close to the dossier told EUROPE that it is very likely that Member States will reach a political agreement ('general approach') by December. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)