The European Parliament and the EU Council finally reached agreement on Thursday 1 October on the revision of the Regulation on rail passengers' rights (see EUROPE 12562/4).
“We reached an important agreement today for the future of European rail transport. We managed to secure the same minimal passenger rights all over the EU when it comes to spaces for bikes, through-tickets and rights of passengers with reduced mobility”, welcomed the European Parliament's rapporteur, Bogusław Liberadzki (S&D, Poland), welcoming “significant improvements”.
An “important agreement” which was obtained, however, at the price of numerous concessions on the European Parliament side. “We faced a blatant conservatism on the part of Member States on some key points”, lamented the chair of Parliament's Transport Committee, Karima Delli.
Levels of compensation for ticket prices in the event of delays, for example, have not been revised. The required compensation remains set at 25% of the ticket price for a delay of between 60 and 119 minutes and 50% for 120 minutes or more.
Re-routing However, in the event of a train delay preventing a connecting passenger from taking their second train, the new text introduces the obligation for the railway undertaking to find a re-routing solution for the passenger within 100 minutes - as opposed to the 3 hours required by the EU Council.
If the company fails to do so, the passenger may choose another journey, which will then be the responsibility of the railway company operating the first journey. No force majeure cause can exonerate a company from this responsibility.
Force majeure. For other liabilities, on the other hand, including compensation for delays, companies may be exempted in the event of exceptional circumstances, such as “extreme weather conditions, major natural disasters or major health crises” such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
For Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg, shadow rapporteur for the Greens/EFA, the introduction of this provision is a blow to the “current high level of protection”, and runs counter to the objectives of the Year of Rail 2021 and the European Green Deal in promoting rail travel.
“Parliament has only been able to assert its progressive demands in a selective way. Member States have shown little flexibility”, she also lamented.
Single ticket. In addition, companies will now have to offer single tickets. So a journey involving connections and different operators (regional, national) should be covered by a single ticket and considered as a single commercial operation.
However, this obligation will only apply to journeys operated by a single company or by a subsidiary wholly owned by the parent company.
According to the new text, regional services, too, will now have to be subject to the rules on single tickets and on re-routing as well as the new provisions concerning persons with reduced mobility.
Travellers with reduced mobility. The agreement does provide that 24 hours' advance notice of a journey to the railway company will be necessary for a person with reduced mobility to be taken care of by trained staff during their journey.
However, this provision will only come into force as of 30 June 2026. Until then, advance notice of travel must be given 36 hours in advance. Under the current rules, prior notification must reach the operator within 48 hours.
Associations such as the European Disability Forum regret, however, that persons with reduced mobility cannot obtain assistance or travel without prior notification, as this provision prevents them in particular from booking a journey in an emergency.
Bikes on trains. Finally, the adopted text obliges railway undertakings - when investing in new wagons or significantly renovating existing ones - to provide a certain number of dedicated bicycle spaces.
The number of places per wagon may not be less than four, except in exceptional circumstances - in the case of the Scandinavian countries, for example, where there may be greater demand for skis than for bicycles. This provision will take effect 4 years after the entry into force of the text.
The text will enter into force after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU and will be applicable 24 months later. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)