Outlook on new EU rail passenger rights

If no force majeure was involved, railways have to compensate as before. From one hour of delay, it is 25% of the ticket price as usual, from two hours, passengers receive 50% of the ticket price back. In its 2018 position, the Parliament had demanded the refund of the entire ticket price in the case of delays of more than two hours, but could not get its way.

The new rules will clarify and extend protection in such cases where a train cannot depart or continue and passengers therefore need alternative transport to their final destination. The train operator must try to re-route the passenger in all circumstances, even in cases where alternative transport is required. If the operator has failed to communicate the available options to the passenger within 100 minutes, a stranded passenger may take an alternative surface public transport on his or her own initiative and be entitled to reimbursement of the costs so incurred from the railway undertaking.

There are some improvements for people with disabilities and reduced mobility. People with physical disabilities often need help, and in future they will have the right to assistance on all trains in the EU, for example when boarding and alighting, but only "if trained staff are on duty". In future, this will apply throughout the EU not only to long-distance trains but also to regional trains. Another improvement is that, according to the future regulation, people with disabilities no longer have to register their need for assistance up to 48 hours before departure, but only up to 24 hours before the journey.

To promote environmentally friendly mobility, it will become easier for passengers to take bicycles along. In future, European railway companies will be obliged to provide bicycle transport spaces and to inform passengers about the available capacities. This also applies to trains subject to reservation, where the reservation of bicycle spaces also must be made possible in future. The general rule is at least four bicycle spaces per train. After public consultation, railway undertakings may provide for a different number of spaces depending on the type of service, the size of the train and the foreseeable demand for the transport of bicycles. Member States may also set this number higher if there is a greater demand for the carriage of bicycles. The requirements for bicycle spaces apply when a railway undertaking orders new railcars or when it undertakes a major refit of older vehicles. Exceptions apply for the winter period, when there is seasonally less demand for bicycle transport. The bicycle rules will only come into force 2 years later (i.e. 2025) than the rest of the regulation (2023).

The new regulation also stipulates that infrastructure and train managers should, among other things, provide ticket traders with information on trains in real time. This aims to promote new customer-friendly offers "from a single source", especially in cases where the trains of several railways or different means of transport are combined. This will enable, for example, the improvement of online purchase portals or mobile applications with more comprehensive information content about the entire passenger journey.