EU rail passenger rights and Interrail delay compensation AI-pedia

European Union rail passenger rights are a set of legally binding minimum protections for people travelling by train in the member states of the European Union. The current rules are in Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council on rail passengers' rights and obligations. This regulation has applied since 7 June 2023. It replaced Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007, which had applied since December 2009. The rules cover information, tickets, delays, cancellations, missed connections, refunds, compensation, assistance during disruption, the rights of persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility, bicycles on trains, and complaint handling.

The rules work in a particular way for holders of multi-journey rail passes, especially the Interrail pass (for residents of Europe) and the Eurail pass (for people living outside Europe). A pass trip usually involves more than one contract. The pass itself is issued under conditions set by Eurail B.V., a company owned by European railway and shipping companies. Seat reservations, sleeper berths and the trains themselves are provided by individual railway companies. Because of this, responsibility after a disruption is split between different organisations.

In practice, delay compensation calculated on the value of the pass is claimed from Eurail B.V. Practical help during a disruption (meals, hotel accommodation, alternative transport), and refunds of seat reservations or sleeper supplements, are matters for the railway company that operated the affected train or sold the reservation. Understanding this split is the main thing a pass holder needs in order to claim successfully.

History and background

The 2007 regulation

The first EU-wide rail passenger rights law was Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007, adopted in October 2007 as part of the "Third Railway Package", a group of laws intended to open up and integrate the European rail market. It applied from 3 December 2009. It introduced the 25% and 50% delay compensation levels, the right to a refund or rerouting after long delays, the right to assistance during disruption, and rights for persons with disabilities.

The 2007 regulation allowed member states to exempt many domestic services from most of its provisions. Several countries used these exemptions for long periods, so the level of protection on domestic trains varied considerably from country to country.

The ÖBB judgment of 2013

In 2013 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decided Case C-509/11, ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG, which arose from a dispute in Austria. The court held that the 2007 regulation did not allow railway undertakings to refuse delay compensation on the grounds of force majeure (events outside their control, such as extreme weather). Under the 2007 rules, therefore, compensation was due regardless of the cause of the delay. This position differed from air passenger law, where airlines can refuse compensation in "extraordinary circumstances".

The 2021 recast

The European Commission proposed a revision in 2017. The new text was adopted on 29 April 2021 as Regulation (EU) 2021/782 and applied from 7 June 2023. It is described as a "recast", meaning the old regulation was rewritten as a single new act with amendments, rather than patched. Its main changes included:

• a force majeure exemption from delay compensation, reversing the effect of the ÖBB judgment;
• a right for passengers to arrange their own alternative transport if the operator gives no rerouting options within 100 minutes;
• stronger rules on through-tickets and on informing passengers when tickets are separate;
• a shorter advance notice period (24 hours instead of 48) for assistance to persons with disabilities and reduced mobility;
• rules requiring bicycle spaces on new and substantially upgraded trains;
• narrower possibilities for member states to exempt domestic services.

Interrail and Eurail

The Eurail pass was introduced in 1959 for travellers from outside Europe. The Interrail pass was introduced in 1972, originally for young people, and was later opened to travellers of all ages. Both are now managed by Eurail B.V., based in Utrecht in the Netherlands, which is owned by a group of over 30 European railway and shipping companies. Passes have been available in a mobile (smartphone) format in recent years, used through the Rail Planner app, alongside the older paper format.

Scope of the regulation

Regulation (EU) 2021/782 applies to rail journeys and services throughout the EU provided by railway undertakings licensed under EU law. A railway undertaking is a public or private company licensed to provide rail transport of goods or passengers. Examples are SNCF Voyageurs in France, Deutsche Bahn in Germany, Trenitalia in Italy, Renfe in Spain and ÖBB in Austria.

Member states may exempt urban, suburban and regional services from parts of the regulation. Some core provisions, including certain rights for persons with disabilities and rules on non-discrimination, apply even where exemptions are used. The details of which services are exempt differ between countries and can change, so the position in any one country should be checked with its national enforcement body.

The European Economic Area (EEA) countries outside the EU (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) apply EU legislation once it has been incorporated into the EEA Agreement. Switzerland has its own passenger rights rules, which are broadly modelled on the EU approach. The United Kingdom left the EU in 2020 and now has its own rules, including the "Delay Repay" schemes of British train operators. The exact application of the 2021 recast outside the EU depends on these separate arrangements.

The regulation also works alongside the CIV Uniform Rules (the rules on international carriage of passengers by rail, an appendix to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail, known as COTIF). Some liability matters, such as death, injury and luggage, are dealt with by reference to these international rules.

Core rights for all passengers

Refund or rerouting (Article 18)

When it is reasonably expected that a passenger will arrive at the final destination more than 60 minutes late, or a train is cancelled, the passenger must be offered a choice between:

1. a refund of the ticket (for the part of the journey not made, and for the part already made if the journey no longer serves any purpose), with a return service to the first point of departure where relevant;
2. continuation or rerouting, under comparable transport conditions, to the final destination at the earliest opportunity;
3. continuation or rerouting, under comparable transport conditions, to the final destination at a later date of the passenger's choosing.

If the railway undertaking does not tell the passenger which options are available within 100 minutes of the scheduled departure time of the delayed or cancelled service (or the missed connection), the passenger may make a contract with other public transport providers by rail, coach or bus to reach the final destination. The railway undertaking must then reimburse the necessary, appropriate and reasonable costs. This right does not, on the wording of the regulation, extend to transport such as flights.

Compensation for delay (Article 19)

If the passenger does not take a refund, and arrives late at the final destination of the journey covered by the ticket, minimum compensation is:

Delay at final destination	Minimum compensation
Less than 60 minutes	None under EU law
60 to 119 minutes	25% of the ticket price
120 minutes or more	50% of the ticket price

Other key points in Article 19:

• Compensation must be paid within one month of the request.
• It may be paid in vouchers only if the passenger agrees; otherwise it must be paid in money.
• The operator may set a minimum threshold below which no compensation is paid. That threshold may not be higher than €4.
• Passengers are not entitled to compensation if they were told about the delay before buying the ticket.
• Holders of travel passes and season tickets who suffer recurrent delays or cancellations may request "adequate compensation" in accordance with the operator's compensation arrangements. This provision is important for Interrail and Eurail passes (see below).

Some national operators offer schemes more generous than the EU minimum. For example, Dutch Railways (NS) has offered compensation starting at 30 minutes of delay. Such schemes are voluntary or based on national law and vary over time.

Assistance and duty of care (Article 20)

When a train is delayed in departure or arrival by more than 60 minutes, the railway undertaking must provide, free of charge:

• meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time, if they are available on the train or in the station or can reasonably be supplied;
• hotel or other accommodation, and transport between the station and the accommodation, where a stay of one or more nights (or an additional stay) becomes necessary, where and when physically possible;
• transport from a train blocked on the track to the station, to an alternative departure point or to the final destination, where physically possible.

The regulation gives no fixed euro limit for hotel costs. If the operator does not arrange accommodation and the passenger books it, the test is whether the cost was necessary, appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances. Mediators and courts generally consider whether the passenger acted sensibly, for example by choosing a standard, mid-range hotel reasonably near the station rather than a luxury one, taking account of what was actually available at that time and place. Prices that are reasonable late at night in a large city during a busy period may be much higher than in a small town. Claims handlers sometimes apply internal guideline amounts. Passengers who pay more than such amounts usually strengthen their claim by keeping evidence that cheaper rooms were not available. The recast text is generally understood to allow the accommodation obligation to be limited (to a maximum of three nights) where the disruption is caused by extraordinary circumstances. Readers should check the current text for the exact conditions.

The duty of care is the same for every passenger, whatever the ticket. A pass holder has the same right to meals and accommodation as a passenger with a full-fare ticket.

Through-tickets (Article 12)

A through-ticket is one or more tickets representing a single transport contract for successive rail services. If a connection is missed on a through-ticket, the whole journey is protected: rerouting, refund and compensation are measured against the final destination.

The recast requires railway undertakings that are a single company, or wholly owned subsidiaries of one, to offer through-tickets for their own services. It also requires ticket sellers who sell separate tickets in a single transaction to tell the passenger clearly that these are not a through-ticket. If they fail to do so, the seller is liable to refund the amount paid and pay additional compensation (set at 75% of that amount). Interrail and Eurail passes are not through-tickets in this sense. Each train and each reservation is generally treated as a separate journey.

Persons with disabilities and reduced mobility

Articles 21 to 25 give persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility (PRM) rights to transport without discrimination, accessible information, and free assistance at stations and on board. The advance notice that may be required for assistance was reduced from 48 hours to 24 hours. These rights apply equally to pass holders.

Bicycles (Article 6)

The recast gives passengers a right to take bicycles on trains, subject to space and safety, and requires new and substantially upgraded passenger trains to have a minimum number of bicycle spaces (generally at least four, with possible variations set nationally). Operators may charge for bicycle carriage and require reservations.

How Interrail and Eurail passes fit into the system

Two separate tracks

An Interrail or Eurail pass gives the right to travel on the trains of participating operators. It does not usually include seat reservations, which many high-speed, international and night trains require. This produces two separate tracks for claims:

1. The pass. The pass is issued under the Eurail/Interrail pass conditions. Delay compensation on the value of the pass is claimed from Eurail B.V., which processes claims on behalf of the participating carriers, whichever railway caused the delay.
2. The train and the reservation. The railway undertaking operating the train is responsible for information, assistance (Article 20) and rerouting (Article 18). A seat reservation, couchette or sleeper supplement is a separate purchase from the carrier (even if bought through the Eurail or Interrail website), so refunds and any compensation for it are claimed from that carrier.

Eurail B.V. runs no trains and has no station staff, so it cannot provide meals or hotel rooms. Equally, an operating carrier will not normally pay compensation based on the price of a pass it did not sell.

The legal basis for pass compensation

Rail passes are not ordinary single-journey tickets. Under Article 19, holders of travel passes are entitled to "adequate compensation" in accordance with the operator's compensation arrangements, which must state how delays are measured and how compensation is calculated. Interrail and Eurail delay compensation therefore rests mainly on the compensation arrangements in the pass conditions, applied within the framework of the regulation, rather than on a formula written directly into the regulation for passes. Eurail B.V.'s published approach uses the same 25% and 50% levels as for ordinary tickets, applied to a "daily value" of the pass. The conditions can change, so passengers should check the version that applied when their pass was bought.

Pass delay compensation in detail

Thresholds

Delay is measured by comparing the scheduled and actual arrival time at the final destination of the journey being claimed, not at intermediate stations. Under Eurail B.V.'s published rules:

• 60 to 119 minutes late: 25% of the daily value of the pass;
• 120 minutes or more late: 50% of the daily value;
• under 60 minutes: no compensation.

Claims worth less than €4 are not paid, in line with the threshold permitted by the regulation.

Daily value: Flexi passes

A Flexi pass allows a set number of travel days within a longer validity period. For example, the Global Pass has been sold as 4, 5 or 7 travel days within 1 month, and 10 or 15 travel days within 2 months. The daily value is the pass price divided by the number of travel days:

Daily value = pass price / number of travel days
Compensation (60–119 min) = daily value x 0.25
Compensation (120+ min)   = daily value x 0.50

Daily value: Continuous passes

A Continuous pass allows travel on every day of a set period, such as 15 days, 22 days, 1 month, 2 months or 3 months. Here the daily value is the pass price divided by the number of days of validity:

Daily value = pass price / number of days of validity

Because continuous passes spread the price over more days, their daily value is usually lower, and compensation per delay is correspondingly smaller.

Worked examples

The table below uses hypothetical round-number prices to show the arithmetic. They are not actual Interrail prices, which vary by pass type, class, age group, season and promotions.

Pass (hypothetical)	Price	Days used in division	Daily value	25%	50%
Flexi: 7 days in 1 month	€350	7 travel days	€50.00	€12.50	€25.00
Flexi: 10 days in 2 months	€420	10 travel days	€42.00	€10.50	€21.00
Continuous: 15 days	€480	15 days	€32.00	€8.00	€16.00
Continuous: 1 month (assumed 30 days)	€600	30 days	€20.00	€5.00	€10.00
One Country Flexi: 4 days in 1 month	€160	4 travel days	€40.00	€10.00	€20.00

For a long continuous pass bought at a discount, the 25% figure can fall below €4. For example, a daily value of €14 gives a 25% payment of €3.50, which may be refused under the threshold.

Journeys, not individual trains

Pass holders usually claim per journey, from the origin to the final destination of a trip, rather than train by train. For example, if a trip from Madrid to a home station requires several trains and a missed or cancelled connection causes a late arrival, the relevant figure is how late the passenger arrives at the final destination compared with the original plan. It is helpful to submit the originally planned itinerary (for example, from the Rail Planner app) alongside the actual arrival time.

Journeys spanning two days

A cancellation, especially of a night train, can push a journey into the following day. Eurail B.V.'s approach, as generally reported, is to treat one disrupted journey as one claim, calculated on one day's value (at 50% if the arrival is 120 minutes or more late), even if the journey stretched over two calendar days. If the disruption forced the passenger to use an extra Flexi travel day that would not otherwise have been needed, this may be raised separately with Eurail B.V. How such cases are handled is not set out in the regulation and may depend on the pass conditions and the individual case. Pass conditions also contain a special rule for direct night trains departing after 19:00, under which only one travel day is needed. Travellers should check the current wording of that rule, because it affects which day counts.

Several delays on one pass

A passenger can make separate claims for separate delayed journeys during the validity of a pass. Whether pass conditions place an overall limit on total compensation per pass is not clearly established in publicly available summaries, and the regulation itself does not set a specific cap for passes.

Seat reservations, supplements and sleepers

Many trains require a reservation or supplement for pass holders, for example Eurostar, French TGV INOUI services, Italian Frecciarossa services, Spanish AVE services and ÖBB Nightjet night trains. These are contracts with the carrier, not with Eurail B.V., even when booked through Eurail's reservation service. Eurail B.V. does not refund reservations or compensate for them.

Cancelled trains

If the train for which a pass holder holds a reservation is cancelled, the passenger is entitled under Article 18 to a refund of the reservation, or to rerouting. The claim goes to the carrier that operated the train or issued the reservation. Staff may also rebook the passenger on a later train. Whether a new reservation is free depends on the carrier and the circumstances, though rerouting under Article 18 should be without extra cost when the carrier is responsible for the journey.

Missed reserved connections

The position is less straightforward when a delay on one carrier's train causes a passenger to miss a reserved train run by a different carrier. Because the reservations are separate contracts, the second carrier did not cause the problem and is not automatically obliged to refund or replace the missed reservation under Article 18. In practice:

• a delay confirmation from the late train is very useful when asking the second carrier for help;
• many carriers accept passengers on the next suitable train, sometimes with a new reservation at no charge, especially on international journeys;
• the pass itself still covers travel on the next train where no reservation is compulsory.

Agreement on Journey Continuation

Many European railway undertakings participate in the Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC), administered by the International Rail Transport Committee (CIT), a sector association of railway companies. Under the AJC, a passenger on an international journey with separate tickets who misses a connection because of a delay or cancellation may continue on the next available train of a participating carrier without buying a new ticket. Passengers usually need confirmation of the delay. The AJC does not provide financial compensation. How it applies to pass holders and their reservations may vary between carriers. A separate arrangement, "Hop On The Next Available", has been offered by the Railteam alliance of high-speed operators.

Compensation on reservation fees

If a reserved train arrives 60 minutes or more late, a pass holder may in principle ask the carrier for 25% or 50% compensation on the reservation fee. Carriers' practices differ on whether they treat a reservation as a "ticket" for this purpose. Many daytime reservation fees are low, so 25% often falls below the €4 threshold. For example, 25% of a €10 reservation is €2.50. Such claims are most worthwhile for expensive supplements, such as sleeper compartments on night trains.

Force majeure: the extraordinary circumstances exemption

Since 7 June 2023, a railway undertaking does not have to pay delay compensation if it can show that the delay, missed connection or cancellation was directly caused by, or inherently linked to:

• extraordinary circumstances not connected with the operation of the railway, such as extreme weather conditions, major natural disasters or major public health crises, which the operator could not avoid or prevent;
• fault of the passenger;
• the behaviour of a third party that the operator could not avoid or prevent, such as persons on the track, cable theft, emergencies on board, law enforcement activities, sabotage or terrorism.

The regulation states that the following do not count as grounds for exemption:

• strikes by the railway undertaking's own staff;
• acts or omissions of other undertakings using the same railway infrastructure;
• acts or omissions of infrastructure managers and station managers.

Technical faults in trains, staff shortages and ordinary operational problems are generally regarded as part of normal railway operation, and so not as extraordinary circumstances, although this is not always spelled out case by case. The burden of proof is on the operator.

The exemption applies only to compensation. It does not remove the right to a refund or rerouting under Article 18, or (subject to the possible accommodation limit mentioned above) the duty to provide assistance under Article 20. Whether Eurail B.V. applies the exemption to pass compensation depends on its conditions and on the cause given by the operating carrier.

Making claims as a pass holder

During the journey

• Delay confirmation. Ask the conductor or station staff for written confirmation of the delay or cancellation. Names include Verspätungsbestätigung or Verspätungsbescheinigung (German), attestation de retard (French) and attestazione di ritardo (Italian). Some operators provide confirmation online instead.
• Digital records. Keep screenshots of the activated travel day in the Rail Planner app, reservations, departure boards, and messages from the operator.
• Receipts. Keep original itemised receipts or invoices for hotels, meals and local transport. Card statements alone are often not accepted. In France, an itemised paid invoice (facture acquittée) is commonly requested for hotel costs.
• Why you paid yourself. Note why the operator did not arrange help, for example a closed ticket office or no staff present. Where room prices were high, a screenshot showing that cheaper rooms were unavailable can support the claim.

Claiming pass compensation from Eurail B.V.

1. Use the delay compensation form on the official Interrail or Eurail website.
2. Submit within the deadline in the pass conditions. This has been stated as three months after the pass expires, but should be checked.
3. Give the pass number and the details of the journey: stations, scheduled and actual times, and train numbers or operators.
4. Attach evidence: the planned itinerary, delay confirmations, and pass details or app records.

Claiming assistance costs and reservation refunds from carriers

1. Identify the carrier responsible: the operator of the delayed or cancelled train for assistance costs, and the issuer of the reservation for reservation refunds.
2. Use that carrier's passenger rights or customer service claim form.
3. Attach reservations, delay confirmations and itemised receipts.
4. Refer to Articles 18 and 20 of Regulation (EU) 2021/782 where relevant.

The recast provides for a common EU form for refund and compensation requests, intended to make claims easier across operators. Operators must still accept requests made in other ways.

Complaints, enforcement and dispute resolution

Railway undertakings must have a complaint-handling procedure. Under the recast, complaints should generally be submitted within three months of the incident. The operator must give a reasoned reply within one month, or within three months in justified cases, informing the passenger of the extension.

If a claim is rejected or ignored, passengers have several further options:

• National enforcement bodies (NEBs). Each member state designates a body to enforce the regulation. Examples include the Eisenbahn-Bundesamt in Germany and the Autorità di Regolazione dei Trasporti in Italy. Complaints can usually be made to the NEB of the country where the incident happened.
• Alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Independent conciliation bodies include the söp (Schlichtungsstelle für den öffentlichen Personenverkehr) in Germany, the apf (Agentur für Passagier- und Fahrgastrechte) in Austria and the Médiateur SNCF Voyageurs in France. These services are usually free for consumers. Whether their decisions are binding depends on national law and the body concerned.
• European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net). For cross-border disputes, the European Consumer Centre in the passenger's country of residence can help with a complaint against a trader in another EU or EEA country.
• Courts. Passengers can take civil action. Many countries have simplified procedures for small claims, and the EU has a European Small Claims Procedure for cross-border cases.

Debates and open questions

• Force majeure. Consumer organisations criticised the new exemption as reducing protection compared with the 2007 rules after the ÖBB judgment. Railway companies argued that it brings rail into line with other modes of transport. How narrowly "extraordinary circumstances" will be interpreted in rail cases is still being worked out in practice.
• Separate tickets and passes. Because pass journeys are not through-tickets, missed connections between carriers fall into a gap that voluntary arrangements such as the AJC only partly fill.
• Reasonable costs. The lack of fixed limits for hotel and alternative transport costs gives flexibility, but also leads to disputes between passengers and claims handlers over what is "reasonable".
• Enforcement. Enforcement levels and complaint-handling quality differ between member states. In late 2023 the European Commission proposed further passenger rights legislation, including measures on enforcement and on journeys combining different modes of transport. The outcome of that legislative process should be checked for current status.
• Pass-specific rules. Because the regulation leaves compensation for passes largely to operators' arrangements, the exact Interrail and Eurail rules depend on pass conditions that can change from year to year.

See also

• Interrail
• Eurail
• Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007
• Air passenger rights (Regulation (EC) No 261/2004)
• Bus and coach passenger rights (Regulation (EU) No 181/2011)
• Ship and ferry passenger rights (Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010)
• Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) and the CIV Uniform Rules
• International Rail Transport Committee (CIT)
• Railteam
• Third Railway Package
• DiscoverEU
• European Consumer Centres Network
• Delay Repay (United Kingdom)