The Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted the report by Bogusław LIBERADZKI (S&D, PL) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on rail passengers’ rights and obligations (recast).
The committee recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission's proposal as follows.
Purpose and objectives: Members considered that the Regulation should establishes rules applicable to rail transport to provide for effective protection of passengers and encourage rail travel as regards the following:
- non-discrimination between passengers with regard to transport and ticketing conditions;
- passengers' rights and compensation in the event of disruption such as cancellation or delay;
- minimum, accurate and timely information to be provided in accessible format to passengers, including the conclusion of transport contracts and the issuing of tickets.
Passenger rights and information: users’ rights to rail services include the receipt of information regarding those services and related matters both before and during and after the journey. Railway undertakings and ticket vendors shall provide this information, as soon as possible, in advance, or at least at the start of the journey. That information shall be provided in accessible formats for persons with disabilities or persons with reduced mobility and shall be available publicly. Railway undertakings shall provide this information to ticket vendors and other railway undertakings selling their services.
Information to travellers shall also be provided on possible connections with other modes of transport. Railway undertakings in cooperation with station managers and infrastructure managers shall indicate in timetables information about accessible train connections and stations.
Tickets: railway undertakings, ticket vendors and tour operators shall offer tickets, through-tickets and reservations, including for journeys across borders or involving night trains and journeys with more than one railway undertaking.
Members called for the booking of those tickets to be accessible and non-discriminatory, including for persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility. Railway undertakings, ticket vendors and tour operators shall develop suitable application programming interfaces and data formats to allow the exchange of information across network, regional and national boundaries and the booking of tickets via the internet.
Any restriction on the possibility of purchasing tickets on board a train should be both reasonable and justifiable.
Tickets shall be reprinted for passengers on the day of travel on request, either at the ticket office or through a ticketing machine. Where there is no ticket office or ticketing machine in the station of departure, or when the ticket office or ticketing machine is not fully accessible, passengers shall be informed at the station. Tickets bought on board the train shall not cost more than the relevant standard fare for the journey concerned with any applicable discounts.
An amendment stipulated that railway undertakings shall provide non-discriminatory access to all travel information, including real-time operational information on timetables and tariffs data, through application programming interfaces (APIs).
Bicycles: passengers shall be entitled to take bicycles, whether assembled or not, on board the train, including on high-speed, long-distance and cross-border trains. No later than two years after the entry into force of the Regulation, all new or refurbished trains should have a well indicated designated space for the carriage of at least eight assembled bicycles. Passengers should be informed of the space available for bicycles.
Compensation for delays: Members supported an increase in compensation, which means that a traveller who is delayed between the place of departure and the destination indicated on the ticket would be entitled to request compensation of:
- 50% of the ticket price for a delay of between 45 and 89 minutes;
- 75% of the ticket price for a delay of between 90 and 119 minutes;
- 100% of the ticket price for a delay of 120 minutes or more.
Passengers shall not have any right to compensation if they are informed of a delay before buying a ticket – unless the actual delay is more than 45 minutes longer than the delay announced, or if a delay due to continuation on a different service or re-routing remains below 45 minutes.
Persons with disabilities: Members clarified rules to ensure free assistance in stations for people with reduced mobility or disabilities. Railway undertakings and station managers shall, when complying with the TSI for persons with reduced mobility, also ensure that the station, platforms, rolling stock and other facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility. Where necessary, the needs of certified service animals would also be taken into account.
Assistance in stations shall be provided during the operating hours of the railway services provided that the railway undertaking has been notified, at least 12 hours in advance, of the need for assistance of the disabled person or person with reduced mobility.
Members also specified that railway operators and station managers have a responsibility to fully and promptly compensate passengers for any damaged or lost mobility equipment, or for the loss or injury of a service animal.
Complaints: rail passengers may be able to submit a complaint to any railway undertaking, ticket vendor, railway station or infrastructure manager involved regarding the rights and obligations conferred by this Regulation, and be entitled to receive a response within a reasonable period of time. Complaints may be made by organisations representing groups of passengers. The Commission shall adopt a standardised EU complaint form that passengers may use to apply for compensation in accordance with this regulation.