CALL FOR EVIDENCE

FOR AN INITIATIVE (without an impact assessment)

This document aims to inform the public and stakeholders about the Commission's work, so they can provide feedback and participate effectively in consultation activities.

We ask these groups to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions, and to give us any relevant information they may have.

Title of the initiative

Targeted revision of Regulation (EU) 2021/782 on rail passengers’ rights and obligations

Lead DG – responsible unit

DG MOVE – B.5

Likely Type of initiative

Legislative (proposal for a Regulation)

Indicative Timing

Q4-2025

Additional Information

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14691-Targeted-revision-of-Regulation-EU-2021-782-on-rail-passengers-rights-and-obligations_en

This document is for information purposes only. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by this document, including its timing, are subject to change.

A. Political context, problem definition and subsidiarity check

Political context

In his report on the single market, Enrico Letta pointed to the pivotal role of railways in uniting the EU and advancing the decarbonisation of transport. At the same time, consumers face difficulties when booking multiple legs of rail journeys and have insufficient rail passenger rights, as highlighted by Mario Draghi in his report on the future of European competitiveness.

In the Political Guidelines 2024-2029, President von der Leyen stressed that it should be made easier for people to shift to more sustainable travel options, in particular cross-border rail. This is key to achieving the EU’s climate objectives. To this end, people should be able to make trans-European rail journeys with several providers and enjoy passenger rights for their whole trip.

This initiative is closely linked to the initiatives for a Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation and the Multimodal Digital Mobility Services Regulation and will therefore be aligned with them, also with respect to the timelines.

Problem the initiative aims to tackle

Cross-border, long-distance and regional rail travel within the EU often requires passengers to purchase and combine tickets from different railway operators.

The attractiveness of cross-border, long-distance and regional rail travel involving connections is limited by the low availability of ‘through-tickets’ - single tickets that cover connecting services with full passenger rights (reimbursement or re-routing, assistance and compensation). As highlighted in the Commission’s Action plan to boost long-distance and cross-border passenger rail and the accompanying study, the use of these tickets remains limited. Regulation (EU) 2021/782 on rail passengers’ rights and obligations introduced for the first time an obligation for railway undertakings to offer through-tickets, but only for long-distance or regional services from a ‘sole railway undertaking’, i.e. a rail operator or several rail operators that are part of the same railway undertaking.

For rail services that do not fall under the obligation to offer through-tickets, railway undertakings are required to make all reasonable efforts to offer through-tickets and to cooperate with each other for that purpose. Where a railway undertaking, on its own initiative, sells a combination of tickets for a journey involving operators that are not part of the same railway undertaking, and does so in a single commercial transaction, there is a general presumption that this constitutes a through-ticket – unless the undertaking informs the passenger, before purchase, that the tickets represent separate transport contracts.  

Currently, cooperation between railway undertakings to offer through-tickets is limited and occurs on a case-by-case basis. Some railway undertakings have entered into multilateral voluntary sector agreements to assist passengers if they miss a connection (e.g. Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC), Hop On the Next Available Train (HOTNAT)). However, these initiatives are not widely known and offer limited services and assistance.

For these reasons, combined tickets are often not covered by passenger rights even when purchased in a single transaction on a single platform. As a result, passengers who buy a combination of tickets as part of the same transaction but miss a connection between services operated by different rail operators, due to a delay or cancellation on an earlier connection, are not entitled to reimbursement, re-routing, compensation or assistance under EU law. This puts them at risk of being stranded during their journey, and of incurring additional costs for continuing their journey, accommodation, and refreshments, with limited possibilities to recover these or receive compensation for the inconvenience suffered.

Without EU-level action, rail passengers in the EU will continue to face limited support and possibilities for cost recovery and compensation for missed connections where the service is carried out by different rail undertakings, despite buying tickets in a single transaction from a ticket vendor or railway undertaking.

Basis for EU action (legal basis and subsidiarity check)

Legal basis

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) confers on the EU institutions the competence to lay down appropriate provisions in the transport sector (Articles 91 and 100(2) TFEU).

Practical need for EU action

This initiative addresses cross-border, long-distance and regional rail travel (and, if not exempted by the Member State concerned, also local rail travel) purchased as part of the same transaction from a ticket platform. The initiative aims to protect passenger rights across the EU by amending Regulation (EU) 2021/782 in a targeted manner.

B. What does the initiative aim to achieve and how

This initiative aims to ensure that passengers are granted their passenger rights when travelling with multiple railway undertakings, with tickets purchased as part of a single transaction from a ticket platform. This is particularly important when connections between rail services are missed due to a delay or cancellation of the previous service. Minimum connection times must be respected.

Likely impacts

In terms of economic impacts, consumers who buy tickets in a single transaction on a single platform and who cannot buy a through-ticket for their journey are likely to benefit from reduced costs compared to today in the event of a missed connection, due to a cancellation or a delay. They would not have to buy another ticket at applicable day fares to make sure they get to their final destination. If the next connection is the following day, they would also be spared the cost of accommodation.  In addition, passengers missing a connection would be compensated appropriately for the inconvenience caused, except in the event of force majeure. Industry and intermediaries that sell rail tickets may see an increase in ticket sales as passengers would perceive buying tickets in a single transaction on a single platform as reliable and attractive, thanks to enhanced passenger rights. On the other hand, these enhanced rights may lead to some increases in ticket prices as railway undertakings might anticipate potential additional costs for implementing them. Public authorities may experience an increase in costs for enforcing these enhanced rights.

The same applies to a more limited extent to passengers protected by voluntary agreements of railway undertakings (HOTNAT and AJC) They are only protected against missed connections but have no other passenger rights in such situations, such as information, care and assistance, or compensation.

In terms of social impact, the initiative is expected to increase citizens’ welfare when travelling by rail. Passengers making multi-operator rail journeys when purchasing the ticket in a single transaction on a single platform would benefit from increased protection.

In terms of environmental impact, improving rail passenger rights and trust in rail transport overall is expected to improve its attractiveness, and may result in other less environmentally friendly transport alternatives being used less. The initiative therefore contributes towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #13 Climate action.

The impact of this initiative is likely to be spread across the EU Member States with railways on their territory, especially for cross-border journeys.

Future monitoring

The monitoring of this initiative’s impacts will be ensured by collecting data for the same indicators as already laid down in Article 32 of Regulation (EU) 2021/782

C. Better regulation

Impact assessment

The initiative will be accompanied by a staff working document that will define the problem, present the proposed solution and its impacts, as well as the underlying evidence. No impact assessment is planned as the proposed measure was already assessed in the impact assessment conducted in 2017. The staff working document will build on that assessment and complement it with new evidence.

Consultation strategy

The Commission will consult as widely as possible in order to gather key information and ensure that the general public interest of the EU, including that of rail operators and intermediaries, is well reflected in the design of the initiative.

This call for evidence which will run for 8 weeks, allows both the general public and stakeholders to express views as well as provide data and evidence.

The Commission will also hold targeted consultations with Member States and other relevant stakeholders.

The main stakeholders identified as likely to be affected include civil society, businesses and national authorities.