New ruling to force EU train operators to refund delayed passengers

The European Court of Justice has made a decisive ruling which will require train operators to refund delayed passengers even if the cause of the delay is out of its control.

Passengers will be entitled to compensation of at least 25 per cent of the ticket price in the event of a delay of between 60 and 119 minutes and 50 per cent if delayed by two hours or longer. And unlike before, operators won’t be able to opt out of giving refunds in cases of force majeure - a legal term used in a scenario such as a natural disaster where an operator may be unable to avoid delays or cancellations.

The ruling was made following action brought by Austria’s national train operator ÖBB which challenged a directive from the Austrian rail network control commission which asked the operator to remove a passage from its general terms and conditions removing a passenger’s right to compensation in the context of a delay that is out of the operator’s control.

As well as compensation in cases of force majeure, the ruling states that passengers should also be allowed to claim for additional refunds beyond the fixed-rate compensation they will be entitled to.




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