Compensation comes later; eating and sleeping happen now. The regulation separates the two: assistance en route and money for the delay exist independently.
What the operator must provide en route
From sixty minutes of delay the passenger is offered a choice, plus free meals and, where needed, accommodation.
✓ Verified: 02/08/2026
WHAT TO DO
DOCUMENTS 3
› Details and tips
👨🏻💻
Max recommends:
We were stuck at the station for four hours at night and nothing was offered. I took a room myself, kept the receipt, and was reimbursed along with the compensation.
👩🏼💼
Lea recommends:
Ask staff explicitly about assistance and note what they say. A refusal on the spot is an important part of the later claim if you had to pay yourself.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What choice must be offered? ▾
Where a delay of sixty minutes or more is expected, the railway undertaking must offer the passenger a choice without delay — between reimbursement of the fare and continuing the journey, including by a changed route. It must offer this of its own motion rather than on request.
Are meals provided during the wait? ▾
Yes. With a delay from sixty minutes or on cancellation, the undertaking offers meals and refreshments free of charge in reasonable relation to the waiting time, provided they are available on the train or at the station or can reasonably be delivered considering distance, delivery time and cost.
What if the journey breaks overnight? ▾
Then hotel or other accommodation and transport between the station and that accommodation are provided where a stay of one or more nights becomes necessary, so far as physically practicable.
What if nothing was offered? ▾
Keep receipts and claim reimbursement in writing. The duty of care rests with the undertaking, and reasonable costs incurred because it was breached belong in the claim alongside the compensation itself.