ROUTE
Train delayed: compensation and assistance
From sixty minutes, twenty-five per cent of the fare; from a hundred and twenty, fifty. Plus meals and accommodation at the operator expense.
β Checked: 02/08/2026
Rail passenger rights in the European Union revolve around one measure: the delay on arrival. The decisive threshold is sixty minutes β from it flow both the duties en route and the compensation. A delay at departure counts for nothing; what matters is arrival between the points named on the ticket.
βΊ More about this route
Compensation is fixed plainly: twenty-five per cent of the fare for 60 to 119 minutes and fifty per cent from 120 minutes, with the right to travel retained. Separately from money come the duties of care: meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time, and accommodation with transfer where an overnight stay becomes necessary. Operators may set minimum thresholds below which nothing is paid β at most four euros per ticket.
This five-step route covers the whole path: from which minute rights arise, what the operator must provide en route, how compensation is calculated and what applies to season tickets, how to file the claim and why refusing it over a missing form is unlawful, and what to do when extraordinary circumstances are invoked β up to the national enforcement body.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
All possible documents for this route
- Ticket or booking confirmation
- Evidence of arrival time
- Ticket
- Receipts for food and accommodation
- Evidence of the delay
- Ticket showing the fare
- Completed form or free-form letter
- Letter of refusal
- Records of the stated cause
- Copy of the original claim
WHERE PEOPLE MOST OFTEN LOSE MONEY AND TIME
- Measuring the delay at departure. Only arrival at the destination on the ticket counts.
- Going home without securing the actual arrival time. A week later the evidence is far harder to assemble.
- Dropping the claim because the operator form is missing. Rejecting it on that ground alone contradicts the regulation expressly.
- Accepting a weather-based refusal unchecked. Ordinary seasonal conditions are not extraordinary circumstances.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ROUTE
What should I do straight after a delay?βΎ
Record the actual arrival time and keep the ticket. Everything else β the percentages and the claim β can wait; the evidence exists only at the scene.
How long does payment take?βΎ
The claim takes a day to file; payment depends on the operator. Where a refusal follows, a submission to the supervisory body adds weeks.
Do these rules cover local and regional trains?βΎ
The regulation concerns rail transport generally, though exemptions exist for certain domestic services. Check the specific service rather than relying on a general impression.
Is anything different on journeys across several countries?βΎ
The core rules are uniform across the European Union, so the mechanism stays the same. What matters is whether a through ticket exists, because that governs how the delay is measured.