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In focus: the CIT Agreement on Journey Continuation
Initiatives at European level such as the Commission’s Action Plan to boost international passenger rail transport and the Multimodal Digital Mobility Services Regulation (MDMS) put pressure on the railway sector to further support passengers in case they miss a train because a previous one in the travel chain was delayed or cancelled.
For MDMS, the European Commission highlighted that one of the reasons for developing this regulation was the fact that not more railway undertakings are taking part in journey continuation agreements - such as the CIT's Agreement on Journey Continuation (“AJC”).
Background of the CITꞌs AJC
The Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) was developed with the support of CER and took effect in 2017. It governs relations between railway companies on a goodwill basis when these take action to assist international passengers who have missed their connection due to a delayed or cancelled train in the travel chain. It fills a gap when legislation does not help the passenger to continue his or her journey, for example because the passenger holds different contracts of carriage (tickets) for a cross-border journey. Currently, 15 railways apply the AJC.
New transparency of the CITꞌs AJC
Publicity of the AJC is a crucial element for passengers to enable them to continue their journey. In September 2022, the CIV Committee decided to publish an explanatory leaflet to the AJC which would inform passengers of the content of the AJC. The leaflet is available on the CIT website and is also intended for use by participating railways.
Future of AJC
CER has drawn up a position paper (the CER Ticketing Roadmap) that under action point 8 contains “better support during disruptions and delays”. The CIT's AJC is mentioned here as solution that may be used to enhance the passenger’s journey. Therefore, the CIT is committed to driving improvements to the CITꞌs AJC as part of the CER Ticketing Roadmap: In future the scope of AJC must be improved for the benefit of passengers and more railway undertakings should join this agreement.
Further recommended reading: the CER/CIT press release “Another step towards improving the passenger
experience in international rail transport!” published on 24 October 2022: https://www.cit-rail.org/media/files/fichiers_provisoires/cer-cit_pressrelease__ajc.pdf
Ticketing Roadmap: In future the scope of AJC must be improved for the benefit of passengers and more railway undertakings should join this agreement.
nina.scherf(at)cit-rail.org