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CIV Working Group drafted its focus for 2023
The interpretation of the new Passenger Rights Regulation and plans for further enhancement of the Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) were some of the highlights of the 56th CIV Working Group which was held on 16 November both in person in Bern and remotely.
New PRR still the focus
Regulation (EC) 2021/782 on rail passengers' rights and obligations (PRR) has already entered into force and it will be applicable from 7 June 2023
The PRR 2021 raises numerous questions related to the interpretation of several rules. The CIV WG has previously discussed various questions relating to the new law. The questions and answers (Q&A) provided are collected in a dedicated table. One of the main issues discussed during the meeting in February 2023 was how railway undertakings must provide information about through-tickets. In this respect, the SNCF representative gave an overview of how they will provide information about the existence or non-existence of through tickets on their homepage. In addition, it was discussed under which circumstances a contract of carriage might be cancelled by a railway undertaking vis-à-vis the passenger. The CIV WG concluded that such situations are rare where a passenger has bought a train-linked ticket.
Discussion on improving the AJC – MAV-START joins AJC as a new member
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 her or his journey, for example because the passenger holds different contracts of carriages (tickets) for a cross-border journey.
Improvements to the AJC to benefit passengers are currently a central concern for the sector. CER has drawn up a position paper (the CER Ticketing Roadmap) of which action item 8 promises “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.
CIT was happy to announce during the meeting that a new member has joined the AJC as of 1 April 2023. Currently, therefore, 16 railways apply the AJC. However, CIT and CER are still encouraging other railway undertakings to join the AJC. Discussions are currently ongoing with other CER/CIT members but non-CER/CIT-members are also invited to join the agreement.
Transparency of the AJC is key and therefore, members were again reminded that railway undertakings should also include information about the AJC on their homepages.
The CIV WG also discussed harmonising the delay confirmation. This would be a first step towards digitalising AJC processes in future.
Confirmation of Oliver Hirschfeld as chair of the CIV WG
The CIV WG decided that it wishes the current chair, Oliver Hirschfeld, to lead the CIV WG for another term. The chairmanship remains to be confirmed by the CIV Committee in September 2023.
The next meeting of the CIV WG will be held on 16 and 17 May 2023 in Bern and also online.
Useful links:
Regulation 2021/782 (“PRR 2021”): EUR-Lex - 32021R0782 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu)
CIT Future Products: https://www.cit-rail.org/en/passenger-traffic/products/ Photo of train with passenger
nina.scherf(at)cit-rail.org