Today, Michel Quidort (representing EPF member FNAUT) and Willy Smeulders (as EPF Board Member) were invited to speak at a mini-hearing on the proposed recast of passenger rights for rail, organised by the EU parliament TRAN (Transport and Tourism) Committee, chaired by Karima Delli.

In the context of the legislative procedure on the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on rail passengers’ rights and obligations (recast), the TRAN committee had invited representatives of users’ associations, railway undertakings, railway associations and regulatory bodies to share their views on the Commission’s proposal. The following debate with Members served as documentation for the work of the TRAN Commission. Other speakers included representatives from the Polish state railways, EDF, the Danish rail regulatory body, blogger “seat 61” and Mr. Lochman of CER.

It was a very lively session. All rapporteurs and shadow-rapporteurs were present and a long Q and A session has shown the Parliament the implications on this piece of legislation as well as the will to progress on recognition of real passengers rights on rail.

The main points of discussion raised by EPF were:

• Keep passengers’ right to compensation in case of ‘force majeure’
• No exemptions for regional and suburban rail from the provisions in the Regulation
• Through tickets should guarantee arrival at the final destination
• Maximise accessibility for PRM would reduce the need to request assistance 24 hours before the trip
• Customer satisfaction should be monitored – which could be a role for EPF.

The EPF presentation can be downloaded here. The intervention of Michel Quidort (in French) is available here.