The cancelled train: the written walkthrough

Myth · A train ticket is dated: cancelled means lost. I buy a new one for tomorrow.

The myth: train cancelled, ticket lost The official EU page says exactly the opposite: a cancellation opens the refund, and it even sets the payment deadline at 30 days. A cancelled ticket does not evaporate, it becomes a debt owed to you. And the refund is only one of the three options: nothing forces you to give up the journey.

“If you are delayed due to a cancelled train, meaning you would arrive at your final destination with a delay of more than 60 minutes, you have the right to choose between: a refund of your ticket within 30 days […] continuing or re-routing your journey under comparable conditions to reach your final destination at the earliest opportunity, at no additional cost”

In plain words: the refund is paid within 30 days, and re-routing happens without a cent more. Buying a full-fare ticket without asking first means paying a second time for what you are already owed.

Myth · Cancelled is not delayed: with no delay, there is nothing to claim.

The myth: you need a delay, and there is no train left The Article draws no such distinction. It names the three cases in the same sentence, at the same level: delay at departure, missed connection and cancellation. What triggers your rights is not the status shown on the board, it is the foreseeable delay on arrival, 60 minutes or more.

“Where it is reasonably to be expected, either at departure or in the event of a missed connection or a cancellation, that arrival at the final destination under the transport contract will be subject to a delay of 60 minutes or more, the railway undertaking operating the delayed or cancelled service shall immediately offer the passenger the choice between one of the following options”

In plain words: cancellation and delay are handled together by the same text. The threshold is read on arrival, not on the station screen.

Myth · I take the voucher: €20 right now beats a claim any day.

The best-rehearsed trick at the desk: the voucher handed over before anyone told you your rights Offering you a voucher is not unlawful. Passing it off as the only way out is. The text fences the voucher in with two locks: its terms must be flexible, and you must accept it. Signing before hearing the words “refund” and “re-routing” means giving up a choice that was never put to you.

“The reimbursement may take the form of vouchers and/or the provision of other services provided that the terms of those vouchers and/or services are sufficiently flexible, in particular regarding the validity period and destination, and that the passenger agrees to accept those vouchers and/or services.”

In plain words: “and that the passenger agrees to accept” is the half of the sentence the desk forgets to read. An accepted voucher shuts the door; a refused one leaves it open.

Myth · Without their written agreement I cannot commit anything at their expense. I wait some more.

The myth: nothing without their agreement There is indeed a case where the company's agreement is needed: when you make your own arrangements BEFORE the deadline. But the official EU page is explicit about what happens after a hundred minutes of silence: you make your arrangements WITHOUT its agreement. Waiting for a green light that no longer has to be given is the one way to lose this right.

“However, if the railway company does not inform you of the available re-routing options within 100 minutes of the scheduled departure of the cancelled train, you are entitled to make your own alternative travel arrangements without the agreement of the railway company with other public transport services i.e. rail, coach or bus. The railway company must then reimburse the necessary, appropriate and reasonable costs that you incurred making these alternative arrangements.”

In plain words: “without the agreement of the railway company” is written in black and white on the official page. After a hundred minutes, you are the one who decides.

Myth · I take a taxi all the way to Berlin and send them the bill.

The myth: at their expense means all of my expenses The text names precisely what it allows, and it sets two limits in the same sentence. The other providers covered are those of PUBLIC transport by rail, coach or bus. And the costs reimbursed are the necessary, appropriate and REASONABLE ones. Knowing the limit of a right is what makes the rest of the claim credible.

“the passenger shall be entitled to conclude such a contract with other providers of public transport services by rail, coach or bus. The railway undertaking shall reimburse the passenger for the necessary, appropriate and reasonable costs that he or she incurs.”

In plain words: rail, coach or bus, and a reasonable outlay. A taxi across three hundred kilometres fits neither box.

Myth · Since I finished the trip by coach, the coach price is the basis for the calculation.

The myth: you calculate on what you ended up paying The text designates one basis and one only: the full price actually paid for THE SERVICE THAT WAS DELAYED. That service is the cancelled train, not the stand-in coach. The coach ticket follows another path, that of the reimbursement of re-routing costs. Two requests, two bases, the same letter.

“Without prejudice to paragraph 2, compensation for delay shall be calculated in relation to the full price which the passenger actually paid for the delayed service.”

In plain words: the percentage is worked out on the train ticket, the one for the journey that failed. Do not mix the two tickets in the same sum.

Myth · Might as well ask for both: the full refund of the train ticket AND the compensation.

The myth: I stack up everything that exists The official EU page lists the cases where no compensation is due, and one of them is plain: you opted for a refund of your ticket. The refund and the compensation are two branches of the same choice, not two lines to add up. Asking for both lets the company pick the cheaper one on your behalf.

“You will not receive compensation if: you were informed of a delay caused by a train cancellation before you bought your ticket […] you opted for a refund of your ticket”

In plain words: either you get your ticket money back, or you travel and collect the percentage. Decide before you write, and write what you decided.

Myth · A strike is nobody's fault. I drop the file.

The most profitable myth on the railways: it is a strike, so it is fate The official EU page settles it in one sentence, at the end of the section on extraordinary circumstances. And it recalls in passing a point that holds for the REAL extraordinary circumstances: even in those cases you lose the compensation, but you keep the refund, the re-routing and the assistance.

“In these situations you are not entitled to compensation, however, your other rights, i.e. the reimbursement of your ticket or re-routing and assistance, continue to apply. Note that strikes by rail company staff are not considered as extraordinary circumstances.”

In plain words: a strike by their staff exempts them from nothing. And when a genuine extraordinary circumstance does exist, it only knocks out the compensation, never the rest.

Myth · The company has replied in writing: the file is closed, there is nobody left to turn to.

The myth: after the company, there is nothing The official page gives the next tier, with its deadlines. A reply that does not satisfy you opens three months to go to the national authority, and it names which one: the authority that granted the company's licence. That authority must deal with it in three months, six for complex cases, and give a legal opinion on how to proceed.

“If you did get a reply from the railway company but were not satisfied, you can also complain to the relevant national authority in your country within 3 months of the rejection of your complaint by the railway company. You should address your complaint to the national authority that granted the railway company's licence. The national authority's complaint-handling procedure should take a maximum of 3 months (or six months for complex cases). The national authority should provide you with a non-binding legal opinion on how to proceed with your claim.”

In plain words: three months to go to the authority that gave the company its licence, and three months for it to answer you. A refusal is not an ending, it is a change of who you talk to.