ความล่าช้าของรถไฟและสิทธิของคุณ: คู่มือค่าชดเชย

Train delays happen. Severe weather, infrastructure failures, signal faults, rolling stock breakdowns, and strike action all affect even the best-run rail networks. Knowing your rights before a delay occurs puts you in a position to respond calmly and claim what you are owed, rather than discovering the process when you are already frustrated and the window for action is narrowing. The rules are better than many passengers realise — in several countries, they are substantially more generous than air passenger rights.

EU Regulation 2021/782: The Legal Baseline

EU Regulation 2021/782, which came into force in 2023 and replaced the earlier Regulation 1371/2007, sets out minimum passenger rights applicable across all EU member states. The core delay compensation provisions are:

• 25% of the ticket price as a cash refund if your train arrives 60 minutes or more late at your stated final destination
• 50% of the ticket price if you arrive 120 minutes or more late
• Full refund of the ticket price, plus a free return journey if you wish, if you choose not to travel because of an expected delay of 60 minutes or more at your planned departure
• Meals and refreshments at reasonable cost must be offered or reimbursed during a wait of more than 60 minutes when such provision is possible given the circumstances
• Hotel accommodation and transport to it must be arranged and paid for if a delay necessitates an overnight stay away from home
• Two free phone calls, faxes, or emails to organise alternative arrangements — a minor but real entitlement

These are minimum standards. Individual operators frequently provide better compensation — Germany, France, and the UK all operate supplementary schemes that go beyond the EU baseline in at least one respect. The regulation applies to the total delay at your final destination stated on the ticket, not the delay of any individual segment. A delay that clears during your journey and leaves you arriving on time does not generate compensation.

United Kingdom: Delay Repay — More Generous Than EU Minimum

The UK operates the Delay Repay scheme, which applies across most train operating companies and is more generous than the EU regulation in one important respect: the threshold is 15 minutes rather than 60 minutes. Compensation tiers vary slightly by operator but the standard structure is:

• 15–29 minutes late — 25% of the single fare for the delayed journey
• 30–59 minutes late — 50% of the single fare
• 60–119 minutes late — 100% of the single fare
• 120 minutes or more late — 100% of the return fare (effectively 200% of the single fare)

Claims must be submitted within 28 days of the delayed journey. The process is online through each operator's Delay Repay portal, which requires your booking reference or ticket number and the details of the delayed service. Most operators process claims within five working days and issue compensation by bank transfer, PayPal, or rail travel voucher. Choose bank transfer for flexibility. Season ticket holders can claim on a pro-rata basis per delayed journey.

Germany: Fahrgastrechte

DB applies a compensation scheme that mirrors the EU regulation structure with a specific process. For delays of 60 minutes or more, you receive 25% of the ticket price; for 120 minutes or more, 50%. The compensation can be paid by bank transfer or as vouchers for future DB travel.

The claim mechanism is the Fahrgastrechte-Formular (passenger rights form), available at any DB service centre (Reisezentrum), downloaded from the DB website, or completed directly online through the DB passenger rights portal. Staff at Reisezentrum counters can also process straightforward claims immediately on the day.

DB has a particularly useful provision for missed connections: if a delay on a DB-operated segment causes you to miss a booked onward connection, the conductor or station staff can endorse your ticket to allow travel on the next available equivalent service. Ask immediately — do not wait until you reach your destination. This endorsement prevents you needing to purchase a new ticket while your claim is processed.

France: TGV G30 Guarantee

SNCF operates the Garantie G30 on its TGV Inoui services, which begins compensating from 30 minutes of delay — half the EU minimum threshold. Compensation is issued as travel vouchers (avoirs) credited to your SNCF account rather than cash, which means the value is only accessible for future SNCF travel. The structure is:

• 30–59 minutes late — 25% of the ticket price as a voucher
• 60–119 minutes late — 50% voucher
• 120–179 minutes late — 75% voucher
• 180 minutes or more late — 100% voucher

Claims are submitted through the SNCF website or SNCF Connect app using your booking reference. Vouchers are typically credited within three to five working days. The voucher format is the main limitation — if you rarely use SNCF, the value is harder to extract than a cash refund. Frequent travellers and those with regular France trips are better served by the G30 scheme; infrequent travellers may prefer to claim under the EU regulation basis (which entitles you to cash) when delays exceed 60 or 120 minutes.

How to Claim: A Step-by-Step Process

1. Retain all tickets and booking confirmations — you need the booking reference, e-ticket number, or physical ticket. For digital tickets, take a screenshot before the journey if possible, as booking apps occasionally lose records after the travel date.
2. Note the actual arrival time — the operator's own systems record departure and arrival times, and these records are used to adjudicate claims. However, making a note of the actual arrival time yourself provides a reference point if there is ever a discrepancy.
3. Submit online within the claim window — most operators require claims within 28 to 30 days of the delayed journey. Online submission through the operator's website or app is significantly faster than postal claims and creates a digital trail.
4. Choose your compensation format — where offered the choice between a travel voucher, bank transfer, or cheque, a bank transfer is usually the most practical. Cheques take longer to process and some operators have discontinued them.
5. Keep records of the submission — save the confirmation email or screenshot the submission. If there is a dispute about whether the claim was received, this is your evidence.

Force Majeure: When Operators Can Decline

Operators can refuse compensation if a delay was caused by circumstances genuinely beyond the railway's control — legally defined as force majeure. Historically, this exception was interpreted broadly and included severe weather, third-party industrial action, and various other events. The 2021/782 regulation narrowed the force majeure exception: operators can no longer invoke it as easily for weather events considered within normal operational risk, or for events that adequate planning should have anticipated.

Force majeure claims from operators should be treated as a starting position in a negotiation rather than a final answer. If you believe a rejection is unreasonable, escalate to the relevant national enforcement body. In the UK, this is the Rail Ombudsman. In Germany, the Eisenbahn-Bundesamt handles rail passenger complaints. In France, the Médiateur SNCF handles disputes with SNCF. In other EU countries, the national enforcement body under Regulation 2021/782 is typically the relevant transport ministry or independent rail regulator.

The Critical Distinction: Through Tickets vs Separate Bookings

This is the most important distinction in rail delay compensation law, and the one that catches the most travellers out. If you hold a single through ticket covering your entire journey including all connections, and a delay on the first leg causes you to miss a connection, the issuing operator is responsible for: (a) getting you to your destination by the next available means, and (b) compensating you for the total delay at your final destination.

If you hold separately booked tickets for each segment — common when combining different operator services or mixing a pass with point-to-point bookings — missing a connection is your problem. You will need to buy a new ticket for the missed onward segment at whatever fare is available, and compensation from the first operator covers only the delay on that specific segment, not the consequential loss of your connection.

The practical rule: always buy a through ticket when one is available and reasonably priced. If you must book separately, build in connection times of at least 30–45 minutes at busy stations, and more on routes known for delays. See our connecting trains guide for detailed advice on managing complex itineraries.

Travel Insurance as a Complement to Rail Rights

Rail delay compensation from operators reimburses the cost of the delayed ticket. It does not cover consequential losses: a missed pre-booked hotel check-in, an event or concert missed, a flight missed due to the delay, or the cost of emergency accommodation at short notice. Travel insurance with trip disruption or travel delay cover is the correct mechanism for recovering those costs. If you have a multi-modal journey — train to airport to flight — travel insurance is particularly important, as the operator's liability ends at their segment of the journey.