Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/949 of 27 March 2024 establishing a common form for rail passengers’ reimbursement and compensation requests for delays, missed connections and cancellations of rail services in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on rail passengers’ rights and obligations (1), and in particular Article 18(6) and Article 19(5) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) 2021/782 establishes rules applicable to rail transport in order to provide for the effective protection of passengers and encourage rail travel.

(2) In accordance with Articles 18(7) and 19(6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/782, passengers have the right to submit their reimbursement and compensation requests using a common form. Railway undertakings should however not reject a request for reimbursement solely on the grounds that the passenger has not used that form.

(3) The use of the form should allow passengers to provide all necessary relevant personal details and journey details to railway undertakings thereby facilitating the processing of reimbursement and compensation requests by these undertakings.

(4) For the sake of transparency and to facilitate requests by passengers, requests for reimbursement and compensation should be integrated into one single common form, in which passengers should specify whether they apply for reimbursement, compensation, or both.

(5) In order to simplify the procedure for passengers to apply for compensation and/or reimbursement and to ensure its accessibility, passengers should have the possibility to submit the common form for reimbursement and compensation requests either as a physical document or by electronic means.

(6) For the purposes of encouraging the use of the common form for reimbursement and compensation by passengers, the Commission should disseminate the form in all official languages of the Union on its website, including in a version which is accessible to persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility.

(7) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) and delivered an opinion on 29 March 2023.

(8) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Passenger Rights Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

This Regulation establishes a common form for reimbursement and compensation requests, as referred to in Articles 18(6) and 19(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/782.

The common form may be submitted as a physical document or by electronic means.

Article 2

The Commission shall make the common form available in all official languages of the Union on its website, together with a version which is accessible to persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 2 July 2024.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 27 March 2024.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 1.

(2) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).