Deutsche Bahn (DB) has had to pay a record €40 million in compensation to passengers who had their trains delayed or cancelled last year.
Widespread flooding across Germany between May and June last year caused major disruption to rail services in the country’s southern and eastern states.
In September 2013, The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that train operators would have to refund delayed passengers even if the cause of the delay was out of its control. The ruling means that even in cases of force majeure – an umbrella term for scenarios where an operator is unable to avoid delays or cancellations – passengers can expect to be compensated.
Operators are now required to refund passengers at least 25 per cent of their ticket price if they experience a delay of one hour or more.
A spokesman for DB said the court’s decision put rail at a disadvantage to other transport modes, adding that the organisation was currently lobbying the ECJ to introduce a consistent legal framework across all modes.
The increase was described as a “minor double digit per cent” rise on previous years.
