Train passenger rights: delays, cancellations and missed connections

The EU rules are Regulation (EU) 2021/782, which has applied since 7 June 2023 to international and domestic rail journeys throughout the Union. Member States may exempt some services — for example urban, suburban and regional passenger services, and international services with a significant part outside the Union — so the exact set of rights on a local or regional train depends on your country.

Great Britain has its own position. The UK retained the older EU Regulation 1371/2007, not Regulation 2021/782, so the EU figures on this page do not apply there as such; in addition, train operators run Delay Repay schemes that are often more generous for short delays.

When arrival at your final destination is reasonably expected to be 60 minutes or more late — at departure, after a cancellation or after a missed connection — you get the choice described above. This right does not depend on why the train is late.

If the operator has not communicated re-routing options within 100 minutes of the scheduled departure time, you may buy your own transport from another provider (rail, coach or bus) and the operator must reimburse the necessary, appropriate and reasonable cost.

Once the delay reaches 60 minutes or more, or the train is cancelled, you are also entitled to free assistance: meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time where they are available or can reasonably be supplied, and a hotel or other accommodation plus transport to it if you must stay one or more nights, where and when physically possible.

Compensation is paid within one month of your request and must be paid in money if you ask for it — the operator may offer vouchers only if their terms are flexible and you can still choose money. An operator may set a minimum payment threshold of up to EUR 4 per ticket. You cannot claim compensation for a delay you were told about before you bought the ticket, or if you have already had the ticket price refunded.

The operator does not owe compensation if it proves the delay was directly caused by extraordinary circumstances not connected with running the railway (such as extreme weather, major natural disasters or major public health crises), by your own fault, or by the behaviour of a third party (such as people on the track, cable theft, on-board emergencies, law-enforcement activity, sabotage or terrorism). Strikes by the railway’s own staff, acts or omissions of another operator using the same infrastructure, and acts or omissions of infrastructure and station managers are not covered by that exemption.

Tickets bought in a single commercial transaction from a railway undertaking form a through ticket: if you miss a connection, the railway is liable under the refund, compensation and assistance rules above. The operator can avoid this only if the tickets state that they are separate transport contracts and you were told so before buying.

If a ticket vendor or tour operator combined tickets bought in a single transaction on its own initiative, it must reimburse the total price and pay compensation equivalent to 75% of that amount when you miss a connection — unless the tickets said they were separate transport contracts and you were told so before buying.

Two tickets you bought separately yourself, for different journeys, are separate contracts. That is why it matters how a trip was booked, and why you should keep the booking confirmation showing whether it was one transaction.

1. 1Keep your ticket or booking confirmation and note the scheduled and actual arrival times; keep receipts for anything you had to buy.
2. 2Complain to the railway undertaking or the station manager within three months of the incident (in writing is advisable). The operator should give a reasoned reply within one month, or tell you that a reply will follow in under three months.
3. 3If the operator rejects your complaint, or does not reply within three months, you can complain to the national enforcement body within three months of receiving the rejection. Complaints about a railway are handled by the body of the Member State that licensed it.
4. 4The enforcement body acknowledges the complaint within two weeks; its procedure should normally take up to three months, extendable to six.

In Great Britain, claim Delay Repay from the train operator that ran the delayed train. GOV.UK sets out the common bands: 25% of the single fare for a delay of 15 to 29 minutes, 50% for 30 to 59 minutes, 100% of the single fare for 60 minutes or more, and 100% of the return fare for 2 hours or more. Whether the 15-minute band is offered varies by operator. If the operator does not resolve your complaint, the Rail Ombudsman is the free, independent next step.

In May 2026 the European Commission proposed changes that would, among other things, give passengers on a single rail ticket assistance, re-routing, reimbursement and compensation for missed connections, and simplify EU-wide booking. Those are proposals; they are not law until adopted. This page describes the rules in force as checked on the date shown.