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Compensation for delay of international trains

General provisions

The railway companies which use GCC-CIV/PRR have entered into an agreement on compensation for delay of customers holding an international ticket. In Denmark, compensation is based on the station of departure and destination specified in the contract of carriage. Tickets issued in accordance with SCIC-NRT constitute one contract of carriage. Tickets issued in accordance with SCIC-IRT constitute one independent contract of carriage. An example of an SCIC-NRT ticket is a ticket between Copenhagen and Hamburg. One example of an SCIC-IRT ticket is a journey with company Thalys between Köln and Paris or a journey with company SJ between Copenhagen and Stockholm.

Connections

The agreement only applies to customers who use an SCIC-NRT ticket for journeys that start and end within the European Union, Norway or Switzerland.

Conditions

Compensation is based on the station of departure and the station of arrival.

The carrier offers the following compensation:

  • up to 25% of the price of the one-way ticket when you are delayed 60 - 119 minutes
  • up to 50% of the price of the one-way ticket when you are delayed 120 minutes or more.

The delay is defined as the delay on arrival to the end destination specified on the ticket. The price of the one-way ticket is made up of the price of the ticket plus any surcharges and reservations. Any fees such as invoicing fees etc. are not included in the price of the journey.

Companies holding ticket and reservation in one travel document (IRT tickets)

For tickets issued as global tickets, e.g. tickets for SJ’s Snabbtåg, the provisions laid down by the individual companies will apply.

Cases where no compensation is offered

The carrier is exempt from liability if the delay is caused by transport services:

  • outside the territories of the EU members, Switzerland or Norway
  • partly outside the territories of the EU members, Switzerland or Norway if the delay occurred outside the territories of these countries
  • exempt from PRR
  • not part of the contract of carriage (bus, tram, metro, etc. between railway stations, e.g. in the same area)
  • at sea or in national waters.

Moreover, carriers are exempt from liability for delay and interruption of the journey when the journey cannot be made on the same day if you have been informed of possible delays before you purchased the ticket or if you continue your journey with another carrier or via another route and the delay is less than 60 minutes on arrival to the destination or if the delay is caused by:

  • circumstances not associated to the relevant carrier and their consequences which could not be avoided by the relevant carrier even though the carrier has taken the appropriate steps
  • errors committed by the passenger
  • the consequences of the actions by any third party which could not be avoided by the carrier even though the carrier has taken the appropriate steps. The infrastructure manager - in case the journey cannot continue on the same day - other railway companies which use the same infrastructure manager are not considered as third parties.
  • limited transport options as a result of strike of which the passenger has been informed.

Documentation

The request for compensation must be made within one month after the end of the journey.

The request can be made to any of the companies that participated in the carriage. However, the case will always be handled by the company which issued the ticket. It would therefore be a good idea to contact the company where you purchased the ticket.

Requests for compensation can only be met if the original tickets and reservations are attached.

Case handling for tickets purchased in Denmark

For tickets purchased in Denmark, case handling will always be undertaken by:

DSB Kundecenter 
Kundeservice Udland 
Postboks 363 
DK-2630 Taastrup

Payment of compensation

As compensation is paid in cash, you should always include your bank details so payment can be made as a bank transfer.

Case handling for tickets purchased abroad

For tickets purchased abroad, case handling will be undertaken by the company where you purchased the ticket. You should therefore contact the sales point from which you purchased the ticket.