Know Your Rights
October 11th 2015
In December 2009 European Regulation EC 1371/2007 came into force across the EU. This regulation titled "Rail Passenger Rights And Obligations" provides considerable legally enforceable rights for rail passengers. Until December 2014, as the Irish Government had exempted Irish Rail from all elements of EC 1371 which apply to domestic rail journeys the regulation applied only to cross border travel. From December 2014 these rules applied to ALL services.
EU courts have ruled that force majeure (act of god) cannot be used as an excuse to deny compensation. If the train is late regardless of reason the passenger has an entitlement to receive the rights contained in EC1371/2007, these right include the right to compensation in cash if delays exceed 60 minutes.
Monthly and Annual ticket holders are entitled to compensation for recurrent delays and cancellations, so if your train is consistently late you may have a right to compensation.