Refunds for Late Trains
So apparently this blog is going to feature two consecutive posts about trains. I took Amtrak twice this week. In one direction, the train was delayed an hour; in the other, it was delayed forty minutes. This would not be considered remarkable in most of Amtrak’s territory, but usually things are better than this along the “Northeast Corridor” between Boston, New York, and Washington DC. Of course, when this happens on Amtrak, you get a half-hearted apology from the train crew but nothing more.
But I became curious: in countries with first-rate train systems, how are you compensated when the train operator makes you late?
Here are the results of my research. There are almost certainly errors; if you notice an error or are aware of the policy on an operator not listed here, please let me know by posting a comment below.
Note that many operators (including Amtrak) allow you a full refund if your train is so late arriving at your departure station that you choose not to get on it; that is not what we’re interested in here. This table is about the policy for providing you compensation if you get on the train but don’t get to your destination on time.
(table last updated 2009-09-08 00:34 -0400)
| Country | Operator | How late? | How much refund? | Policy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU-Wide | international trains | 60 minutes | 25% | EC Regulation 1371/2007, §17 | |
| 120 minutes | 50% | ||||
| France | SNCF | 30 minutes | 33⅓% | link | |
| Germany | DB | 60 minutes | 25% | link | |
| 120 minutes | 50% | ||||
| Japan | JR | 120 minutes | 100% | link | |
| Netherlands | NS | hispeed | 15 minutes | 50% | link |
| 30 minutes | 100% | ||||
| normal | 30 miuntes | 50% | |||
| 60 minutes | 100% | ||||
| Spain | RENFE | selected | 5 minutes | 100% | link |
| others | 20 minutes | 25% | link | ||
| 40 minutes | 50% | ||||
| 60 minutes | 100% | ||||
| Taiwan | TRA | 80 minutes | ? | link | |
| United Kingdom | various | varies by operator | |||
| USA | Amtrak | n/a | |||
One thing I am not sure of is the applicability of the EC regulation. Some sources say it is only relevant to international trains; other sources say that it applies to all trains in the EU (except, presumably, when the operator already offers better compensation through their own policy).