Written question on Rail passengers' with reduced mobility

Publication date: 29 June 2009

WRITTEN QUESTION by Michael Cramer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission on rail passengers' rights under Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007  

Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007(1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on rail passengers’ rights and obligations lays down mobility requirements for disabled rail passengers.

Recital 10 of the regulation states that ‘rail passenger services should benefit citizens in general. Consequently, disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, whether caused by disability, age or any other factor, should have opportunities for rail travel comparable to those of other citizens (…)’. Exemptions to the requirement to implement the provisions of the regulation have been granted in certain specific areas, but, according to Recital 25, these exemptions should not apply to provisions ‘that grant disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility access to travel by rail’.

According to information provided by Deutsche Bahn, the transport undertaking which runs the service in question, trains running on the route from Berlin-Spandau to Fretzdorf cannot carry more than one electric wheelchair (weighing up to 350 kg), on safety grounds, and there is no provision for relaxing the rules when special journeys are organised for passengers with reduced mobility. What is more, since Fretzdorf is a Category c station the operating company, DB Station & Service AG, has posted no staff there to provide service and assistance.

Against the background of Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007, what view does the Commission take of these restrictions imposed on passengers with reduced mobility? Does the Commission regard this state of affairs as a breach of the regulation?

Does this practice constitute discrimination in that, for example, two wheelchair users, to say nothing of groups of wheelchair users, are prevented from taking the same train?

Answer given by Mr Tajani  on behalf of the Commission on 22/06/2009

From a general point of view, one of the major aims and improvements pursued by Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 (hence, the "Regulation"), which enters into force on 3 December 2009, is to ensure persons with reduced mobility (PRM) opportunities for rail travel comparable to those of other citizens.

The legislator, however, took into consideration the fact that competent authorities and public service operators would need time to adapt to the provisions of the Regulation, and provided for some derogation. Hence, a Member State may exempt from the application of the provisions of the Regulation domestic rail passenger services and urban, suburban and regional rail services.

Nonetheless, even where a Member State decides to opt for such derogation, the obligation for railway undertakings to provide non discriminatory access rules for the transport of PRM (under Article 19 of the Regulation) and to provide information on rail journeys for such persons (Article 20.1) can not form the object of the derogation (Article 2.4). In particular, PRM have the right to be offered reservations and tickets for rail journeys at no additional cost (Article 19.2).

It has also to be noted that the right of PRM to obtain reservations and tickets, without the imposition of the condition of being accompanied, is made conditional on the respect of the "access rules" provided for by railway undertakings and station managers (Article 19.2). According to such access rules, the railway undertaking may refuse to make the reservation or to issue the ticket to the PRM and it may require the PRM the condition of being accompanied; however the undertaking shall upon request inform in writing the person with reduced mobility of the reason for such derogation (Article 20.2).

As regards then the specific situation raised in the written question, the Commission would like to point out that, since the examination of whether restrictions imposed on PRM constitute a breach of the Regulation entails a case by case analysis, it is Member States' primary responsibility to ensure that, after its entry into force, the provisions of Regulation 1371/2007 are duly respected and, in particular, that the application in practice of provisions conferring rights to PRM complies with the Regulation. In this respect, each Member State has the obligation to designate a body which is responsible for the enforcement of the Regulation and which shall take all the measures necessary to ensure that the rights of passengers are respected (Article 30.1).

Source: European Parliament