Passenger rights

The Rail Authority supervises the performance of the obligations of railway undertakings concerning compensation and assistance to passengers when these passengers contact the Rail Authority with their complaints.

The rail passengers' rights are regulated by the new EU Regulation 2021/782 of 29 April 2021, which entered into force on 7 June 2023.

The rights arising from the Regulation apply to all international rail services within the European Union and all domestic services within the Czech Republic.

Railway undertakings, station managers, ticket vendors and tour operators are obliged to inform passengers of their rights and obligations when selling tickets for journeys by rail.

1. First, contact the railway undertaking that issued the ticket (you can also complain to any other railway undertaking involved in the carriage).
2. Briefly summarise your complaint - be sure to include the time, booking number and attach any relevant documents.
3. Remember to keep copies of the documents and allow the other party a reasonable time to examine the complaint.

If you do not receive a reply from the railway company within a month, or if you are not satisfied with the reply, you can complain to the competent national authority in the country concerned, which in the Czech Republic is the Rail Authority.

A complaint filed to the Rail Authority must contain the following elements:

• the information as to by whom it is made, the subject of the complaint and the relief sought;
• for natural persons - the person’s name, surname, date of birth and place of residence, or, where applicable, another address for service pursuant to Section 19(4) of Act No 500/2004 Coll., the Administrative Procedure Code, as amended;
• the designation of the administrative authority to which it is addressed, other elements prescribed by law and the signature of the person by whom the complaint is made;
• a complete communication with the transport undertaking and all documents relating to the event submitted in the form of an annex;
• a clear, comprehensible description of the entire situation to which the complaint relates.

Contact details to file a complaint:

• E-mail: podatelna@ducr.cz
• Data mailbox: 5mjaatd
• Mailing address: Drážní úřad, Wilsonova 300/8, 121 06 Prague 2 – Vinohrady
• Registrar’s office hours: Monday - Thursday: 7.30 a.m. - 4 p.m., Friday 7.30 a.m. - 1.30 p.m.

The rights regarding carriage of bicycles on trains

apply to bicycles that can be readily ridden prior to and after the rail journey. Carriage of bicycles in packages and bags, as applicable, is covered by the provisions of the EU Regulation relating to luggage.

Rail passengers’ rights to rail services in respect of the receipt of information regarding the service both before and during the journey.

Railway undertakings, ticket vendors and tour operators should provide general information on the rail service in advance of travel. That information should be provided in accessible formats for persons with disabilities or persons with reduced mobility. Railway undertakings and, where possible, ticket vendors and tour operators should provide the passenger during the journey with further information required by the EU Regulation. Where a station manager has such information, he or she should also provide the information to the passengers.

Persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility have the same rights as all other citizens to free movement and to non-discrimination.

Inter alia, railway undertakings have the obligation to provide persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility with information concerning the accessibility of rail services, access conditions of rolling stock and the facilities on board. Persons with reduced mobility must notify their need for assistance in stations at least 24 hours before the assistance is needed. Such notifications are accepted without additional costs.

Where railway undertakings and station managers cause the loss of, or damage to, mobility equipment, including wheelchairs, and assistive devices, or the loss of, or injury to, assistance dogs used by persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility, they shall be liable for that loss, damage or injury, and provide compensation without undue delay. That compensation shall comprise:

1. the cost of replacement or repair of the mobility equipment or assistive devices lost or damaged;
2. the cost of replacement or the treatment of the injury of an assistance dog that was lost or injured; and
3. reasonable costs of temporary replacement for mobility equipment, assistive devices or assistance dogs where such replacement is not provided by the railway undertaking or the station manager in accordance with paragraph 2.

The right to compensation for delayed service

The minimum compensation is:

1. 25% of the price of the ticket for delays of 60 to 119 minutes;
2. 50 % of the price of the ticket for delays of 120 minutes or more.

Where the delay amounts to 60 minutes or more, or the service is cancelled, the railway undertaking operating the delayed or cancelled service shall offer the passengers the following, free of charge:

1. meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time, if they are available on the train or in the station, or can reasonably be supplied, taking into account criteria such as the distance from the supplier, the time required for delivery and the cost;
2. hotel or other accommodation, and transport between the railway station and place of accommodation, in cases where a stay of one or more nights becomes necessary or an additional stay becomes necessary, where and when physically possible. In cases where such a stay becomes necessary due to the circumstances referred to in Article 19(10), the railway undertaking may limit the duration of accommodation to a maximum of three nights. The access requirements of persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility and the needs of assistance dogs shall be taken into account, whenever possible;
3. if the train is blocked on the track, transport from the train to the railway station, to the alternative departure point or to the final destination of the service, where and when physically possible.

Interruption or cancellation of service

If the railway service is interrupted and cannot be continued anymore or cannot be continued within a reasonable period, railway undertakings shall provide passengers as soon as possible with alternative transport services and make the necessary arrangements.

Railway undertakings shall inform affected passengers how to request certification that the rail service has suffered a delay, led to a missed connection or that it has been cancelled. This certification shall also apply in connection with the provisions laid down in Article 19.

Where it is reasonably to be expected, either at departure or in the event of a missed connection or a cancellation, that arrival at the final destination under the transport contract will be subject to a delay of 60 minutes or more, the railway undertaking operating the delayed or cancelled service shall immediately offer the passenger the choice between one of the following options, and shall make the necessary arrangements:

1. reimbursement of the full cost of the ticket, under the conditions by which it was paid, for the part or parts of his or her journey not made and for the part or parts already made if the journey is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger’s original travel plan, together with, when relevant, a return service to the first point of departure at the earliest opportunity;
2. continuation or re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to the final destination at the earliest opportunity;
3. continuation or re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to the final destination at a later date at the passenger’s convenience.

Where comparable re-routing is operated by the same railway undertaking or another undertaking is commissioned to perform the re-routing, this shall not generate additional costs to the passenger. Passengers shall not be downgraded to transport facilities of a lower class unless such facilities are the only re-routing means available.

The railway undertaking may allow the passenger, at his or her request, to conclude contracts with other providers of transport services which enable the passenger to reach the final destination under comparable conditions, in which case the railway undertaking shall reimburse the passenger for the costs that he or she incurs.

Where the available re-routing options are not communicated to the passenger within 100 minutes from the scheduled departure time of the delayed or cancelled service or the missed connection, the passenger shall be entitled to conclude such a contract with other providers of public transport services by rail, coach or bus. The railway undertaking shall reimburse the passenger for the necessary, appropriate and reasonable costs that he or she incurs.