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Coverage

Rail delay

Germany — Fahrgastrechte (Deutsche Bahn and other German railways)

NationalDEUnverified — check before relying on it

Germany

Rule id
rail.de
Version
1.0.0
In force from
June 7, 2023
Last read against its sources
August 5, 2026
Countries bound
Germany

In plain language

What this regime says.

Germany supplements (or, outside the EU, replaces) the EU rail passenger rights floor with Fahrgastrechte (Deutsche Bahn and other German railways). This module names the scheme and the regulator and lists exactly which figures to go and check, because we could not verify them in this review cycle.

Who is covered

Rail passengers on services in Germany.

What you get

Compensation under the German Fahrgastrechte scheme, plus taxi and hotel costs in defined circumstances. We are not stating the figures.

Where claims go wrong

  • Not asking staff to confirm the delay on the form at the time.
  • Assuming the EU 60-minute floor is all you get. The German scheme adds to it.
The official claim route

Authority

Every citation,
with its pinpoint.

A claim that cites “EU law” gets filed. A claim that cites Article 7(1)(c) gets answered. These are the exact coordinates this entry rests on.
  1. Eisenbahn-Verkehrsordnung and Regulation (EU) 2021/782 as applied in GermanyEisenbahn-Verkehrsordnung and Regulation (EU) 2021/782 as applied in GermanyURL verified 2026-08-05

Sources

Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.

What it imposes

Clocks, defences and the ladder.

A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.

What it entitles you to, beyond money

  • A claim under Fahrgastrechte (Deutsche Bahn and other German railways)You have a route. We are not stating what it pays, because we have not verified this network’s figures.

What the other side will say

Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.

"The delay was caused by Network Rail / the infrastructure manager / a third party"

high likelihood

The operator points at signalling failure, a broken-down freight train, trespass or someone else’s infrastructure and says the delay was not their doing.

What answers it

Under the contractual UK Delay Repay schemes, cause is irrelevant to your entitlement: the schemes pay on the delay, whoever caused it, and the operator recovers internally from the infrastructure manager. Under Regulation (EU) 2021/782 the railway undertaking is the passenger’s counterparty and only a genuinely exceptional, unavoidable circumstance excuses it — and a staff strike at the railway itself is expressly not one.

"Here is a voucher"

high likelihood

The operator settles in rail travel vouchers or credit rather than money, often at a discount to what is owed.

What answers it

You are entitled to be paid in money. UK operators must offer at least one monetary method — bank transfer, cheque or refund to the original card — and Regulation (EU) 2021/782 allows vouchers only where the passenger accepts them, meaning you can simply decline and ask for cash. A voucher is worth less than its face value to you and more than its face value to them, which is why it is offered first.

Where to take it next

  1. Claim under Fahrgastrechte (Deutsche Bahn and other German railways)Claim directly with the operator, quoting the service, the booked and actual arrival times and your ticket reference. Keep the ticket and the booking confirmation.Claim directofficial page
  2. Ask for a written decision with reasonsIf the claim is refused, ask for the decision in writing with the reason and the delay figure the operator is working from. Regulators and ombudsmen will not act without it, and operators sometimes reverse the decision rather than write it down.Internal appeal
  3. Complain to Eisenbahn-Bundesamt, and the schlichtungsstelle für den öffentlichen Personenverkehr (SÖP)Eisenbahn-Bundesamt, and the schlichtungsstelle für den öffentlichen Personenverkehr (SÖP) handles passenger complaints about rail services in this country.Regulatorofficial page

Documents

What this regime can produce.

Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.

The same claim type elsewhere

Austria — ÖBB FahrgastrechteATNational — AustriaRegulation (EU) 2021/782 as applied in AustriaConfidence: lowBelgium — SNCB/NMBS compensation for delays and for repeated delays on season ticketsBENational — BelgiumRegulation (EU) 2021/782 as applied in BelgiumConfidence: lowEuropean Union — rail passenger rights (Regulation (EU) 2021/782)EUSupranational — 30 countriesRegulation (EU) 2021/782, Art. 19Confidence: highFrance — SNCF Garantie G30 (TGV INOUI, OUIGO and INTERCITÉS) and the TER regional guaranteesFRNational — FranceRegulation (EU) 2021/782 as applied in France, and SNCF’s commercial guaranteesConfidence: lowGreat Britain — Delay RepayGBNational — United KingdomNational Rail Conditions of TravelConfidence: mediumItaly — Trenitalia and Italo delay compensation (bonus and indennizzo)ITNational — ItalyRegulation (EU) 2021/782 as applied in ItalyConfidence: lowNetherlands — NS "geld terug bij vertraging" (money back on delay)NLNational — NetherlandsRegulation (EU) 2021/782 as applied in the Netherlands, plus NS’s own schemeConfidence: lowRussia — Charter of Railway Transport, art. 110 (3% of the fare per hour of delay)RUNational — RussiaУстав железнодорожного транспорта РФ, ст. 110 (Federal Law No. 18-FZ of 10 January 2003)Confidence: medium

Other rights in the same countries

European Union — delivery rights on consumer sales (Directive 2011/83/EU, Art. 18)EUSupranational — 30 countriesDirective 2011/83/EU, Art. 18Confidence: mediumEuropean Union — price indication, drip pricing, pre-ticked extras and surchargingEUSupranational — 27 countriesDirective 98/6/EC, arts. 2(a) and 3(1)Confidence: highEuropean Union — rail passenger rights (Regulation (EU) 2021/782)EUSupranational — 30 countriesRegulation (EU) 2021/782, Art. 19Confidence: highEuropean Union — Representative Actions Directive (EU) 2020/1828EUSupranational — 27 countriesDirective (EU) 2020/1828 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumersConfidence: highEU cross-border healthcare — Directive 2011/24/EU reimbursement, the EHIC and the S2EUSupranational — 27 countriesDirective 2011/24/EU, Arts. 6, 7 and 8Confidence: highEU air carrier liability for baggage (Regulation (EC) No 2027/97)EUSupranational — 31 countriesRegulation (EC) No 2027/97, Art. 1 (as amended by Regulation (EC) No 889/2002)Confidence: highEU ePrivacy Directive and GDPR (direct marketing)EUSupranational — 30 countriesDirective 2002/58/EC (ePrivacy Directive), Art. 13Confidence: mediumEU General Data Protection RegulationEUSupranational — 30 countriesRegulation (EU) 2016/679, Arts. 15–21Confidence: high

Does this one reach your facts?

The engine runs every regime that could apply at once and reconciles them, rather than making you guess which page to read.

Run your factsBack to the catalogue

Not a law firm. Not legal advice. You send it yourself. This page describes a law; it is not advice about your situation and no outcome is promised.