Rail transport agreement to allow passengers on the next train in case of disruption
The Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) is a commercial agreement between 17 major European rail operators to allow international train passengers on the next possible train without additional costs, in case of a missed train connection.
Before the AJC, there were already other protections for rail passengers who miss a connecting train and lose their seat reservation due to a delay of the first train. These passengers are allowed on the next possible train without additional costs under certain conditions:[1]
the protection of the CIV (International Convention for the transportation of Passengers) when travelling with a single ticket (through ticket). However in the 21st century for a lot of international train journeys there are no through tickets available, and the passenger has no other choice than to buy separate tickets.
the HOTNAT (hop on the next available train) protection of the Railteam alliance. when travelling with two separate train tickets. However this protection is valid:
only between two high speed trains of the 8 participating European operators
Since 2017, the AJC provides a further protection when the above protections are not valid. The AJC protection is similar to the protection of CIV, but covers separate tickets instead of a single ticket (through ticket).
Traditionally, international trains journey could be booked all the way on one booking, then the contract obliged the ticket issuer to rebook passenger who missed a connection. But train operators have to a higher degree avoided selling such tickets, recommending passengers to buy separate tickets from each operator.
Conditions
The passenger who, due to a delay or cancellation of the preceding train, misses a train on which he has a seat reservation, is allowed on the next possible train without additional costs under these conditions:[1][2][3][4]
It is an international train journey.
The operators of the connecting trains have both signed the agreement.
The passenger must have foreseen a reasonable connecting time between the trains (minimal the proposed time of the official journey planners)
The passenger must present a confirmation of this delay, that he received from the delayed operator.
Onward travel has to be on the same operator and the same route as on the ticket
The AJC is not an automatic passenger right. At the interchange station, the passenger should ask permission from the station staff or from the train manager of the onward train.
The agreement does not cover assistance or compensation due to the delay or cancellation. Each operator are however obliged to pay certain compensation for trains delayed over one hour based on EU rules.
1 2 "Eurostar and five more operators join the Agreement on Journey Continuation: what does it entail?". RailTech.com. 2023-10-25. Retrieved 2023-10-26. Next to Eurostar, joining the Agreement on Journey Continuation are Hungarian operator MÁV-Start, the Croatian HŽPP, Lithuanian LTG Link, Polish PKP Intercity, and GYSEV, a regional railway company that offers cross-border public rail passenger services in Western Hungary and Eastern Austria.
↑ "Another step forward in seamless international rail ticketing"(PDF). cit-rail.org. CIT and CER. 2023-10-23. Retrieved 2023-10-26. Six new railway undertakings have or will soon join the CIT Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) - MÁV-Start, GYSEV, HŽPP, Eurostar, LTG Link and PKP Intercity.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.