Compensation Payments to Passengers Only After the Liberalization of HŽ

Croatian Railways has a deferral until December 2014 for the application of the provisions of the European regulation on the obligation to compensate passengers in the event of train delays, and this deferral can be requested twice for five years, stated today Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Siniša Hajdaš Dončić and the CEO of HŽ Passenger Transport Dražen Ratković.

There is a transitional period and it will be maximally utilized to strengthen the capacities of HŽ Passenger Transport. Once the restructuring processes are completed and they are ready for liberalization in 2017, the regulation will be respected, said Hajdaš Dončić when asked for a comment on the ruling of the European Court of Justice that all European railways must compensate their passengers in the event of train delays and whether the provisions of the European regulation will come into effect in domestic passenger transport.

The CEO of HŽ Passenger Transport Dražen Ratković also emphasizes that the company has a deferral until December 2014 for the obligation to compensate for train delays and that this deferral can be requested twice for five years.

This first deferral expires at the beginning of December 2014, and given the current state of infrastructure and our aging fleet, we will seek an additional five-year deferral to allow time for infrastructure improvements, delivery of new trains, and to provide rights and good service to passengers and users, says Ratković.

He confirmed that train delays have been increasing in recent years, citing the aging fleet and infrastructure that has been neglected for the past twenty years and is now entering a major investment cycle.

“Of course they are delayed. Trains will certainly be delayed for another two to three years until the first investment cycle is completed,” says Minister Hajdaš Dončić.

He adds that nothing happens overnight, but that progress is visible, with the first improvements expected next year when travel time from Sisak to Zagreb will be shortened by 30 minutes. By 2020, most of the corridor tracks should be renewed, on which 44 new trains will operate, he said.

In response to inquiries about the ruling of the European Court of Justice, HŽ Passenger Transport states that the new Railway Act stipulates that certain provisions of the Regulation on the rights and obligations of passengers in railway transport do not apply until December 3, 2014, with the possibility of extending the deferral, a decision made by the minister.

According to the Regulation, a member state may grant an exemption from the application of the provisions of the Regulation to domestic railway passenger transport services for a specified period, and this can be done twice, each time for a maximum of five years.

The European Court in Strasbourg ruled yesterday that all European railways must compensate their passengers in the event of train delays – for delays between one and two hours, 25 percent of the ticket price must be refunded, and for delays of more than two hours, half of the amount.

Minister Hajdaš Dončić confirmed to journalists that he met with representatives of the Romanian company (S.C. Grup Feroviar Roman), which won the tender for the purchase of a 75 percent stake in HŽ Cargo.

We had an initial meeting with the company that won the tender, some points of the contract are being finalized and initialed, and I believe that the contracts will be signed in a few weeks, he said.