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CIV Working Group: preparing the programme for 2026
The 65th meeting of the CIV Working Group took place on 19 November 2025 in Bern and online. Key topics included developments in EU law, the possible revision of the CIV Uniform Rules, court decisions and a look ahead for updates to CIT products in 2026. The meeting was chaired by Oliver Hirschfeld (Deutsche Bahn).
Updates on EU legislative initiatives
The CIT General Secretariat (CIT GS) presented updates to the draft Multimodal Passenger Rights Regulation (MM PRR). All the EU institutions have adopted their positions on this initiative and the negotiations between Council and the European Parliament will start.
Updates were also provided on the Multimodal Digital Mobility Services (MDMS) and Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation (SDBTR) initiatives. MDMS targets seamless multimodal journeys, while SDBTR focuses on rail services, including international and regional travel.
Another crucial task for CIT is to monitor the discussions on amendments to the Rail Passenger Rights Regulation (PRR) at EU level, especially the announced future targeted revision of the PRR. The CIT GS highlighted that this targeted revision is closely linked to the CIT Agreement on Journey Continuation (for further information on the AJC, see Article 5) and necessary improvements to this commercial agreement for the benefit of passengers. Further discussion took place on some technical amendments needed to the AJC leaflets in order to inform passengers about the content of the AJC, as well as how to achieve greater transparency and make further improvements.
Revision of the CIV Uniform Rules
Following OTIF’s announcement of plans to revise the COTIF and its appendices such as the CIV Uniform Rules, the Working Group discussed needs for updating the CIV Uniform Rules. Having already discussed the definition of the “carrier” in the past, during this session of the Working Group, participants focused on a definition of “ticket vendor”, which may need to be included in the CIV Uniform Rules to clarify responsibilities. The question of what exactly is meant by the statement in the definition of substitute carrier that it must be “entrusted by the carrier” was also elaborated upon. From the point of view of the CIV WG, a carrier’s explicit willingness and consent to act as a substitute carrier must be taken into account. The Working Group stressed that no carrier should be designated as a substitute carrier without being aware of this role or explicitly agreeing to it.
Interpretation of Rail PRR and court cases
A crucial legal question was also discussed during the session of the CIV WG: the application of passenger rights in situations where the timetable of a train run changes after a ticket for a specific train has already been purchased. Participants contributed to the lively discussion.
In addition, the recent ruling of the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main of 10 July 2025 (ref. 6 UKl 14/24) was presented. The ruling concerned the sale of Spar and Super-Sparpreis tickets (saver fare tickets) only upon provision of an email address or mobile phone number, and whether this complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
During the meeting, the background of the case was reviewed, and that the Court held that making the purchase of such tickets conditional on providing an email address or phone number is unlawful, as processing this data is not necessary for the performance of the contract as long as standard fare tickets are available without the provision of an email address or mobile phone number. It was however emphasised that this Court decision has already been criticised by the legal literature.
TSI Telematics
Members of the CIV WG were also updated on the revision of the TSI Telematics. The new TSI Telematics received a positive vote by the Member States in November 2025, following two years of technical work and consultations. It was also pointed out that the UIC OSDM (Open Sales and Distribution Model) is mentioned in the final text. The CIT GS will further analyse the TSI Telematics and coordinate with the sector on the impacts for CIT products.
Next meeting
The 66th meeting of the CIV Working Group will be held in Bern and online on 18-19 February.