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CIT/UIC Passenger Claims Conference 2024 in Utrecht
The legal and practical challenges arising from the use of travel passes and season tickets in long-distance and regional transport were some of the highlights of this year's CIT/UIC Passenger Claims Conference, held in Utrecht on 25 September 2024 with the support of Eurail.
In-person meeting with record attendance of almost 80 participants
The very good attendance (with almost 80 participants) from all over Europe showed that there is still an interest in in-person meetings and that the topic of claims handling remains a challenge.
The event was chaired by Isabelle Saintilan (Eurostar), Chair of the CIV Committee, followed by introductory speeches from Gilles Mugnier, Secretary General of CIT, Bertrand Minary, the new Director of the UIC Passenger Department, and Jan-Dirk Thalen, Chief Financial Officer of Eurail.
Legal requirements and challenges
After the introductory part of the conference, Oliver Hirschfeld (DB), Chair of the CIV Working Group, gave an overview of the legal requirements governing travel passes and season tickets according to the Rail Passenger Rights Regulation (PRR) and outlined the legal and practical challenges in this respect. Martin Kojinkov (Eurail) explained compensation schemes in connection with Interrail/Eurail Rail Pass tickets and Roland Schmidt (DB Regio) gave a presentation on the challenges posed by the PRR in regional transport and compensation mechanisms for season tickets.
This session was concluded by Nina Scherf and Jan Vávra from the CIT with a contribution on a very topical subject, the new Implementing act on the EU Claim form and CIT’s Guidance on the EU Claim form in this context.
Practical implementation of the law
In the second session, Thijn van Eldijk (Eurail) and Willem Maarten van Luijn (NS) gave presentations on the practical implementation of the rail PRR for rail passes and season tickets in international and domestic transport and examples of how to deal with claims for such tickets. This was followed by a presentation by Mick O'Brien (First Customer Contact), who reported on British experience with preventive measures against the misuse of compensation payments.
Fruitful interactive part with discussion and workshop
The highlight of the conference was the workshop, which opened with an interactive Q&A session on the topics presented, followed by case analyses. These case studies dealt with typical and complex cases encountered in today's claims handling departments, including specific cases related to rail passes and season tickets.
The lively discussions demonstrated the value of personal contacts and the importance of exchanging views between participants.
At the end of the conference, the participants were invited to next year’s Passenger Claims Conference, which will be held on 24 September 2025 in Denmark (Copenhagen).