Rail passenger rights

Where it is reasonably to be expected that arrival at the final destination under the transport contract will be subject to a delay of 60 minutes or more, the railway company must immediately offer you the choice between one of the following options:
•    Reimbursement of the price of the ticket for the part or parts of the journey not made. You can also get your money back for the part or parts already made if the journey no longer serves any purpose in relation to your original travel plan. If necessary, you are also entitled to return service to your point of departure at the earliest opportunity.
•    Re-routing under comparable transport conditions to the final destination at the earliest opportunity or at a later date at your convenience. 

Reimbursement of the ticket price

The reimbursement may take the form of vouchers and/or the provision of other services provided that the terms of those vouchers and/or services are sufficiently flexible, in particular regarding the validity period and destination, and that the passenger agrees to accept those vouchers and/or services. 

The reimbursement of the ticket price must not be reduced by financial transaction costs such as fees, telephone costs or stamps.

The railway company must reimburse the ticket price within 30 days after the receipt of the request.

Re-routing 

The railway company may allow the passenger, at their request, to conclude contracts with other providers of transport services which enable the passenger to reach the final destination under comparable conditions. In such cases, the railway undertaking must reimburse the passenger for the costs that they incur.

Where the available re-routing options are not communicated to the passenger within 100 minutes from the scheduled departure time of the delayed or cancelled service or the missed connection, the passenger is entitled to conclude such a contract with other providers of public transport services by rail, coach or bus. The railway company must reimburse the passenger for the necessary, appropriate and reasonable costs that they incur.

Re-routing transport service providers must provide persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility with a comparable level of assistance and accessibility when offering an alternative service. 

Re-routing transport service providers may provide persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility with alternative services which are appropriate to their needs and which differ from those offered to other passengers.

Compensation for ticket price

If you decide to continue your journey as planned or accept re-routing, you may be entitled to compensation as follows:
•    25% of the ticket price for a delay of 60 to 119 minutes 
•    50% of the ticket price for a delay of 120 minutes or more.

Compensation for delay is calculated in relation to the full price which the passenger actually paid for the delayed service. 

Where the transport contract is for a return journey, compensation for delay on either the outward or the return leg is calculated in relation to the price indicated for that leg of the journey on the ticket. Where there is no such indication of the price of the individual legs of the journey, the compensation is calculated in relation to half of the price paid for the ticket. 

The compensation of the ticket price must be paid within one (1) month after the submission of the request for compensation. The compensation may be paid in vouchers and/or other services if the terms are flexible, in particular regarding the validity period and destination. The compensation must be paid in money at the request of the passenger.

The railway company may not reduce the compensation of the ticket price by financial transaction costs such as fees, telephone costs or stamps. 

Railway undertakings may introduce a minimum threshold under which payments for compensation will not be paid. This threshold must not exceed EUR 4 per ticket.

When are you not entitled to compensation? 

Please note that you do not have any right to compensation if you are informed of a delay before buying a ticket, or if a delay due to continuation on a different service or re-routing remains below 60 minutes.

A railway company is neither obliged to pay compensation for delays or cancellations in connection with extraordinary circumstances, such as extreme weather conditions, major natural disasters or major public health crises.

Neither is a railway company obliged to pay compensation for delays, missed connections or cancellations caused directly by or inherently linked with fault on the part of the passenger or the behaviour of a third party (such as persons on the track, cable theft, on-board emergencies, law enforcement activities, sabotage or terrorism).

A railway company is obliged to pay compensation e.g. in case of strikes by the personnel of the railway undertaking, acts or omissions by another undertaking using the same railway infrastructure and acts or omissions of the infrastructure and station managers.

Right to care and assistance during waiting time 

In certain situations, the railway company is obliged to offer you care and assistance. 
In the case of a delay in arrival or departure, or cancellation of a service, passengers must be kept informed of the situation and of the estimated departure time and estimated arrival time of the service or the replacement service by the railway company or by the station manager as soon as such information is available. Where ticket vendors and tour operators have such information, they must also provide it to the passenger.

If your train is delayed by more than an hour or the service is cancelled, the railway company must, if possible, offer you the following care and assistance during the waiting time:
•    meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time 
•    hotel or other accommodation, and transport between the railway station and place of accommodation, in cases where a stay of one or more nights becomes necessary or an additional stay becomes necessary. 

In offering assistance, the railway company must pay particular attention to the needs of persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility, as well as to those of any accompanying persons and assistance dogs.  

Please note that in cases where accommodation becomes necessary e.g. due to a delay or cancellation caused by extraordinary circumstances, the railway undertaking may limit the duration of accommodation to a maximum of three (3) nights. 

If the train is blocked on the track, you are entitled to transport from the train to the railway station, to the alternative departure point or to the final destination of the service, where and when physically possible.

If the railway service is interrupted and cannot be continued anymore or cannot be continued within a reasonable period, railway undertakings must provide passengers as soon as possible with alternative transport services and make the necessary arrangements.

Subject to certain limitations, and where appropriate for a reasonable fee, passengers are entitled to take bicycles on board the train.

Railway companies may restrict the right of passengers to take bicycles on board the train for safety or operational reasons, in particular as a result of capacity limits applicable during peak hours, or where rolling stock does not permit it. 

Railway companies may also restrict the carriage of bicycles based on the weights and dimensions of the bicycles concerned. They must publish their conditions for the transport of bicycles, including up-to-date information on the availability of capacity, on their official websites.

On trains for which a reservation is required, it must be possible to make a reservation for the carriage of a bicycle.

Where a passenger has made a reservation for a bicycle and the carriage of that bicycle is refused without a duly justified reason, the passenger is entitled to re-routing or reimbursement, compensation and assistance in accordance with the provisions of the regulation on rail passengers’ rights (see above for more detailed information about these rights).

There are some exemptions to the application of the rail passenger rights in Finland. The exemptions apply to commuter rail services, rail services between Finland and Russia and rail services offered for historic use.

Commuter rail routes

Commuter rail services in Finland do not offer similar rights to compensation of ticket price or care and assistance as long-distance passenger rail services. This exemption currently covers the following routes in commuter rail services:
1) Helsinki–Siuntio
2) Helsinki–Vantaankoski–Helsinki Airport–Hiekkaharju–Helsinki
3) Helsinki–Riihimäki–Tampere
4) Helsinki–Lahti
5) Lahti–Riihimäki
6) Lahti–Kouvola
7) Kouvola–Kotka
8) Tampere–Nokia.

Rail services between Finland and Russia

The regulation on rail passengers’ rights does not apply to direct international rail services between Finland and Russia. 

Rail services offered for historic use

The regulation on rail passengers’ rights is also not applied to services which are operated strictly for historical use, apart from the regulation’s provisions on liability for passengers and luggage (Article 13) and insurance and coverage of liability (Article 14).

Exemptions in other EU countries

When travelling by train in other EU countries, please keep in mind that other EU countries may also apply exemptions and that not all rights necessarily apply in all EU countries.