Travelling with a disability or reduced mobility

Rail passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility are protected by European Regulation 2021/782. Those rules enshrine:

• the principle of non-discrimination
• the conditions and substance of the right to assistance
• compensation for loss of or damage to mobility equipment

The principle of non-discrimination

Railway companies, ticket vendors and tour operators are not permitted to:

• refuse to issue a ticket or make a reservation for persons with disabilities or limited mobility.
• charge extra on account of your disability or the fact that you are being accompanied, unless this is really necessary.

Are these companies violating those rules? Rail passengers with limited mobility can ask for a written justification and have five working days to do so from the date of the violation.

Right to assistance

Are you a rail passenger with a disability or limited mobility who needs assistance? You must:

• make your request at least 24 hours before departure to the railway company, the station, the ticket vendor or the tour operator. One single request is sufficient, even if you can make multiple journeys with your ticket or season ticket, on condition that you confirm the timing of subsequent journeys.
• present yourself on time at the place designated by the railway company or station manager providing the assistance. However, they cannot require you to present yourself at the designated point more than 60 minutes before the departure or check-in time. Has no time been appointed? Present yourself at the designated point at least 30 minutes before the departure or check-in time.

Caution: in some countries you must request assistance 36 hours before departure. This exception expires on 30 June 2026.

What kind of assistance may you expect as a rail passenger with a disability or limited mobility? Some examples:

• a cheaper or even free ticket for your assistant, as provided for in the national rules, who may sit next to you if possible.
• a free ticket for your assistant, if the railway company requires his or her presence, who may sit next to you if possible.
• the right to be accompanied by an assistance dog.
• free assistance from station staff or the railway company to board and alight from the train and to transfer to another train.

Right to compensation in case of incidents

Is the railway company or station manager liable for loss of or damage to your mobility equipment (e.g. wheelchair, crutches) or for loss or injury of your assistance dog? If so, it must:

• arrange, to the extent possible, temporary replacement of your essential mobility equipment or other assistive devices;
• offer you compensation for:
  • the cost of replacement or repair of the mobility equipment or assistive devices lost or damaged;
  • the cost of replacement or the treatment of the injury of an assistance dog that was lost or injured;
  • reasonable costs of temporary replacement for mobility equipment, assistive devices or assistance dogs where such replacement is not provided by the railway undertaking or the station manager.