Passenger rights if Renfe, Iryo or Ouigo delay or cancel a train

The rights of train passengers in the EU are primarily governed by a European regulation directly applicable in all Member States: Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 of 23 October 2007 on rail passengers' rights and obligations. In Spain, this regulation is directly applied and was practically adapted through a Council of Ministers Agreement published by the Directorate General of Land Transport. Additionally, Spanish railway and consumer legislation (such as the Railway Sector Law and the consolidated text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users) complements and fits within this European framework. No reference to a subsequent European regulation replacing it is found in the consulted sources, so the key reference remains Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007.

Main European Regulation

The official source that clearly identifies the European norm is the Resolution of 22 March 2010 of the Directorate General of Land Transport, which publishes the Council of Ministers Agreement of 5 March 2010. Its title explicitly states that this Agreement “adapts to the current situation of rail transport the Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on rail passengers' rights and obligations”. It can be consulted in the BOE through this 2010 resolution.

Therefore, Regulation (EC) 1371/2007 is the central European norm regarding train passengers' rights. Being a regulation, it is directly applicable in all Member States without the need for transposition through national law, although each country adopts internal rules to organize its practical application (competences of national authorities, complaint systems, etc.). In Spain, the mentioned Council of Ministers Agreement is issued “in accordance with” the Law 15/2009 on land freight transport contracts, reflecting coordination between the European framework and internal transport law.

Related Spanish legislation and sector framework

Although the question focuses on the European norm, Spanish provisions that structure the railway sector and user protection help understand how these rights are applied in practice:

• Law 38/2015 of 29 September on the railway sector, which constitutes the basic framework for organizing the Spanish railway system: Law 38/2015. This law has been amended by Law 26/2022 of 19 December.
• Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007 of 16 November, approving the consolidated text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users: TRLGDCU, also applicable to transport services.
• Royal Decree 627/2014 of 18 July on assistance to victims of railway accidents and their families, which develops specific aspects of post-accident care: RD 627/2014.
• Royal Decree-Law 23/2018 of 21 December, transposing directives on rail transport and package travel: RDL 23/2018, impacting the protection of travelers in tourist packages including train travel.

On a more technical level of the railway system, regulatory norms such as Royal Decree 929/2020 on operational safety and railway interoperability, or Order TMA/414/2021 on discounts for large families in passenger rail transport, are also part of the regulatory environment. Although they do not define the basic catalogue of rights (which comes from Regulation 1371/2007), they influence the concrete provision of service and certain groups.

Application in Spain and regulatory coordination

The combination of European and Spanish legislation results in a system where the basic rights of train passengers (information, complaints, compensation, assistance in case of incidents, etc.) are anchored in Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007, while internal legislation specifies who does what, which authorities supervise, and how those rights are enforced. The explicit reference to Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 in the 2010 resolution and its fit with norms such as Law 38/2015 and the TRLGDCU are key elements to understand how train passengers' rights are practically protected in Spain within the general framework of the European Union.

Other Spanish provisions related to the railway and transport environment that complete this context, although without modifying the European core of passengers' rights, include: Order PRE/907/2014 (analytical accounting in regular transport services), Law 9/2013 on land transport regulation, Law 1/2014, the Railway Sector Regulation of 2004 (partially repealed), as well as various technical and safety standards such as Order TMA/135/2023 or Royal Decree 469/2021. All of these form the regulatory ecosystem in which the European rights of train passengers are embedded.

The State Railway Safety Agency (AESF) protects passengers mainly by guaranteeing the operational safety of the railway system: it sets and enforces safety rules, supervises infrastructure managers and railway companies, authorizes equipment and installations, controls railway personnel, and exercises sanctioning powers in safety matters. Although it is not a consumer or public safety body, its role is central in reducing accident risks affecting travelers. Its basic framework is found in Law 38/2015, Royal Decree 1072/2014 (Agency statute), and Royal Decree 929/2020 on operational safety and interoperability.

General legal framework and user rights

Law 38/2015 of the railway sector, amended by Law 26/2022, adapts user rights to Regulation (EC) 1371/2007 and includes the right to “comprehensive assistance” for those affected by railway accidents. Although AESF does not manage this assistance, it is the national safety authority whose preventive work aims to avoid accidents that trigger these rights. The law dedicates Title V to railway safety, where “the powers of the State Railway Safety Agency, configured as the national authority responsible for railway safety,” are defined.

It should be noted that some provisions on accident investigation have been modified or repealed by the Law creating the new Independent Administrative Authority for Railway Accident Investigation, published in the BOE on 2 August 2024 (BOE 2/8/2024), which transfers part of those investigative functions outside AESF.

Purpose and basic competences of AESF

Royal Decree 1072/2014 creates AESF and approves its Statute. It establishes that the Agency's purpose is the detection, analysis, and evaluation of safety risks in rail transport and, at the state level, it acts as the authority responsible for railway safety. In summary, the Statute assigns it, among others, the following competences (all directly impacting passenger protection):

• Regulation, inspection, and supervision of the safety of all railway system elements (infrastructure, rolling stock, personnel, and operation).
• Ensuring general maintenance of safety on the General Interest Railway Network, supervising compliance by various actors.
• Authorizing the entry into service of structural subsystems (infrastructure, energy, control-command, rolling stock, etc.) and verifying they maintain requirements over time.
• Supervising essential requirements of interoperability components, ensuring materials and systems used are safe and compatible.
• Granting, suspending, and revoking licenses of railway companies and other authorizations.
• Exercising competences regarding railway personnel: licenses and driving titles, psychophysical requirements, minimum training content, and testing programs.
• Approving and, if necessary, suspending or revoking training centers, psychophysical recognition centers for railway personnel, maintenance centers, and maintenance entities.

Supervision, inspection, and operational safety

Royal Decree 929/2020 develops operational safety and railway interoperability. Its preamble emphasizes that supervision and inspection of the railway sector correspond “exclusively” to national railway safety authorities, functions assigned to AESF by Law 38/2015. This decree regulates, among other aspects closely linked to passenger protection:

• The concept of operational safety as reducing and controlling risks associated with train operation to an acceptable level.
• Safety authorization of infrastructure managers and the single safety certificate of railway companies.
• Regulation of railway personnel, including alcohol and drug controls, training, and maximum driving times.
• Regulation of level crossings, intersections, and infrastructure protection, elements where serious risks for travelers concentrate.

According to the decree, operational safety does not include “protection against intentional interference acts in the railway system nor public safety,” which are governed by other norms, but it does cover all technical, human, or organizational failures that may cause accidents affecting passengers.

Sanctioning power and deterrent effect

The AESF Statute expressly grants it sanctioning power in railway safety matters. Procedures for safety infractions are always initiated ex officio by agreement of the Agency Director; the Governing Council imposes very serious sanctions, and the Director imposes serious and minor ones, according to sector regulations. This sanctioning regime strengthens passenger protection by giving AESF real capacity to enforce safety rules and correct behaviors or deficiencies that increase risk.

Other related norms

There are technical and development provisions that AESF applies or participates in, such as Order TMA/135/2023, Order TMA/576/2020, ASFA Digital Resolution 2017, or previous interoperability norms (Order FOM/3218/2011, Order FOM/319/2008, Order FOM/22/2015, Order FOM/421/2014, or the erratum of Royal Decree 929/2020). All impact technical and circulation standards that ultimately affect passenger safety and protection.

Other texts cited in the Agency's creation and financing framework (such as Law 22/2013, Royal Decree-Law 1/2014, orders and agreements like Order FOM/1003/2019, the Fulbright 2020 agreement, or the 2022 delegation of powers resolution) complete the institutional environment, but passenger protection functions derive essentially from the norms already described.

Finally, although earlier sector provisions are also cited (for example, Order FOM/189/2015, Order FOM/2336/2012, Royal Decree-Law 1/2004), today the central reference to understand AESF's competences in passenger protection is the triad Law 38/2015 – Royal Decree 1072/2014 – Royal Decree 929/2020.

In Spain, passengers' right to compensation for delays is mainly based on European Union Regulations specific to each mode of transport (air, rail, bus, and maritime), which are directly applicable. For air transport, the central reference is Regulation (EC) 261/2004, cited and applied through Order TMA/201/2022. For rail, Regulation (EC) 1371/2007 applies, adapted in Spain by the Resolution of 22 March 2010; for bus, Regulation (EU) 181/2011; and for maritime transport, Regulation (EU) 1177/2010, framed within Law 14/2014 on Maritime Navigation. In all cases, the right to compensation requires certain delay thresholds to be met and that the cause is not an extraordinary circumstance beyond the carrier's control.

Common general framework

All these EU norms share a basic logic: when there is a major delay (a concept each Regulation defines specifically), the passenger may be entitled to one or more of the following measures:

• Assistance: food, drink, communications, and, if applicable, accommodation if the delay requires an overnight stay.
• Refund of the ticket or alternative transport when the delay makes the trip useless or prevents its completion within a reasonable time.
• Financial compensation (lump-sum indemnity) when the delay exceeds certain limits and is not justified by extraordinary causes.

Spanish consumer legislation, particularly the consolidated text approved by Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, acts as an additional cushion, reinforcing the right to claim for defective service.

Air transport

In air transport, Regulation (EC) 261/2004 is the key piece, expressly cited in Order TMA/201/2022, which organizes in Spain an alternative dispute resolution system before the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA). The Order indicates that the procedure applies to conflicts about “compensation and assistance (…) in cases of denied boarding, cancellation, or major delay of flights.”

According to this Order, a passenger may invoke Regulation 261/2004 and thus claim compensation when:

• Departing from an airport located in Spanish territory, regardless of the airline's nationality.
• Or arriving at an airport located in Spanish territory from a third country on a flight operated by a community airline, unless equivalent compensation is already obtained in the country of origin.

The right to financial compensation arises only if the delay reaches the “major delay” thresholds defined in the Regulation itself and is not due to extraordinary circumstances (e.g., force majeure). In any case, the passenger retains the right to claim additional damages by other means and to use the extrajudicial mechanisms provided in Order TMA/201/2022.

Rail transport

For rail, Regulation (EC) 1371/2007 on rail passengers' rights and obligations applies. Spain adapts it internally through the Resolution of 22 March 2010, within the framework of Law 38/2015 on the railway sector.

This Regulation establishes that when a train suffers a significant delay compared to the scheduled arrival time, the traveler may choose, depending on the specific situation, among:

• Full or partial refund of the ticket if deciding not to continue the journey.
• Continuation or rerouting under comparable conditions as soon as possible.
• And, when certain delay time limits are reached, compensation based on the ticket price, unless the delay is due to circumstances beyond the railway company's control.

Bus and coach transport

For bus or coach transport, the right to compensation is governed by Regulation (EU) 181/2011 on the rights of bus and coach passengers. Although its text is not reproduced here, it is integrated into the general regime of Law 9/2013 and land transport regulation.

Generally, the Regulation provides rights to assistance and, in certain cases of delay or cancellation of long-distance services, the right to refund or continuation of the journey. Financial compensation arises only when the delay exceeds regulatory thresholds and no extraordinary cause applies.

Maritime transport

In maritime transport, Regulation (EU) 1177/2010 protects passengers of ships and ferries and is embedded in the internal framework of Law 14/2014 on Maritime Navigation. This Regulation determines cases of refund, rerouting, and, upon reaching a certain delay level in arrival at the destination port, the possibility of financial compensation, always excepting extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided.

In all transport modes, therefore, the key requirements are: existence of a delay reaching the limits set by the sectoral Regulation, fulfillment of territorial scope (origin/destination and type of operator), and absence of extraordinary circumstances. From there, the passenger can demand refund, assistance, and, when applicable, complementary financial compensation.