The Year of the Rail Passenger Rights Ombudsman

The Ombudsman’s task is to resolve disputes between passengers and operators from the railway market in a conciliatory manner. When a complaint has not been processed pursuant to passenger’s expectations, there is no need to go to court; the problem may be filed with the Ombudsman. Objections to the functioning of the railway system or inconvenience during the journey should still be filed with the President of the Office of the Rail Transport.

During the first year of operation, the Ombudsman registered almost 300 cases, 172 of which were conciliatory proceedings. In other cases, passengers asked for information on their rights or indication of an authority that they can ask for help.

Out of the cases finalised in 2017, in 61% of the cases, conciliatory proceedings resulted in resolution of a dispute. This number does not take account of cases of refusal to carry out the proceedings or to withdraw by one of the Parties. Such situations are, however, rare; in only 9 cases, one of the Parties withdrew from the proceedings, and the Ombudsman was obliged to refuse to hear the dispute only five times. The proceedings last 7 weeks on average.

Presentation of suggested resolution is not necessary in all cases. In numerous cases, due to the Ombudsman’s suggestions, the Parties reach consensus at the stage of exchange of their positions.

If the Ombudsman sees repeated problems, it provides guidelines to operators the implementation of which would help to avoid disputable situations in the future. Last year, such guidelines pertained, among others, to making the provisions of rules or terms and conditions of promotional offers more precise.

Submission of the request for initiation of proceedings is very simple. The interactive form is available within the Ombudsman’s website. Passengers may also send a request by regular post or e-mail, via the ePUAP system or to submit it in person at the Office of Rail Transport or at one of the field branches.

The Ombudsman also promotes knowledge on passenger’s rights among passengers. In order to do so, posters, brochures, and leaflets have been prepared that will be made available to passengers in cooperation with carriers and railway station managers. Last year, the Ombudsman also participated in conferences and academic workshops, held meetings with operators and visited the TRAKO 2017 International Railway Fairs.