WRITTEN QUESTION E-3128/02 by Jan Dhaene (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Information for travellers using international trains.
Date: 2002-10-30
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Union, common transport policy, consumer information, international transport, rail transport, use of languages

12.6.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 137 E/161

(2003/C 137 E/183)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3127/02

by Jan Dhaene (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(30 October 2002)

Subject: Information for travellers using international trains

Information for travellers using international trains is currently given solely in the language of the country
through which the train happens to be travelling at the time but not in the language of the country of
final destination.

Have any agreements been concluded with a view to ensuring that travellers using international trains are
provided with information in a variety of languages, including, as a matter of course, that of the country of
final destination?

Reply

(18 February 2003)

The question of the use of languages in international rail transport is not a matter for the Council.

(2003/C 137 E/184)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3128/02

by Jan Dhaene (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(30 October 2002)

Subject: Information for travellers using international trains

Information for travellers using international trains is currently given solely in the language of the country
through which the train happens to be travelling at the time but not in the language of the country of
final destination.

Have any agreements been concluded with a view to ensuring that travellers using international trains are
provided with information in a variety of languages, including, as a matter of course, that of the country of
final destination?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 December 2002)

To the knowledge of the Commission, there are no international agreements providing for the language
regime applicable to information to be provided to passengers on international rail services in the Union.
It is however already common practice for several international train services (cid:1) though not all (cid:1) that
information is provided in several languages, notably the language of the countries where the trip starts
and where it ends.

As announced in the ‘White Paper on European Transport for 2010: time to decide’ (1), as well as the
Communication on the second railway package (2), the Commission intends to table a proposal for a
Regulation on Passengers’ Rights and Obligations in International Rail Transport, which will also address
the issue of what language regime to apply for information of passengers.

Furthermore, it must be noted that the Community of European Railways has recently adopted a Charter
on Rail Passenger Services, which provides inter alia that ‘the languages used for communication with
customers on board trains and/or at stations shall be the languages in use on the route where the customer
to communicate with
is travelling. For
customers in at least one other commonly used language’.

international services railway undertakings will endeavour

(1) COM(2001) 370 final.
(2) COM(2002) 18 final.