Assistance to passengers and the impact of Covid-19 on passenger transportation from a legal and practical point of view were some of the highlights of this year’s CIT/UIC Conference of Passenger Claims Departments.
Excellent attendance
More than 80 CIT and UIC members participated in this year’s conference. The event was opened by Marc Guigon, Director of UIC’s Passenger department, who provided information on UIC’s Covid-19 taskforce, and was chaired by Enrico Trapazzo, Legal and Corporate Affairs Business Partner at FS.
Legal and practical aspects of assistance
During the morning session, participants were given an overview of assistance to passengers from a legal point of view, with a analysis of article 18 of Regulation (EC) 1371/2007 (PRR) by Oliver Hirschfeld (DB), followed by a presentation on the legal implications of Covid-19 for passenger transportation by Isabelle Saintilan (SNCF).
Massimiliano Astrologo (Trenitalia) also gave a presentation on providing assistance to passengers onboard trains and at stations. Michele Bondi (Trenitalia) explained the health, sanitary and security measures taken in Italy by Trenitalia in the context of the pandemic, and Giovanni Ferrari (Trenitalia) presented the influence of Covid-19 on the aftersales process.
Practical afternoon session
During the afternoon session, Isabelle Saintilan (SNCF) and Thomas Schönfisch (SBB) gave presentations on assistance to passengers onboard trains and in stations from a practical point of view. Their respective railway undertakings have implemented different concepts for providing assistance to passengers: SNCF delivers assistance to passengers directly (drinks, meals, accommodation), while SBB has a voucher system in place. The presentations concluded with information on the impact of Covid-19 on daily railway business.
Sandra Dobler (CIT) and Jan Vavra (CIT) presented an overview of CIT products of relevance to customer services, including the revised Manual on Data Protection (MDP), amendments to the AIV and to the MIRT, and other useful information from CIT.
Fruitful workshops
The afternoon workshops were a highlight of the conference and focused on this occasion on assistance with onward journeys in the event of missed connections, as well as options for provision of accommodation when the passenger has missed the last connection of the day.
The outcomes from these fruitful discussions will help with the implementation of the PRR in daily railway operations.
At the end of the conference, the participants were thanked for their active participation and were invited to next year’s Conference of Passenger Claims Departments, which will be held on 22 September 2021. The location for the event will be announced at a later date.
