Hello Ieva,

Unfortunately, it was not possible for us to attend physically, and by the time an webex  solution was offered, other meetings had already filled our calendars. We also inquired with our permanent representatives, and they too could not replace us.

But we will gladly give input on the topics of interest.

1. 1. State of Play Concerning the Rights of Passengers:
   1. a. Last year we had three complaints that were lodged, but fortunately or unfortunately none of them were within our remit and were simply related to poor customer service or an overcrowded train. The biggest change is probably that since January, Estonia has international connections again, where Elron started the Tallinn-Tartu-Riga train line

1. 2. Good Practices:
   1. a. Since we don't have much experience ourselves, there is no practice to share. Rather, when planning this year's activities, we looked at the activities of other countries and plan to start regular meetings with the carrier (Estonia has 1) and railway station managers this year.

1. 3. Challenges Faced:
   1. a. we don't have many challenges. The main one is how to raise people's awareness. It is difficult to find the means for this, because the agency has to look for places to save because the economy is not doing well. Secondly, there is the question of how to define buses performing replacement transportation for trains. But here our concern is more related to defining the service type of transport offered,  domestically, than directly the issue of passenger rights.

1. 4. Legislative Changes:
   1. a. Ministry of climate has started the process to change Railways Act. The draft stipulates specific requirements for the inspection and evaluation of railway traffic safety mechanisms, safety monitoring and evaluation procedures and risk management systems. The introduction of changes is an important step for the safety and efficiency of Estonian railway traffic improving and ensuring compliance with European Union law. it does not bring major changes to our work, as most of the requirements come directly from the regulation 2021/782 and the supervision is regulated by the law enforcement act.

1. 5. Main Trends Observed in 2024:
   1. a. We are seeing a situation where there are many buses serving the route due to railway repair work and this is causing more complaints about overcrowding which is difficult to control.

1. 6. Reference to Your Europe and the Passenger Rights App:

We have information about Your Europe on our website, i.e. the link leads to the page. There is no separate App information yet, but we will add it. However, we have promoted the App in our social media notifications.

1. 7. National IT Tools:
   1. a. We have no special IT solutions

I don't think a separate video meeting is necessary.

Off topic, I would like to point out that we studied the topic of the historical railway you mentioned when meeting in autumn and Natalja send you a separate e-mail on that. I hope it reached you and of course let us know if we have misinterpreted the legislation.

Best regards

Karl Tiitson

Head of the Transport Supervision Department

Supervision Division

+37255505364

www.transpordiamet.ee

       Valge 4 / 11413 Tallinn / Estonia

       Estonian Transport Administration

Follow up from rail NEB meeting 26 November 2024 - EE - Ares(2025)1499825  (Please use this link only if you are an Ares user – Svp, utilisez ce lien exclusivement si vous êtes un(e) utilisateur d’Ares)

Dear Colleagues,

We are in the process of compiling a comprehensive summary from the NEB meeting held last year in November. It has come to our attention that your Member State was unable to participate in this meeting and, consequently, did not provide a status update on several key items.

To ensure a complete and accurate representation of the situation in each Member State, we kindly request your input on the following points of interest:

1. 1. State of Play Concerning the Rights of Passengers:

• * Please provide an update on the current status and any recent developments in rail passenger rights within your jurisdiction.

• * Share any successful strategies or initiatives that have been implemented to enhance rail passenger rights.

• * Outline the primary challenges encountered in upholding and advancing passenger rights in your Member State.

• * Detail any legislative modifications that have been made or are being considered in relation to rail passenger rights.

• * Discuss any evolving trends you anticipate or have observed in rail passenger rights policies and practices for the year 2024.

• * Provide information if there is a reference to Your Europe website and passenger rights app in your websites.

• * We would be interested to find out if you are using any IT tools for enforcing passenger rights.

Your contribution is important for a well-rounded summary covering the entire EU. We kindly ask you to provide a written contribution or, if preferred, we can arrange a video call to discuss these elements in detail. Please let us know your preferred method of communication by 4^th March cob.

Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Best regards,

Ieva Riekstina

The Rail Passenger Rights Team     

European Commission 
Directorate General for Mobility and Transport
Unit B5 – Social aspects, Passenger rights and Equal opportunities

DM 28 - 7/110, Rue de Mot 28, B-1049 Brussels 
Rue de Mot 28, B-1040 Brussels

Further information on passenger rights on Your Europe
Have also a look at the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy
Follow us on Twitter@Transport_EU
Download the "Your Passenger Rights" app to your smartphone(Google Android, Apple iOS)

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