One thing is that we users have understanding and patience with what is happening and another that they try to pull our leg.
Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo cannot claim the speed limitation established by Adif on certain routes in recent days as a force majeure consequence of extraordinary circumstances to refuse to comply with their punctuality commitments or with the minimum compensation provided for by European regulations in case of delays.
Adif is the manager of railway infrastructures. And the European Regulation on railway passenger rights expressly indicates that "actions (...) by infrastructure managers" are not considered extraordinary circumstances. Therefore, the decisions that Adif is making regarding maximum speed on the tracks, which are the cause of the delays that trains are suffering, are not extraordinary circumstances.
If you bought a ticket on which the company established a punctuality commitment, that commitment has to keep applying now. And if you bought it when the commitment had already been temporarily eliminated, you have the right to have the compensation established by European regulations applied
The European Regulation indicates that if the delay reaches one hour, the passenger must be compensated with 25% of the ticket price, and if it reaches two hours, the compensation will be 50%. Little. Less than what those punctuality commitments established, but it must be complied with. And needless to say, if what occurs is a cancellation, you will always have the right to get your money back. All the money. It is obvious, but at FACUA we are receiving claims from passengers who have been denied that right arguing some nonsense about the contracting party of the first part. **It must be that the teleoperator who attended them did not understand well what the story was about or that the company had not processed on its website that the train had been canceled.**
But also these refunds should be made automatically or at least inform the passenger by email of their right without them having to file a claim
And Óscar Puente's Ministry of Transport should also be monitoring what the three train companies are doing in this chaotic situation. But we are clear that many passengers are being taken for a ride. And that should lead to sanctions