Financial compensation

Rail travel: how to get your tickets refunded?

Publié le 10 juillet 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Are you planning to travel by train in the near future, in France or in another EU country? If canceled, you can claim a full refund of your ticket; and in case of long delays, you can receive compensation. When you cancel a trip yourself, the question of reimbursement depends on the type of ticket you have taken (refundable, modifiable...). Service-Public.fr provides information on the steps to be taken according to your situation.

When your train is canceled or delayed for more than an hour upon departure, your carrier must provide you with information about the incident while you wait. You then have the choice between 2 solutions:

  • take another train bringing you to your destination at no additional cost, under comparable conditions and as soon as possible;
  • cancel your trip, and in this case you receive a full refund of your ticket (including the return ticket if you had booked a round trip ticket). The refund must be paid to you at most 1 month after your request.

To get your money back you can choose, depending on your situation:

  • use the website where you purchased your ticket (for example, SNCF Connect or an online agency);
  • call 36 35 (especially for your trips in France by TGV INOUI or by train Intercités);
  • show up at a station counter.

In connection with the cancelation of an OUIGO train, your carrier will send you an email in which it is offered to you:

  • to exchange your ticket without any charge, and to take another OUIGO train no later than 7 days after the initial date of your journey (within the limits of the seats available on the other trains);
  • cancel your trip and get a refund of 100% of the total cost of your trip.

FYI  

Concerning TERs, the conditions for exchange, cancelation and reimbursement depend on the region you are traveling in. The validity period of a TER ticket is 1 day; unless otherwise indicated on your ticket, you can take any TER train of the day respecting the date of travel and the stations of origin and destination indicated on your ticket.

Please note

Within the European Union, passenger rights are regulated by the Regulation of 29 April 2021 on rail passengers’ rights and obligations. This text is applicable to domestic passenger rail services (high-speed trains or intercity trains) as well as to international journeys (e.g. Thalys). It imposes minimum obligations on railway undertakings, in particular in terms of compensation, information and assistance to passengers. However, does not affect situations in which you cancel a trip on your own initiative. The refund terms then depend on the general conditions of your carrier and the type of ticket you have taken (refundable or not, and under what conditions).

What compensation can you get if your train is delayed?

If your train is late, the minimum compensation is:

  • 25 % of the ticket price for a delay on arrival of between 1 hour and 2 hours;
  • 50% of the ticket price for a delay of more than 2 hours.

Railway undertakings may lay down more advantageous rules. For example, the SNCF offers you a voucher if your train is between 30 minutes and 1 hour late; this applies to national and international INOUI TGVs as well as Intercités trains.

For the different types of trains of the SNCF for example, you can make your claim online by specifying the reference of your ticket reservation file.

However, you do not receive any compensation:

  • if you were told before purchasing your ticket that the train would be late;
  • if you chose to have your ticket refunded rather than take the scheduled train (when the train is more than 1 hour late);
  • if the delay is due to “extraordinary” circumstances (extreme weather conditions, a major natural disaster, a major public health crisis, the presence of people on the railway, cable theft, an emergency on board the train...).

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