We know plans can change and errors can happen. When they do, we want to make it simple for you to understand your options and request an exchange or a refund, if your tickets/passes are eligible.
Flexible Tickets
These types of tickets can be exchanged prior to departure and are generally fully refundable with no penalty. Exchanges are only permitted for the same city pair or route originally booked.
Semi-flexible tickets
These tickets can be exchanged and refunded under certain conditions (up to a certain number of days before departure, or with a certain percentage of penalty or additional fee). Exchanges are only permitted for the same city pair or route originally booked. Fare differences may apply.
Non-flexible tickets
These fares are non-exchangeable and non-refundable and usually the most affordable option.
Refundable up to 85%
Most rail passes are refundable if they haven’t been used or activated. A 15% penalty applies. Some promotional passes are not refundable.
Seat Reservations
Seat reservations are not exchangeable nor refundable.
Activities
Activities are generally refundable before they’re confirmed or a voucher is exchanged, but it varies by product.
Rail & Hotel Packages
Exchanges and Refunds, when applicable, are subject to an administrative fee of up to 7%.
These exchange and refund rules apply to customers who booked on this website. Did you book on another Rail Europe site?
Click here to select your Rail Europe web site.
Exchanges and refunds are possible for certain types of tickets, depending on its fare and method of delivery. Please select your ticket’s method of delivery below.
Refund
Paper tickets must be returned to the issuing office for a refund. Some tickets may allow the refund process to be initiated online. Use our Quick Refund Check tool to verify.
Otherwise, all paper tickets must be returned prior to train departure to the issuing office or stamped "not used" by a railway official in the departure station before train departure. If stamped unused, paper tickets must be sent to the issuing office, via traceable method, within 30 days of train departure date.
Exchange
Paper tickets must be returned to the issuing office to be exchanged.
Please call our Customer Care center prior to departing to Europe.
Refund
Fully and semi flexible fares can be refunded online.
Fully and semi flexible fares can be refunded according to their fare rules. Please have your train ticket stamped "not used" by a railway official at the departure station before train departure and return it to our Customer Care Center within 30 days of the train departure date. In addition, please notify us here.
Exchange
Exchanges must be requested from our Customer Care Center at minimum 3 business days prior to the actual travel date of the original ticket.
Please contact our Customer Care Center during regular business hours:
Or contact us by clicking this link.
Please contact our Customer Care Center during regular business hours or check with a railway official at the departure station.
You can request a refund for a Print at Home ticket online. Exchanges must be requested from our Customer Care Center at minimum 3 business days prior to the actual travel date of the original ticket.
Fully and semi flexible fares can be refunded online.
Please contact our Customer Care Center during regular business hours:
Or contact us by clicking this link.
If you have an account with us, sign in and click on "Refund Request" in your user account. Otherwise, please complete the Quick Refund Form
Important Information
Most rail passes have a method of delivery of paper, however there are a few exceptions. Please select the method of delivery for your rail pass, below.
Rail Passes must be returned to the issuing office within the time frame allowed by their Terms and Conditions.
Please send via traceable method as passes lost in the mail are not refundable.
Rail Passes (E-ticket)
Refunds for Print At Home Rail Passes must be requested 3 business days before the 1st day of rail pass validity.
Please submit your refund request by contacting us here
Important information
Most seat reservations are non-exchangeable and non-refundable.
Activities, Rail & Hotel Packages and Extras are refundable depending on their terms and conditions, as well as delivery method. Please select method of delivery below.
Paper Acitivites and Rail and Hotel Packages must be returned to the issuing office within the timeframe allowed by their Terms and Conditions.
Note - the London Travel Card, Visitor Oyster Card, Paris Museum and Paris Visite Cards are non-refundable or exchangeable.
Please send via traceable method as passes lost in the mail are not refundable.
Refunds for Print At Home Activities when possible must must be requested at least 4 business days prior to the travel date.
Please submit your refund request by contacting us here
Overview: the Rail Protection Plan
With a Rail Protection Plan, enjoy the flexibility to cancel or refund your train ticket, rail pass, and reservations prior to travel with no questions asked.
You’ll also be protected while traveling in the event of a missed train connection, railroad strike for train tickets, and in the case of loss or theft of paper tickets and rail passes.
How does the Rail Protection Plan protect me?
NOTE - The following terms and conditions are valid from March 7, 2019.
Conditions apply, please read the terms and conditions for each benefit tab in their entirety.
To print a full copy of the RPP Terms and Conditions to keep on hand while traveling, please click here
Exchange
Rail passes, train tickets, reservations, city passes and tours may be exchanged up to 3 business days before the traveler’s scheduled departure for the same or different product(s)*, no questions asked. Exchanges vary based on ticket type, please see conditions below.
*Not including Gift Cards.
The value of the original product will be applied to the new booking. Tax, shipping and handling fees and the cost of the Rail Protection Plan will not be reimbursed. Travelers who have not yet determined their new travel date(s), or if tickets are not available yet for purchase, must proceed under the Cancellation benefit
Travelers are responsible to pay the difference in price between the exchanged product(s) and the new booking. If the price of the product is lower than the original product, the difference will not be refunded.
Rail Protection Plan has no cash value. Travelers who use their RPP Exchange benefit and then cancel the new booking will only be eligible to receive a refund on any cost paid by the traveler that exceeded the value of the original exchange after the penalties have been applied. Shipping and handling fees are non-refundable.
Exchange requests must be received by RENA Customer Relations no later than three (3) business days prior to the scheduled departure date that was specified at the time of booking. Exchanges will not be issued until the original documents have been received by RENA. Exchanges on paper products cannot be performed after the traveler(s) have departed to Europe.
Exchange requests must be received by RENA no later than three (3) business days prior to the scheduled train departure date. Exchange requests received two (2) business days or less from the scheduled train departure date will not be processed.
Start a request for your RPP Exchange
Please call 800-438-RAIL (7245) or (847) 916-1028.
Cancellation
Travelers who cancel up to 3 business days before their scheduled departure date will be issued a refund* to the original form of payment, no penalties, no questions asked. Cancellation rules vary based on ticket type, please see conditions below.
*The refund will be equivalent to the cost of the product itself; no refunds will be given for shipping and handling costs or the price of the Rail Protection Plan.
Paper products being returned for a cancellation must be received by RENA’s Customer Relations department no later than three (3) business days before the scheduled departure date to Europe that was provided at the time of booking.
Cancellation requests received two (2) business days or less from the customer’s scheduled departure date will not be processed.
Cancellation requests for rail tickets and/or passes must be received by RENA no later than three (3) business days prior to the scheduled train departure date. Exchange requests received two (2) business days or less from the scheduled train departure date will not be processed.
Start a request for your RPP Refund by filling out the contact us form below.
Strike
If while traveling in Europe your trip is interrupted due to a rail strike, you will be reimbursed for the value of the unused train ticket/reservation/travel day.
Impacted by a strike during your trip, please follow below instructions according to your type of ticket.
Train ticket/ reservations, not used due to a strike must be stamped at the European train station by a railway official indicating the train ticket/reservation.
Rail Passes
In the case the traveler is holding a rail pass, this provision only applies in the event the entire travel day could not be used due to the strike and the traveler has a corresponding seat reservation stamped unused by a railway official to support that the rail pass travel day could not be used. In the event the rail pass travel day was partially used, no refund is offered on the Rail Pass travel day.
Notice: Refund requests due to strikes while traveling in Europe must be received within thirty (30) days of your return from Europe for paper tickets/reservations/rail passes.
Start a Strike request for a refund
Requests for reimbursement due to strikes must begin by filing out the contact us form below.
E-tickets (Print at the Station)
Tickets already printed at the station must follow the same procedure as mentioned above for paper products. If the ticket has not been printed at the station, requests for reimbursement due to strikes must be received BEFORE the train departure date.
E-tickets (Print at Home / Mobile)
Requests for reimbursement due to strikes must be received BEFORE the train departure date.
Start a Strike request for a refund
Requests for reimbursement due to strikes must begin by filling out the contact us form below.
Sometimes, vacations don’t go according to plan. Get reimbursed the value of the train tickets or rail pass travel days interrupted due to a delay on a connecting flight or train.
If while traveling in Europe, you miss your connecting train trip due to a flight or train delay caused by a mechanical failure or weather, you will be reimbursed the value of the unused connecting train ticket/reservation/travel day.
In the case of a rail pass, this provision only applies in the event the entire travel day could not be used due to the missed connection and does not apply in the missed connection, only interrupted the partial use of a travel day.
Missed Connection Caused by a Flight Delay.
Missed Connection Caused by a Train Delay
Coverage does not apply for missed connections caused by the traveler arriving late for their flight, train or any other reasons other than a flight or train delay.
Travelers will either be refunded the value of the unused ticket, travel day, reservation due to the missed connection or the cost of a replacement product(s), whichever is less.
Travelers must purchase a replacement product(s) in order to continue with his/her travel plans to be eligible.
Within thirty (30) days upon return from Europe, travelers must submit a statement to Rail Europe including the proof from the airline / train conductor of the missed connection, replacement product(s) purchased due to the missed connection, and a brief explanation of the situation.
Start a Missed Connection request for a refund
Requests for reimbursement due a missed connection must begin by filling out the contact us form below.
Lost & Stolen
Receive reimbursement for your train ticket or rail pass if it’s lost or stolen while travelling in Europe.
Paper Products
Travelers’ product(s) must have been lost or stolen while traveling in Europe.
Travelers will either be refunded the value of the unused portion of the lost or stolen paper product(s) or the cost of a replacement product(s), whichever is less.
Product holders must file a police report within twenty-four (24) hours of the incident.
Travelers must purchase a replacement product(s) in order to continue with his/her travel plans.
Coverage does not apply for product(s) lost or stolen BEFORE departing to Europe.
Within thirty (30) days upon return to North America, product holders must submit a statement to Rail Europe including the police report, replacement product(s) purchased abroad, airline tickets from North America to Europe and return, and a brief explanation of the situation. If you fail to include any of these items, your claim cannot be processed.
Tickets / Passes already printed at the station must follow the same procedure as mentioned above for paper products.
Loss or theft coverage does not apply to travellers with Print at Home / Mobile e-tickets / e-passes.
Start a Lost or Stolen request for a refund
Requests for reimbursement due a lost or stolen ticket or pass must be submitted in writing to:
Rail Europe North America Inc
Customer Relations Department
1350 E. Touhy Ave. Suite 200E
Des Plaines, IL, 60018
The RPP request must be accompanied by the appropriate documentation listed in the sections above.
It is recommended that product(s) being returned for a claim under this program be sent by a traceable mail service.
RENA will not be responsible for documents not received.
It is recommended that product(s) being returned for a claim under this program be sent by a traceable mail service. RENA will not be responsible for documents not received.
It is recommended that product(s) being returned for a claim under this program be sent by a traceable mail service. RENA will not be responsible for documents not received.
All Rail Protection Plan requests will be processed within 10-14 business days, running from the date that all required documentation has been received.
Once the refund is processed by Rail Europe, the timeline to receive the refund back on the original form of payment will vary depending on your country of residence and your bank’s processing times.
Rail Protection Plan refund requests that are approved, will be processed and returned to the original form of payment.
This plan is administered by RENA and can be revised or terminated at our sole discretion at any time with or without notice. In the case that the Rail Protection Plan is terminated, coverage purchased BEFORE the date of termination will still be honored.
Description of Rail Protection Plan™:
Rail Protection Plan™ is non-refundable and non-exchangeable.
If you make any claim knowing it to be false or fraudulent in any respect, no benefit shall exist for such claim and your benefits may be canceled. Each claimant agrees that representations regarding claims will be accurate and complete. Any and all relevant provisions shall be void in case of fraud, intentional concealment, or misrepresentation of material fact.
Exclusions: This program does not apply to any loss caused by :
(a) Delay or detention or confiscation by Customs Officers or Officials or Police or other Security Officers.
(b) Product(s) not in clients’ actual possession at the time of loss.
(c) Acts of god, war, invasion, act of foreign enemy, hostilities (whether war be declared or not), terrorist acts, civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, military or usurped power.
(d) Any dishonest, fraudulent or criminal act by the holder of the covered product.
(e) Damage due to wear and tear, gradual deterioration, vermin or inherent vice.
(f) No change to this program will be valid unless authorized solely by RENA.
(g) No legal action can be brought against RENA to recover until sixty (60) days after we receive the completed RPP request.
(h) No legal action against RENA may be brought more than one (1) year after the time for submitting the RPP request as mentioned herein. Further, no legal action may be brought against RENA unless all the terms of the RPP have been complied with fully by the traveler.
(i) Any provision of this program that is in conflict with applicable law is hereby amended to conform to minimum requirements of such law and the holder of tickets /rail passes/reservations/city passes/tours products agrees to the jurisdiction of New York County, New York.
(j) Rail Protection Plan is non-transferable. It may only be used one (1) time for the product it was purchased for and cannot be transferred if a new booking is made.
(k) Some products may already include some of the benefits under the Rail Protection Plan. Please consult your terms and conditions for selected products prior to purchasing the Rail Protection Plan.
More Details
1. You and Rail Europe North America Inc agree that you and Rail Europe North America Inc may bring claims against the other only in your or its individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative proceeding.
Rail Protection Plan™ is a trademark of Rail Europe North America Inc.
Copyright © 2017 Rail Europe North America Inc. All Rights Reserved
Rail Europe North America Inc. is a registered with the State of Florida as a Seller of Travel, Registration No : ST38042. CST : 2053098-20. SOT WA #601486663.
