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Hi, I bought a Ouigo ticket for a train from Chartres to Paris this afternoon to 1) avoid being stuck in Chartres waiting for the next TER, not even being certain there would be another, and 2) ensure I could arrive at my final destination in time to check in at my accommodation on time. I had to pay EUR 18 for the ticket. I have a valid global pass. I am glad I did it because it now looks like I will arrive in Amiens on time to check in (train now leaving Paris Nord (18:31) and I'll now arrive at Amiens around 19:40, walk for 30 minutes, check in around 20:15 and thus beat the 21:15 check in deadline. If I had waited at Chartres - with the many other unfortunates hoping to get back to Paris, I would have had serious problems. I have been checking TER info all afternoon and it seems to only have restarted from Chartres around 18:00. This would not have been sufficient for me to meet my check in. As things stand, even with the step I took, I'm arriving at Amiens well over an hour later than planned. Question is, can I claim the EUR 18 back from Interrail or SNCF? If so, how do I go about it?

From Interrail, you can only get compensation for delay:

https://www.interrail.eu/en/support/delay-compensation

The operators are responsible for anything else.

So do you think I will have any luck if I contact SNCF?

And seeing as my journey was delayed by over an hour, would I not qualify for Interrail delay compensation?

So do you think I will have any luck if I contact SNCF?

Hard to tell. But if you don't try, you'll have nothing for sure.

What was the advice of SNCF staff in Chartres? Or didn't they give any information and let you wait for at least 100 minutes after the departure time of the cancelled train? Because after that, you have the right to organise something yourself.

Edit: if SNCF doesn't react or if you're not satisfied with their answer, you can contact the Mediation service:

https://mediation.sncf-voyageurs.com/

And seeing as my journey was delayed by over an hour, would I not qualify for Interrail delay compensation?

You should qualify.

Hi, no, I didn't wait 100 mins. They said the train was cancelled due to a materials problem up the track in the direction of Paris. My train, the 14:52 was cancelled before the departure time, and then it was announced that the Nantes to Paris Montparnasse train would be terminating at Chartres. The little station was already beginning to fill up and the announcer said the line was not working and we would be updated every 15 minutes. I noticed however that the Ouigo to Paris Austerlitz at 15:24 was still scheduled to go, so I quickly booked on SNCF.com on my phone. Even though this train left late at around 15:52 (subsequently arriving in Paris around 35 minutes late) it was clearly the right decision, as the 15:35 TER had also been cancelled in the meantime and the next scheduled train at that point wouldn't got me in Paris in time to arrive in Amiens until 19:40 (original planned arrival 18:24). As subsequently transpired, this and the following trains were also “supprime" and they only started again around 18:00. I definitely made a good decision, but it sounds like I might fall between two stools where compensation is concerned.

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