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Can I spontaneously change my mind and get a different ticket for an other train right befor it departs?


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Can I spontaneously change my mind and get a different ticket for an other train right befor it departs? So if yes, I can change my ticket over the day as often as I want?

Thank you for your answer.

 

PS. I am travelling with global pass.

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Best answer by Richard McLachlan 11 May 2022, 22:47

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As long as the train you want to take not requires mandatory reservation you are fine to take any train with a railway company that is included in the Interrail offer. Before you board the train you must add the journey to "My trip" to get a valid ticket.

 

Just taking a train without much planning is the idea of Interrailing as I see it.

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Alright thank you!

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The pass IS the ticket-just like the old Weekend or QuerdurchsLand or Ländertickets in DE/DB. Or like the coming 9€ monthly in DE. Just about anyone here wants to ride the superfast trains in FRance/ITaly and ESpana that must be reserved-and to be sure of getting exactly what you want-flexibilty seems a thing from <2000-this also has to be done quite some time before travel.

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The pass IS the ticket-just like the old Weekend or QuerdurchsLand or Ländertickets in DE/DB. Or like the coming 9€ monthly in DE. Just about anyone here wants to ride the superfast trains in FRance/ITaly and ESpana that must be reserved-and to be sure of getting exactly what you want-flexibilty seems a thing from <2000-this also has to be done quite some time before travel.

You are probably right. Just look at this forum. It's full of people who struggle with their reservations.

But on the other hand I think if you don't just want to race from one city to another and for example want to hike the mountain you just saw out of the window of the train, you can leave the train and continue you're journey later.

The rules say that you must put your journey into the app before the start of the section of your journey.

That is the ideal. The App is not perfect and has given me trips with a long time to change trains when it is entirely possible to use a shorter connection time.

I have had that problem and simply changed my plans after the journey had started - delete the journey, enter the first part as one journey and then enter the second part at the right time as a subsequent journey. The world didn’t stop spinning last week. It worked for me.

Once you have started a day, most ticket inspectors accept that and don’t worry about 100% precision. It is probably good for Interrail to have a comprehensive view of where their customers go, but if you are a bit slow to get the details 100% accurate, certainly in Switzerland, it does not seem to be an issue.

The key is - is the day on the ticket valid for what you are doing, and are you the correct holder of the ticket. I suspect that most railway companies across Europe think the same.

If you are making a permitted journey with the validity of your ticket and you have activated the ticket for that day, very few ticket inspectors will ask for more than your Passport as proof of identity.

On the other hand, Interrail need to know where their customers go so that they can assemble and calculate a fair price to pay to each countries’ railway operator. If they can’t, it is possible that their tickets will be more expensive in the future.

As a Senior, that is of less concern to me with fewer years left for me to use Interrail than younger users, but in principle, the more accurate we all report our journeys to Interrail, the better the overall price that Interrail can potentially negotiate for passes in the following year.

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The rules say that you must put your journey into the app before the start of the section of your journey.

That is the ideal. The App is not perfect and has given me trips with a long time to change trains when it is entirely possible to use a shorter connection time.

I have had that problem and simply changed my plans after the journey had started - delete the journey, enter the first part as one journey and then enter the second part at the right time as a subsequent journey. The world didn’t stop spinning last week. It worked for me.

Once you have started a day, most ticket inspectors accept that and don’t worry about 100% precision. It is probably good for Interrail to have a comprehensive view of where their customers go, but if you are a bit slow to get the details 100% accurate, certainly in Switzerland, it does not seem to be an issue.

The key is - is the day on the ticket valid for what you are doing, and are you the correct holder of the ticket. I suspect that most railway companies across Europe think the same.

If you are making a permitted journey with the validity of your ticket and you have activated the ticket for that day, very few ticket inspectors will ask for more than your Passport as proof of identity.

On the other hand, Interrail need to know where their customers go so that they can assemble and calculate a fair price to pay to each countries’ railway operator. If they can’t, it is possible that their tickets will be more expensive in the future.

As a Senior, that is of less concern to me with fewer years left for me to use Interrail than younger users, but in principle, the more accurate we all report our journeys to Interrail, the better the overall price that Interrail can potentially negotiate for passes in the following year.

 

Thank you for all this information it helps me a lot. Because i am stressing my self a little bit about if it will work out for me. Now i am less concerned. :)

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