Dear all,
my name is Sebastian and I purchased an Interrail global pass during the recent promotion.
Now I am planning my first trip, which will take me (all in one day) all the way from Zurich via Geneva, Lyon and Barcelona to Madrid. This is a long journey and as such, missing one connection will result in having to stay overnight somewhere, as there will be no later connection on the same day.
So far so good and since I am not in a rush it doesn’t matter if I arrive in Madrid only a day later. However, of course I would need to stay somewhere for the night if I strand for example in Lyon or Barcelona. I understand that in this case this happens, according to EU passenger’s rights, I will be entitled to compensation and overnight accommodation.
However, I didn’t find any information on the procedures on the interrail website and as such, I would like to ask for your experience to clarify my following questions:
- How is the usual procedure of arranging accommodation should I be stranded during my trip (in particular by SNCF / Renfe)? Does train or station staff usually arrange hotels or do I need to book something myself and claim back the expenses?
- Who will be the right point of contact for making these claims (expenses and compensation)? Is it the rail company responsible for the delay (e.g. SBB, SNCF, Renfe), EURail itself or the rail company that I purchased the pass from (that was National Rail UK)?
- Will I receive a refund for any unused reservations that I could not use due to the missed connection?
Any experience or advice on the above points is strongly appreciated.
Many thanks in advance !
Best, Sebastian
