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Hello, we were recently on a train that was delayed 2 hours.

original route was marseille → Montpellier → Barcelona, with all trains being run by SNCF

Due to the delay, we were instructed to get off af Narbonne, where we were to wait for the next train to Barcelona.

the next train that came was a Renfe train, where the inspector didn’t let us on because we have SNCF tickets.

We are now waiting an extra 2 hours for the next SNCF train to take us to Barcelona, where we will arrive 5 hours later than scheduled.

Would it have been possible to get our tickets transferred to Renfe tickets? Or do they not transfer across companies. We just decided to wait and now feel that we have missed out on arriving slightly closer to our scheduled time. 
 

thanks for any help

 

Eurail is your ticket but as these both require reservations it is reservations you are dealing with.

Unfortunately SNCF and RENFE act like spoiled children, they used to run a joint service but are now not friends anymore and are in competition with each other so no, they won’t accept tickets/reservations from the other company.

They won’t transfer the reservations either, the only option would be to book a new one for the RENFE train and try to refund the SNCF reservation, both of which are easier said than done.

It is an unfortunate fact that France and Spain are 2 of the most difficult and expensive countries to use Eurail in.


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