France-Germany

• Q. I’ve already booked my rail pass, but think I’d like a different one. Can I exchange it ? It’s totally unused.

  A. Unused and unvalidated rail passes can be exchanged for an alternate rail pass of equal or greater value. A 7% administration fee, any price difference, and additional shipping fees would apply. Some promotional rail passes are non-exchangeable ; please read the terms and conditions for these passes for more details.

  Please send us a message through the Contact Us page to begin the exchange process. To exchange a rail pass, we must receive your original unused and unvalidated rail pass no later than 3 days prior to your departure to Europe, issue a new rail pass, and ship it to you.

  If you bought the Rail Protection Plan™ when you placed your rail pass order, you are eligible to receive the full value of your original pass as a credit and use it towards any future Rail Europe purchase within 2 years, with no fee or penalty incurred.

• Q. Seat Reservations are sold out for the train I want to take. What should I do ?

  A. If the train you’re planning to take requires a reservation and reservations are sold out, there are only two things you can do. Purchase a regular, full-fare ticket if those are still available, or try to travel on another train (later or earlier) that has reservations available.

• Q. What is the 7:00 pm rule ?

  A. Overnight train journeys departing after 7:00pm and arriving after 4:00am without any change of train will count as one travel day. The date of arrival should be recorded on your rail pass.

  Overnight train journeys departing after 7:00pm that arrive or involve a connection between midnight - 4am count as two travel days on your rail pass.

• Q. I misplaced the printout of my print at home e-ticket. What now ?

  A No problem. You can simply reprint your train ticket from any printer, as long as you can still access the pdf provided to you at the time of booking.

  You can find links to the pdf in the confirmation email sent to you. Or if you’ve registered for an online account, you can access the booking in which the pdf link was contained in your dashboard.

  The only exceptions are if you purchased a Thalys or NTV-Italo print at home e-ticket. Those pdf’s are sent in separate emails and can’t be retrieved online at this time.

  If you request to have your train ticket reprinted at a station ticket window, there may be a local service fee.

• Q. If I bought my rail pass from another company, can I still book my seat reservations through Rail Europe ?

  A. Yes. You can book your reservation with Rail Europe regardless of where you purchased your rail pass.

• Q. How long are train tickets valid for ?

  A. It depends if you have a ticket with a reservation or a point to point train ticket.

  Point to point train tickets are valid within 15 days from the first day of validity printed on the ticket. You can travel with your train ticket on any date within the validity period (however, remember : separate reservations may be necessary, depending on the route).

  Tickets with reservations are only valid for the train for which the reservation was issued, on that specific travel date and time of travel.

• Q. I made a mistake when I ordered my rail pass. How can I correct it ?

  A. Once your rail pass has been printed, it is not possible to modify it. If you absolutely need to do it, you can pay a 15% penalty and a 7% processing fee to exchange it. If you catch the mistake and call us right away - prior to your rail pass being printed, we may be able to modify it for you. If you bought the Rail Protection Plan™ when you ordered your rail pass, you can exchange your original pass at full value and use it towards the new one, with no fee or penalty incurred. Read more about the Rail Protection Plan™ coverage and how to file a claim..

• Q. Do I need to make a reservation if I’m traveling with a rail pass on an overnight train ?

  A. Yes. Even with your rail pass, you will need to make a reservation on any overnight train. Reservations are required for sleeping compartments, couchettes, and seats. Depending on where you’re traveling, the guidelines of the specific train and/or the type of rail pass you have, you may be entitled to purchase a reservation in place of a full price ticket.
  You can search for overnight reservations directly on our website - just be sure to select the "I have a rail pass" option.

• Q. How do I travel with a print at the station e-ticket ?

  A. All you need to do is print your actual train ticket at the station using a self-service kiosk prior to boarding the train. You can do this on the day of your travel, or anytime prior – but you can only do this at a train station.

  The actual steps to print your e-ticket vary slightly from one country to another, but the general approach is the same : proceed to the self-service kiosk, enter your e-ticket confirmation code (also known as PNR) which is a letter code (or in the UK, 8 character alphanumeric code) that is unique to your trip, and follow the simple on-screen instructions.

• Q. I want to refund my train ticket. How do I proceed ?

  A. If you have a paper ticket that you would like to submit for a refund, please visit our Contact Us page for further information.

  Please note that train tickets must be received at least 2 business days prior to the train departure date.

  It’s strongly suggested that you send these documents by some type of traceable mail for proof of delivery.

  If you have an e-ticket to submit for a refund, this can be initiated on our Cancellation and Refunds page.

Browse our FAQs

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 ...