Terms & Conditions

The following Terms and Conditions apply to all railpasses offered by Railfrance.com and should be read carefully. If you have any questions please email us at info@Railfrance.com and we will respond promptly. Please note that all railpass orders are subject to a non-refundable handling fee.

Advance Bookings:

Please apply for your passes and other tickets at least 15 days prior to your departure. We will try to help if less notice is given, but we can not be responsible for delays in delivery service or otherwise. If a product is ordered at short notice we will charge an additional fee for overnight delivery service. When ordering please include your date of departure as this is how we determine how much time we have to process your order.

Payment:

We accepts credit card payment through Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. You may also pay using a certified check or money order, but the order must be placed over the phone with a customer service rep before the check is sent to us.

Return Policy:

1) Lost or stolen rail passes are neither refundable nor replaceable without purchasing Pass Protection.
2) Shipping charges are not refundable.
3) Unvalidated rail passes may be refunded for 85% of the original value of the pass if returned within six months of the issuing date.
4) Italian Tickets are subject to a non-refundable US $25.00 issuing charge per pass.
5) Validated passes may be refunded only if it is canceled and made unfit for use by an official authority of a participating network. (The official must cross out the front of the pass, write "not used", sign and stamp the date). The holder must also prove that they were not in Europe between the 1st day of validity and the day that the passholder applies for a refund.
6) The passholder is not entitled to a refund if the pass is partially used. However, if a passholder cannot use the rail pass due to illness, accident or death, a partial refund may be granted at the discretion of the railway. In this case, send all pertinent information detailing what happened. Include all doctor reports, last minute plane tickets, police reports, or all other documents that may assist in validating your claim.
To Process a Refund Send your rail pass and all necessary proof validating your claim, via certified, return receipt requested mail, to:

Railfrance.com
Attn: Refund Dept.
48 Glen Ave
Newton Centre, MA 02459
617-630-0270

Exchanges:

A. Unvalidated rail passes may be exchanged for another pass of equal or greater value.
B. When upgrading a rail pass the passholder must pay shipping charges and the (dollar value) difference between the original and upgraded pass.
C. When downgrading a rail pass, the passholder returns the original rail pass for an 85% refund and then purchases a new rail pass, paying for all shipping charges.
D. The passholder must send the original pass certified or Express, return receipt requested, before receiving a new pass. To Process a Refund or Exchange Send your rail pass and all necessary proof validating your claim, via certified, return receipt requested mail, to:  

Railfrance.com
Attn: Refund Dept.
48 Glen Ave
Newton Centre, MA 02459
617-630-0270

Pricing:

Every effort has been made to ensure all information appearing on our Internet Site is correct and exact. However, we cannot accept responsibility for human or printing errors or changes in prices that may be imposed on our site after publication by European Rail systems, or other providers of services mentioned in this site. Prices on this site are listed in USD. All prices indicated are effective January 1, 2003, and are subject to change without notice.

Residency:

Eurail and Europasses may not be issued to residents of Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States (the former Soviet Union), Turkey, Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia. Citizens of the United Kingdom are not eligible to purchase BritRail Passes.
 
Validating:

Passes must be validated within 6 months from the date of issue and prior to the first day of use. Validity starts only when the pass is endorsed by a railway official at a railway ticket office - not a conductor - from the country in question with your passport number and the first and last days of travel. This must be done before boarding the train for the first time. In most cases, validity runs from midnight to midnight for the period shown on the pass.
 
Under no circumstances is the holder allowed to validate his or her own pass, nor should pass holders enter their own passport number. Any tampering or altering of passes will invalidate them and could incur a fine in local currency levied by train personnel. On Flexipasses, the holder must enter the date of each day of travel, in ink, in the appropriate box before boarding the first train of the day. Failure to comply with validation and date-of-use regulations will result in a fine collected onboard the train. Rail/Drive packages may require pre-validation.For complete details, see Conditions of Use as printed on each pass or pass cover.
 
Passes are available in first-class and second-class unless stated otherwise. Passengers holding first-class passes are also permitted to travel in second-class. Passengers holding second-class passes are permitted to travel in first-class only if they pay the difference between the two fares as applicable locally.

Reservations:

A railpass does not guarantee a seat on a train, bus or space on a ship, and reservations should be made in advance. While seat reservations are recommended for all long-distance trains, they are required for certain high-speed trains. Travel in sleepers or couchettes always requires advance reservations.Seat reservations, sleepers and couchettes, travel on certain high-speed trains, luggage checking, port taxes, meals, beverages and refreshments are all subject to additional charges. These are not included in the price of the rail passes, and must be paid separately. Seat reservations should be made in advance and are compulsory on some trains (all TGV, Thalys, Cisalpino, AVE, Eurostar, and certain EC and IC trains), buses, and boats. Reservations are also compulsory for all sleepers and couchettes, and should be made in advance.Passes are strictly non-transferable and are only valid for those named. Use by anyone other than those named will invalidate the pass and will result in a heavy fine in local currency. It is compulsory to present passports to European railway officials on request.All transportation covered by multi-country passes where use is intended for more than one country is subject to the Uniform Rules concerning the Contract for International Carriage of Passengers and Luggage by Rail (CIV). National and/or single-country passes are subject to the rules and regulations of their specific countries. The European railroads are not responsible for damages resulting from strike.

Responsibility and Liability:

This site acts only as booking agent and has no control over, nor responsibility for, the passes, carriers and other travel accommodations listed on our site, Europe by Eurail World Wide Web Site or printed materials. All bookings are accepted and all tickets, passes and vouchers are issued on the express condition that Eurailtickets.com, Inc. is not responsible nor liable for: any loss (consequential or otherwise), damage (including, but not limited to, loss of, or damage to passengers' clothes, baggage, property whatsoever), death, injury, delay, inconvenience or irregularity caused by, or arising from, or in connection with any defect in any vehicle or other land or sea conveyance used, rented or traveled in; or through the negligence, willful misconduct, strikes or other acts, defaults or omissions of any carrier, car rental company, hotel, restaurant or other provider of goods or services.
(2) Every booking accepted is subject to the conditions, tariffs and regulations imposed by the rail, shipping, bus, car rental, car insurance or other companies, firms and persons concerned.
(3) Travel insurance is recommended.
(4) Travelers are responsible for ensuring that they have all necessary travel documents and visas.

RailPass Protection Program:

An optional Rail Protection Plan is available for US $10 per pass to reimburse for the unused portion of the railpass in the event of loss or theft of the pass while traveling in Europe. Insurance is non-refundable and must be purchased at the same time as the rail pass.
 
Rail/drive packages may be included under the Rail Protection Plan for US $10.
 
The Rail Protection Plan is available for any pass purchased from Euraltickets.com.
 

How the Rail Protection Plan Works:

When your pass is lost or stolen while in Europe, report the loss/theft to the local police within 24 hours and obtain a police report. Purchase point-to-point tickets or another railpass for the remainder of your trip. Keep all receipts for travel. Within 30 days after returning to the U.S. file a claim for reimbursement.

The claim should include:

A notarized written report of the circumstances of loss or theft, official police report, receipt for replacement tickets. You will then be reimbursed for 100% of the unused portion of the pass.