Swiss Half Fare Card

• Q. How far in advance can I buy my train ticket?

  A. Train tickets can be purchased 60 to 180 days in advance, depending on your route of travel. Rail carrier policies vary, depending on when their schedules are available for sale.

  For the best deals, purchase your train tickets three months in advance, if possible. But always book as far in advance as you can to assure the best price and to avoid your class of service being sold out (especially during peak travel season on high speed trains).

• Q. What do I need to show to the conductor when traveling by train with a rail pass?

  A. While traveling with a rail pass, you will need to show the conductor your pass. Be sure your pass is activated prior to boarding the train. For trains that require reservations, be sure to have your valid reservations ready to show the conductor, as well. Lastly, it is not uncommon for a conductor to request to see your passport, best to keep it handy.

• Q. Can a rail pass be issued as an e ticket or e pass?

  A. At this time, most rail passes are printed as a paper document and must be shipped to you prior to your departure to Europe. If a rail pass is offered as an e-pass this option will be offered at the time of booking. For rail passes offered as e-passes, you will need to print it out on paper prior to arriving at the train station.

• Q. My Rail Europe train tickets were not accepted by the conductor. What do I do?

  A. While all train tickets issued by Rail Europe should be accepted onboard the train, if you should run into any issues, be sure to ask the conductor to stamp your Rail Europe ticket "Not Used" with a written note explaining why this ticket could not be accepted by a railway official. You will want to keep that ticket safe and upon your return home, you can send the original ticket, any replacement tickets and receipts, and a brief letter of explanation to our Customer Relations team.

  Please use the Contact Us page to get more information regarding a refund.

• Q. What does the “Login with Facebook” button do?

  A. The “Login with Facebook” button allows you to log in to the Rail Europe website with your Facebook login credentials, even if you have never registered to the Rail Europe website before.

• Q. How can I ensure that my traveling party is seated together?

  A. In general, when you request fares and schedules for multiple travellers at once, we’ll always attempt to request that they be seated together. The best way to ensure this is to correctly indicate the number of travellers when you request your fares and schedules for your itinerary.

  Occasionally, it might not be possible to seat everyone together based on availability at the time of booking, in which case the travellers will be seated in the closest available seats.

  If the train you’ll be taking is non-reservable, all you have to do is board the train and sit in any available seat with the rest of your party.

• Q. Are there smoking and non smoking sections on trains?

  A. Smoking is not permitted on any trains in Great Britain, Denmark, Ireland, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg), France, Hungary, Spain, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Norway, Sweden, or Poland.

  Smoking is restricted on trains in Finland and the Czech Republic.

  Smoking is also prohibited in lavatories and dining cars. And you must observe special regulations at stations where you usually find dedicated smoking areas or rooms.

• Q. I haven't departed for Europe yet and want to exchange or refund my train ticket. How do I proceed?

  A. There are different ways you can exchange or refund a train ticket prior to your departure to Europe, but they depend in whether you booked a paper ticket or e-ticket.

  For refunds:

  If you booked a paper train ticket, the original ticket must be returned to us for the refund to be finalized. Please visit the Contact Us page for further information.

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

  If you booked an e-ticket from our website, you can usually complete the refund online via our Cancellation and Refund page. The refund will be processed immediately and no further action on your part will be required.

  For exchanges:

  Similar to the previous situation, the original paper train ticket must be returned to us for the exchange to be processed. Visit our Contact Us page to begin the exchange process for paper tickets, or the Cancellation and Refund page for e-tickets.

  When exchanging tickets, you are responsible for paying the difference in fare, as well as any applicable fees for your new train tickets. Please keep in mind that exchanges on train tickets are only permitted for the same city pair or route originally booked.

• Q. How can I book an itinerary with multiple cities?

  A. Our website makes booking multi-city journeys very easy!

  Simply enter the cities you plan to depart from, arrive to, and your travel dates. Our system will then search the database to provide the best matching schedules.

• Q. Do I need to tip the train staff?

  A. Tipping the train staff (other than bar-buffet car waiters) is neither necessary nor customary.

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