Travel
Trains: tickets, rail passes and delay refunds
Where to book in the UK, Europe, Asia and North America, what booking sites add, whether a rail pass is worth it, and what you get back when a train is late.
Checked on 20 October 2026. Prices, fees and rules are from each company's own pages, or the law, unless we say otherwise. They change, so check when you book.
The short version
- Most booking sites add a fee; in our checks, railways' own sites don't. Trainline charges 59p to £2.79 on UK journeys and Rail Europe £2.99 to £6.45 a basket on journeys of £20 or more, both non-refundable. We found no national railway that publishes an online booking fee. Trainline help, fees, August 2026, Rail Europe help, booking fee, June 2026
- Split tickets can cut UK fares. Raileasy and TrainSplit (the same company) charge no booking fee but take a share of what splitting saves you: up to 15%, according to a storefront it runs. Raileasy, split tickets, RailUK Tickets (run by Raileasy), about
- A rail pass doesn't cover seat reservations, which many high-speed trains require. An adult Interrail pass for a month is €696 in second class in 2026, as listed by a national railway that sells it, and reservations cost extra: €10 to €20 on a French TGV, €13 on Italy's Frecciarossa. CFR Călători (Romanian Railways), Interrail Global Pass 2026, Interrail, domestic train reservation fees
- Late trains pay out. In the EU you're owed 25% of the fare for an hour's delay and 50% for two. On UK trains covered by Delay Repay you get back half the ticket from 30 minutes late and all of it after an hour. Regulation (EU) 2021/782, full text (Lexaris), Citizens Advice, refunds for cancelled or delayed trains
Booking sites
Alphabetical.
| Site | Covers | Fees to you | Worth knowing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12Go | Trains, buses and ferries, mainly in Southeast Asia; "30,000+ transport operators" | Not published on the pages we read | Strongest in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia | Go to 12Go |
| Omio | Trains, buses, flights and ferries: 3,000+ providers in 47 countries | A service fee that varies by booking, shown before you pay, non-refundable | Announced plans to buy Rail Europe in July 2026; the Rail Europe name stays | Go to Omio |
| Rail Europe | The British, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Austrian and Swiss railways and Italo; not Sweden, Norway, Finland, Portugal or Poland, says Seat61 | £2.99 to £6.45 a basket on journeys of £20 or more, non-refundable; pass holders pay €2 a person per route to reserve, already included for SNCF, Eurostar and Trenitalia if the pass was bought from Rail Europe | Go to Rail Europe | |
| Raileasy and TrainSplit | UK split tickets | No booking fee; up to 15% of the saving and up to £5 to refund, according to TrainSplit's pages | Same company | Go to Raileasy and TrainSplit |
| Trainline | UK and Europe | UK journeys 59p to £2.79, none in its UK app on the day of travel; in Europe it "may charge", amounts not published; non-refundable | The UK advertising regulator ruled in August 2025 that its ads claiming you wouldn't find cheaper tickets elsewhere were misleading | Go to Trainline |
Sources: 12Go, about, The Omio Group, Omio terms of use, April 2026, TravelPulse, Omio plans to buy Rail Europe, July 2026, Rail Europe help, booking fee, June 2026, Seat61, who are Rail Europe?, Raileasy, split tickets, RailUK Tickets (run by Raileasy), about, TrainSplit, refund fees, March 2024, Trainline help, fees, August 2026, Advertising Standards Authority, Trainline ruling, August 2025
Booking direct
Usually avoids booking-site fees, and you get the railway's own terms if something changes.
- Deutsche Bahn
- Told Utopia.de in 2023 that the same trip booked at the same time shows the same price on every channel, in an article that reported finding differences. We found no booking fee stated. Utopia.de, Deutsche Bahn prices by channel, November 2023
- Eurostar
- Its fares page mentions no booking fee. Changing a Standard ticket costs £30 or €40, Standard Premier £40 or €50, plus any difference in fare. Eurostar, fares and fees
- SNCF Connect
- We found no general booking fee. Paying in instalments (through Alma, on €120 to €2,000) carries a financing fee shown before you pay, a French government answer confirmed in 2024. Assemblée nationale, written question on SNCF Connect payments, June 2024
- Amtrak (US)
- Book at amtrak.com. You can cancel within 24 hours of booking for a full refund. After that, if you cancel before departure, Flex fares are refunded in full, Value fares lose 30% and sale fares 50%; if you don't cancel before the train leaves, you lose the whole fare. The USA Rail Pass is normally $499 for 10 journeys in 30 days. Amtrak, refunds and cancellations, Amtrak, USA Rail Pass offer, January 2026
- India
- Foreign tourists can book the Foreign Tourist quota on IRCTC up to 365 days ahead, after verifying an international mobile number. An undated Indian government notice puts registration at Rs 100 plus GST and a service charge of Rs 200 plus GST a ticket; check on IRCTC. High Commission of India, Kuala Lumpur, booking for foreign tourists, Embassy of India, Brussels, rail tourism
Seat61, run by Mark Smith, is the best independent guide to booking trains country by country. It earns from affiliate links, as its disclaimer page says. Seat61, disclaimer
Rail passes
Worth it if you'll take several long journeys; on top, budget for reservations on high-speed and night trains.
| Pass | For | Price | Worth knowing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interrail Global | People living in Europe | Adult, second class: €696 for a month, €283 for 4 days in a month, €381 for 7, as listed by national railways that sell it | Reservations extra: TGV €10 to €20, Frecciarossa €13, Spain's AVE €10; Interrail adds €2 a train if you book them through it | Go to Interrail Global |
| Eurail Global | People living outside Europe | Its page showed US$553 for a month (US$471 in a 2025 sale), so check the current price | "Seat reservation fees are not included in the Passes" | Go to Eurail Global |
| Japan Rail Pass | Visitors to Japan | 7 days: ¥50,000 on the official site, held there "for a limited time", or ¥53,000 through overseas agents from 1 October 2026; 14 days ¥80,000 or ¥84,000 | Book on the official site while the lower price lasts. Before October 2023 a 7-day pass cost ¥29,650 through agents | Go to Japan Rail Pass |
| Swiss Travel Pass | Visitors to Switzerland | Second class: CHF 254 for 3 days, CHF 439 for 8, says an authorised reseller | About 5% dearer from 2026 | Go to Swiss Travel Pass |
| BritRail | People who haven't lived in the UK for the last six months | The prices we found disagree; check at checkout | Buy before you arrive | Go to BritRail |
Sources: CFR Călători (Romanian Railways), Interrail Global Pass 2026, VR (Finnish Railways), Interrail, Interrail, domestic train reservation fees, Interrail, how much do seat reservations cost?, Eurail, Global Pass, JR Central, Japan Rail Pass prices from October 2026, Japan National Tourism Organization, Japan Rail Pass changes, August 2023, swiss-pass.ch (authorised reseller), Swiss Travel Pass 2026, August 2026, Swiss Travel System, price changes from 2026, BritRail, eligibility and conditions of use
When a train is late
- EU
- 25% of the ticket price for a delay of 60 to 119 minutes and 50% from 120 minutes. A railway can set a minimum of up to €4 a ticket before it pays, and owes nothing if it can prove the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances not connected with running the railway, such as extreme weather, or by certain other causes the regulation lists. Regulation (EU) 2021/782, full text (Lexaris), Regulation (EU) 2021/782, article 19, German text
- Missed connections in the EU
- Under the regulation, tickets bought from a railway in a single transaction count as a through-ticket, which gives you passenger rights across the whole journey if you miss a connection. Tickets bought in separate transactions generally don't get that protection. Regulation (EU) 2021/782, full text (Lexaris)
- UK: Delay Repay
- Half the ticket back for 30 to 59 minutes late and all of it after an hour, whatever caused the delay. Some companies pay 25% from 15 minutes (Delay Repay 15). Claim within 28 days; some companies allow longer. Citizens Advice, refunds for cancelled or delayed trains, Northern, Delay Repay
- US
- Amtrak's refund page describes no delay compensation, though it waives restrictions when services are disrupted. Amtrak, refunds and cancellations
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