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HOTNAT / AJC Utrecht to Paris

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Nunners

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I am looking at booking a journey from Utrecht to Paris, via Rotterdam (more expensive) or Brussels (cheap).

HOTNAT appears to cover NS and Eurostar. I'm concerned about NS being late and missing the eurostar. I have three scenarios:
1. I buy a fixed-train ticket from Utrecht from Brussels on the IC Direct and from Brussels to Paris on Eurostar. I would have 30 minutes to change in Midi. If I am delayed, can I HOTNAT, even if it's 2 separate tickets?
2. I buy a flexible ticket from Utrecht to Rotterdam on NS (Intercity), and a Eurostar ticket from Rotterdam to Paris. If the NS is late, can I HOTNAT?
3. I travel with an Interrail Benelux pass from Utrecht to Brussels/Rotterdam and then buy a Eurostar ticket to Paris. If NS is late, can I HOTNAT?

I appreciate that the answer is really to leave more time to change, but I'm very time pressured this time. I don't want to have to fork out for a new Eurostar ticket on the day.

I've had a mixed experience with NS reliability, so any guidance would be appreciated.
 
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RailUK Forums

Mike395

Mike395

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Nunners said:
I am looking at booking a journey from Utrecht to Paris, via Rotterdam (more expensive) or Brussels (cheap).

HOTNAT appears to cover NS and Eurostar. I'm concerned about NS being late and missing the eurostar. I have three scenarios:
1. I buy a fixed-train ticket from Utrecht from Brussels on the IC Direct and from Brussels to Paris on Eurostar. I would have 30 minutes to change in Midi. If I am delayed, can I HOTNAT, even if it's 2 separate tickets?
2. I buy a flexible ticket from Utrecht to Rotterdam on NS (Intercity), and a Eurostar ticket from Rotterdam to Paris. If the NS is late, can I HOTNAT?
3. I travel with an Interrail Benelux pass from Utrecht to Brussels/Rotterdam and then buy a Eurostar ticket to Paris. If NS is late, can I HOTNAT?

I appreciate that the answer is really to leave more time to change, but I'm very time pressured this time. I don't want to have to fork out for a new Eurostar ticket on the day.

I've had a mixed experience with NS reliability, so any guidance would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
HOTNAT is available in all three of those scenarios so long as you purchase a valid combination of tickets, with no gaps, before the disruption occurs.

I would avoid the last train of the day unless travelling on some sort of through ticket/Interrail pass (and the latter is more pain-free if travelling via Eurostar to Brussels as they're both reservable services which in Eurail's (Interrail's) eyes makes passenger rights stronger; they're wrong, you're entitled to them anyway but you'll have to fight harder to get them) - HOTNAT doesn't automatically mean you're entitled to overnight accommodation if something goes wrong, you're reliant on EU passenger rights which are weaker without a through ticket.
 
N

Nunners

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Mike395 said:
HOTNAT is available in all three of those scenarios so long as you purchase a valid combination of tickets, with no gaps, before the disruption occurs.

I would avoid the last train of the day unless travelling on some sort of through ticket/Interrail pass (and the latter is more pain-free if travelling via Eurostar to Brussels as they're both reservable services which in Eurail's (Interrail's) eyes makes passenger rights stronger; they're wrong, you're entitled to them anyway but you'll have to fight harder to get them) - HOTNAT doesn't automatically mean you're entitled to overnight accommodation if something goes wrong, you're reliant on EU passenger rights which are weaker without a through ticket.
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Thank you. This would be early morning so more of a problem of first trains of the day rather than last. I am surprised that Interrail still entitles you to HOTNAT without a pre-booked reservation.

If I have an Interrail and am refused HOTNAT due to that (rather than no space available etc), should I be able to claim the fare on the Eurostar I had to catch back from Eurostar?
 
Mike395

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Nunners said:
Thank you. This would be early morning so more of a problem of first trains of the day rather than last. I am surprised that Interrail still entitles you to HOTNAT without a pre-booked reservation.

If I have an Interrail and am refused HOTNAT due to that (rather than no space available etc), should I be able to claim the fare on the Eurostar I had to catch back from Eurostar?
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Eurostar are pragmatic (unless they have to think about paying for hotels!) - you will near-100% likely be just allowed on the next available Eurostar, with no arguments whatsoever, even without a HOTNAT stamp (though get one if you can). It's something they have to deal with on a daily basis.
 
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rvdborgt

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If you change to Eurostar in Rotterdam, then NS is the operator before and after Rotterdam, which should mean you have a through ticket for the complete Dutch section, and missing the connection in Rotterdam automatically means you will have to rebooked free of charge, also without HOTNAT and AJC.
 
signed

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sh24 said:
HOTNAT? AJC? Some guidance on what these mean please.
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HOTNAT: Hop on the next available train, a gentleman agreement between the major high speed operators to offer (mostly international) high speed journey protection in some stations/cities.

Where, if you have the stamp on your delayed train ticket/piece of paper you can get rebooked or just hop on the next connecting train if available.

AJC: Agreement in journey continuation, the formal journey continuation agreement signed decades ago (CIV is another)
 
N

Nunners

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rvdborgt said:
If you change to Eurostar in Rotterdam, then NS is the operator before and after Rotterdam, which should mean you have a through ticket for the complete Dutch section, and missing the connection in Rotterdam automatically means you will have to rebooked free of charge, also without HOTNAT and AJC.
Click to expand...
Does this mean it's mandatory to have a through ticket, or do I get the same rights from separate tickets?
 
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MR80

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You get the same rights from seperate tickets (booked in the same transaction?)
 
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rvdborgt

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Nunners said:
Does this mean it's mandatory to have a through ticket, or do I get the same rights from separate tickets?
Click to expand...
If you book regular tickets via NS in one transaction, you'll get 2 PDFs but they form a through ticket based on EU Regulation 2021/782.
If you have a pass, you already have a ticket (plus a booked Eurostar reservation) and that gives you the same rights.
 
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