Budapest to Warsaw Sleeper Ticket Problems

[parkender102]

Just returned from a short trip to Budapest and Warsaw including a Sleeper Journey from Budapest to Warsaw. I wasn't able to book a Sleeper Reservation via the Hungarian Railways Website so used Polrail to book the 2 Bed Sleeper Reservations. These arrived no problem. To book the actual Second Class Rail Ticket Budapest to Warsaw I used the Hungarian Railways Website and printed the ticket at Budapest Keleti Station using the ticket machine and my 10 Digit Reservation Code. Boarded the 20:05 service to Warsaw and had tickets checked by the Polish Sleeper Coach Staff no problem.

Woken at 03:20 next morning by (I assume) a Czech Ticket Inspector saying there was a problem with our tickets (not the Sleeper Reservation). He was accompanied by the original bemused looking Polish Sleeping car attendant. He said something about our Rail Tickets not being valid in Czech Republic despite the tickets saying 2nd Class Budapest to Warsaw. His English was not good and I wasn't in the mood for an argument at 03:20 in the morning so stumped up 150 Zloty (30 odd quid) for a new ticket.

Any idea why a problem?

I'll try and scan the tickets and edit this post to include. The new tickets are for Zebrzydowice GR to Warsaw Centralna. All very strange as I'm not sure of the routing of this train - I assumed we'd be going through Bratislava but do remember going through Ostrava. Train was 10476.

 

[30907]

You were woken on the CZ-PL border and issued with a ticket thence to Warszawa paid in Zloty - so obviously there was an issue in Poland not CZ.

The train does go through Bratislava but thence Breclav (CZ) where the Warsaw portion is attached to the Wien-Warszawa train, which indeed goes via Ostrava - that's the normal route, there's no direct international link from SK to PL.

An issue for PKP not MAV I think - I wonder if Polrail would help, they have a good reputation AFAIK?

 

[duesselmartin]

16 years ago I had a Problem of my interrail not being accepted on that very train. After argueing, the guard gave in. It seems nothing has changed.

 

[laird]

I had a similar experience on a Budapest to Brasov sleeper so it may be a problem on sleeper routes from Keleti.
Like Parkender the sleeping car attendant appeared bemused while the guard wanted to be paid some 30EUR or so claiming the ticket wasn't valid.

I pointed out each section of the ticket was marked CIV and then not speaking Hungarian went back to my cabin locked the door and nothing more was said.

It all seemed rather too odd that the fine would be in Euros rather than Forints so I'm fairly satisfied it was a scam.

Although I had no issues on my Budapest to Warsaw sleeper journey so its interesting to hear it affects that route too.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Did you get issued a proper ticket for the Zloty?

Could it be that CD don't accept print-at-home tickets issued in Hungary and therefore cannot validate them?

 

[Polrail]

If you bought a 2nd class ticket from the Hungarian (MAV) web site, it would have been a discount SparNight ticket, not a standard TCV ticket. (MAV doesn't sell full-fare standard tickets online.) One of the conditions of the SparNight offer is that you cannot change the booked class of accommodation. Thus you can use that ticket only in a seated carriage.

The reservation issued by Polrail Service would be valid with (a) a rail pass valid for all 4 countries the train passes through or (b) a full-fare TCV ticket issued for the train's route.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Ah, that would seem to make sense.

 

[parkender102]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like the problem was the Discounted SparNight Ticket from MAV - it wasn't that clear when booking but now I know to go for Full Fare TCV. I'd followed instructions on Seat 61 but obviously didn't pay enough attention! I'll drop Mark at Seat 61 a line to make sure no-one else gets caught but I'm sure he's already covered it on the site. Out of interest I've attached from top to bottom Sleeper Reservations, Rail Ticket Budapest - Warsaw, Ticket Issued on the Train by the Polish/Czech Inspector.

 

[parkender102]

Edited with bottom ticket the right way up!

 

[Polrail]

You actually got off lucky. The Polish conductor only charged you at the domestic (TLK) rate from the border to Warsaw, 75PLN/person. The international rate, had he been able to charge it, would have been 42€ (about 180PLN)/person!

 

[parkender102]

You actually got off lucky. The Polish conductor only charged you at the domestic (TLK) rate from the border to Warsaw, 75PLN/person. The international rate, had he been able to charge it, would have been 42€ (about 180PLN)/person!

Can only think of one other instance I was asked for extra money and it was for a Trans Med Journey from Barcelona to Alicante - again I'd booked the wrong ticket but it was sorted BEFORE we boarded the train. I'd have been happy if the Budapest - Warsaw extra fare had been spotted at Budapest or even passed on to the Sleeping Car attendant to collect at Warsaw - it was the 03:00am wake up call that was a bigger problem. I wasn't aware that there are numerous Inspectors boarding through the night and think it would make more sense for the Sleeping Car Attendant to check tickets but there must be a reason.

 

[NicholasNCE]

The SparNightis a global (or integrated) fare, if you look at your MAV ticket it says "Fahrschein + Reservierung", german for ticket + reservation...
So by doing what you did, albeit inadvertently, you were taking up four spaces on the train, two in carriage 353 and two in 355 (the ones you actually used) but only paying the actual fare for two. This means you could also have hoped back to your seats in carriage 353 instead of paying the polish guard.
He probably got you to pay at 3am as it would have been much more difficult for him to have done so on arrival, especially considering the train usually terminates at Wschodnia station, past Centralna.

In my experience, PKP ticket inspectors are amongst the most dutiful around, Poland is the only country where I've been asked to show my passport with an InterRail pass to prove its validity!

The Budapest - Warsaw train crosses through four countries (HU, SK, CZ and PL) so at each border-crossing there is a guard switch-over (MAV, then ZSSK, CD and PKP). On the daytime train, this means you get (at least) four ticket checks!

 

[duesselmartin]

back in 1999, the PKP guard on the Dresden- Krakow night train woke one after every stop in the seater coach. Not much sleep and very dutyful

 

[Polrail]

Can only think of one other instance I was asked for extra money and it was for a Trans Med Journey from Barcelona to Alicante - again I'd booked the wrong ticket but it was sorted BEFORE we boarded the train. I'd have been happy if the Budapest - Warsaw extra fare had been spotted at Budapest or even passed on to the Sleeping Car attendant to collect at Warsaw - it was the 03:00am wake up call that was a bigger problem. I wasn't aware that there are numerous Inspectors boarding through the night and think it would make more sense for the Sleeping Car Attendant to check tickets but there must be a reason.

Remember, the sleeping car attendant works for the company operating the sleeping car and is not a train guard. He holds the tickets so the guards of the various railway companies can come through in the night and do their checks (4 checks, in the case of your train).

 

[Capybara]

In my experience, PKP ticket inspectors are amongst the most dutiful around, Poland is the only country where I've been asked to show my passport with an InterRail pass to prove its validity!

I've had my passport checked in Switzerland, France, Germany and the Czech Republic though still on only a handful of occasions in hundreds of journeys. In Germany the first was with a non-DB operator but the most recent was on an ICE from Munich to Nuremberg in August. The ticket collector asked first if I spoke German and when I said I did he proceeded to speak in English. He looked quite young so I guess he was probably new to the job and showing that he knew the rules, and that he could speak English.

 

[farci]

As this thread seems to have seguéd into advice on validity - may I ask for help?

I hold a DB BahnCard 25 1st Class ordered online. All my trips are booked online through either the DB website or Captain Train so I rarely have a paper ticket. This has never been a problem except when DB reissued my BahnCard to my UK address but it was not received before I departed to Germany.

On a Frankfurt-Cologne IC service I showed the DB ticket inspector an eticket on my iPhone plus an electronic view of my valid BahnCard. He accepted the ticket but demanded (I choose that word carefully) a physical BahnCard and would not accept my explanation. I had to pay a supplement equivalent to the 25% discount.

Was this in order?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I believe it is, yes.

 

[dutchflyer]

Yes.
In general you can expect that DB-control staff knows very well the rules.
With e-tickets there is a system (as a cardholder you should have noted this, I guess) that is set-up to prevent more as 1 people travelling on the same ticket. You have to state with which card to be used for that and this card (can also be a credit-card) will be swiped through the control-machine after having read the square Aztec-code on the ticket.
(you may have some chance to get the extra paid back from DB if you write nicely to them and explaining the why+wherefore-buit they are only obliged to pay back into IBAN-accounts).
However, since 1/10/16 one can know also use his/her name with normal ID (whoich you have to have anyway on you as foreigenr), but this should have been noted to you and only applies to bookings from 1/10.
As this topic is for Bp-WAW-trains: the R+ from your BC brings nothing, as the cheaper special fares (comparable to DB-WEuropesparpreis) are cheaper anyway. This same holds for about any local INTernational fare in what used to be ''east-Europe''.