Help with journey earlier today.

[otter11]

Hello

Today I was travelling on IC 146 from Osnabrück to Amsterdam, departing at 13:53.

Upon arrival in Bad Bentheim the train ground to a halt, there was a problem with the locomotive and some issues with the track ahead I believe. After around 1 hour of waiting I had to take a regional train and change several times before arriving in Amsterdam over 3 hours late, thus causing me to miss my Eurostar back to London.

Tomorrow morning I will go to the Eurostar staff and explain the situation (there were no Eurostar staff present in Amsterdam by 8pm when I finally arrived) to try to rebook on a later train. However I am concerned they might ask for proof of my delay.

Is there a website somewhere which shows that IC 146 was heavily delayed/ cancelled which I could screenshot to prove the delay? I can’t seem to find this on bahn.com but perhaps I am looking in the wrong place.

I will try to look at compensation options in more detail but for now I’m most concerned about getting back to the UK!

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[DanielB]

Not an official website, but here IC 146 is at least shown as cancelled on the Dutch part of the route.

And here is a disruption that prevented the NS locomotive to reach Bad Bentheim on a previous train, so probably the issue with the locomotive was that it was not there.

 

[Beebman]

I've found a news report in a Dutch newspaper of a person hit by a train this morning at Deventer which might be the cause of the delay:

https://www.destentor.nl/deventer/s...j-na-aanrijding-treinverkeer-hervat~a7773a5b/

Google Translation:

Due to a collision with a person, no train traffic was possible between Deventer and Zutphen for a long time. The trains did not run between Deventer and Almelo either. Train traffic has now resumed.

Bjorn Beerthuizen 24-10-22, 11:13 Last update: 14:42

Police have since confirmed that it was a collision with one person. An investigation was carried out at the track for at least two hours.

The Deventer-Almelo line is of course used by the ICs to and from Bad Bentheim.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Hello

Today I was travelling on IC 146 from Osnabrück to Amsterdam, departing at 13:53.

Upon arrival in Bad Bentheim the train ground to a halt, there was a problem with the locomotive and some issues with the track ahead I believe. After around 1 hour of waiting I had to take a regional train and change several times before arriving in Amsterdam over 3 hours late, thus causing me to miss my Eurostar back to London.

Tomorrow morning I will go to the Eurostar staff and explain the situation (there were no Eurostar staff present in Amsterdam by 8pm when I finally arrived) to try to rebook on a later train. However I am concerned they might ask for proof of my delay.

Is there a website somewhere which shows that IC 146 was heavily delayed/ cancelled which I could screenshot to prove the delay? I can’t seem to find this on bahn.com but perhaps I am looking in the wrong place.

I will try to look at compensation options in more detail but for now I’m most concerned about getting back to the UK!

Any help would be much appreciated!

In the past when delayed on a service that was due to connect with my Eurostar back to London, I've talked to the guard on the delayed train, and/or gone to the local train office where I've got to when I first missed a connection (not directly to Eurostar - who anyway obviously didn't have a presence in Cologne which is where this last happened to me). The DB people there, having ascertained that the Cologne-Brussels connection I missed because of a late incoming train of theirs was the last one which would get me to Brussels in time for the last Eurostar to London, took responsibility for sorting it all out. They put me up in a hotel for the night (taxi laid on), and the next morning put loads of stamps and scribblings on my ticket and sent me on my way, assuring me that all would be well. (Which it was. And in fact because engineering work meant no Brussels Eurostars that day, after I reached Brussels I was then sent on to Paris to get a London train from there. At every stage I was booked onto the next train I needed with no hassle once I showed them the paperwork I'd amassed up to that point.)

So the lesson is that you should probably have got your ticket to Amsterdam endorsed at the first point where you were delayed, and repeated that when you arrived in Amsterdam. I hope you didn't have to pay for the hotel yourself?!

The good news in your case, though, is that Eurostar seem to have an OK reputation for shifting bookings for people whose incoming connection was delayed.

 

[DanielB]

I wonder by the way how TS got over 3 hours later in Amsterdam: the trip by regional German and domestic Dutch trains should only take 40 minutes extra, plus 20 minutes waiting in Bad Bentheim. That would add up to one hour extra journey time, plus the hour waiting in the 146. So two hours in total maximum.
That might even have been enough to catch the Eurostar from Rotterdam instead.

 

[otter11]

Thanks for all the advice. At Bad Bentheim we waited a further hour for a new locomotive which never turned up, hence the additional delay.

@AlbertBeale in hindsight I probably should have gone down that route… but in the heat of the moment I wasnt thinking straight and was most concerned with speaking to Eurostar directly. I also had a interrail mobile ticket for the journey from Osna to Amsterdam so couldn’t get it ‘scribbled on’, and there was no staff in Bad Bentheim to help. I paid for the hotel out of pocket but picked a cheap hostel so only €38 - I will try to reclaim this via interrail compensation later but not a disaster if not.

Unfortunately I am more concerned about my Eurostar. Appalled by the Eurostar customer service to be honest. On the phone, the agent clearly told me I should show up in the morning (today) and the staff would try to rebook me onto a later train.
When I arrived in Amsterdam at 8pm yesterday, I tried to find Eurostar staff but they had all gone home. The booking office at Amsterdam told me they couldn’t do anything with my Eurostar ticket, and that I would need to speak to Eurostar in the morning.
Arrived this morning at 0650, the check in staff told me it was now too late to change my ticket! If I had arrived yesterday it would have been possible but now it was the following day she could not access my original ticket. This was completely contrary to the advice provided on the phone, which she recognised.
She told me the only option was to buy a new ticket and try to get it refunded.
All tickets were fully booked apart from one business premier at £299 for the 0747. Fearful about spending yet another night in Amsterdam and desperate to get home, I decided to just pay for this and try to claim back the money as the check in staff advised.

Feeling rather deflated to say the least - I’ve submitted a complaint to Eurostar online asking for a refund. I will also try going to the ticket desk at St pancras when I arrive to see if I have any joy there.

Appreciate I probably should have tried to get NS to sort me out, however all I did was follow the advice of the Eurostar customer service staff on the phone.

Do you think it’s worth phoning Eurostar also when their customer service lines open?

 

[30907]

I also had a interrail mobile ticket for the journey from Osna to Amsterdam so couldn’t get it ‘scribbled on’, and there was no staff in Bad Bentheim to help.

A little puzzled by this. With IR there is nothing to stop you adding a new journey before you have completed the previous one.
I appreciate you were stressed yesterday, and the info is no use to you now, but it might be a help in future.

Hope something is sorted and you don't end up too much out of pocket.

 

[rvdborgt]

I paid for the hotel out of pocket but picked a cheap hostel so only €38 - I will try to reclaim this via interrail compensation later but not a disaster if not.

Interrail will most likely direct you to NS. They were responsible to provide accommodation where you got stranded:

Delay Compensation

If your Interrail journey was delayed for more than 60 minutes, you may be eligible for compensation. Read this policy for more information.

www.interrail.eu

(You can claim compensation for delay with that form.)

Arrived this morning at 0650, the check in staff told me it was now too late to change my ticket! If I had arrived yesterday it would have been possible but now it was the following day she could not access my original ticket. This was completely contrary to the advice provided on the phone, which she recognised.
She told me the only option was to buy a new ticket and try to get it refunded.

That is completely wrong. Since you needed to be rebooked because of an earlier train delay, that all doesn't matter: EU Regulation 1371/2007 applies. They were obliged to rebook you free of charge (even if only Business Premier is available). I'd include that in a complaint to Eurostar. If they don't reimburse you, then appeal to London Travelwatch:

Complaints and appeals - London TravelWatch

Find out how to make a complaint about transport across London and if you can appeal your complaint to London TravelWatch.

www.londontravelwatch.org.uk

 

[otter11]

Thanks very much for the advice all.

As an update, I spoke to Eurostar staff at St Pancras but they essentially told me they could do nothing as the delay was ‘not Eurostar’s fault’, and that I needed to refer the issue to customer services. Really doesn’t suggest a ‘customer focussed’ organisation - at no point do I feel anyone has been trying to help me out (other than the kind folks on this forum!). I mentioned the Railteam alliance and got a blank look.

I have filled out the Eurostar online form so hopefully I will get a response in the next few days. I will add to my complaint the EU regulation, thanks for that.

I have also submitted the request for compensation to Interrail, I think I will get around £15 back for the delay, but for the hotel/Eurostar ticket they told me I have to take this up with the operator of the delayed train.

Could anyone advise how I should proceed? Should I continue to be pressing Eurostar for the refund or should I in fact be taking this up with NS (or even DB) who operated the cancelled service?

Worst case I believe my travel insurance will cover this so if all goes to no avail I will claim via them (however to do this I need an official ‘Proof of delay’ from DB or NS).

It doesn’t help that all the customer service teams take ages to respond!

 

[Merseysider]

hopefully I will get a response in the next few days.

I’d hope so too - but they took 2.5 months to reply to a complaint of mine earlier in the year, so don’t hold your breath!

 

[duesselmartin]

That story really puts one off travelling the climate friendly way . A pity.

 

[AlbertBeale]

The good news in your case, though, is that Eurostar seem to have an OK reputation for shifting bookings for people whose incoming connection was delayed.

Sounds like that comment of mine was unjustified... (though I know others who - like me - have been dealt with fine after a delay).

 

[otter11]

Sounds like that comment of mine was unjustified... (though I know others who - like me - have been dealt with fine after a delay).

I think if I’d arrived at Amsterdam at (for example) 7pm, just after the last train left, then the check in staff would have had no problem changing my booking. The issue was that at 8pm there were no Eurostar staff in Amsterdam and by the next morning apparently the check in staff no longer had access to my ticket. This system seems stupid but the member of staff on reception seemed like she knew what she was talking about so can only assume it’s correct.

That story really puts one off travelling the climate friendly way . A pity.

To be fair, airlines don’t have a great reputation either for compensation and good customer service in the event of delays! But I do agree.

My main issue is too many people on the ground telling me they could not help. In a coordinated railway, every member of staff should be doing their utmost to help a passenger who has experienced a 3 hour delay, and thus abandoned in a foreign country.

I’d hope so too - but they took 2.5 months to reply to a complaint of mine earlier in the year, so don’t hold your breath!

Oh wow… I think I might try contacting NS simultaneously in this case. And also try on the travel insurance claim.

 

[DanielB]

NS is months behind in processing claims, so be prepared for a lengthy wait then.

 

[AdamWW]

To be fair, airlines don’t have a great reputation either for compensation and good customer service in the event of delays! But I do agree.

My main issue is too many people on the ground telling me they could not help. In a coordinated railway, every member of staff should be doing their utmost to help a passenger who has experienced a 3 hour delay, and thus abandoned in a foreign country.

The difference is that you're much less likely with air travel to have to rely on a connection between different operators.

I can't see much interest in a coordinated railway though - it doesn't seem to be where the railways in Europe are heading.
If Eurostar can fill its trains with people just travelling between the stations they serve, I can't see what good it does them to put themselves out to cater for people trying to use Eurostar as part of a longer journey.

I'd very much like it if they did, but I'm probably in the minority in even contemplating using them as part of a much longer journey. I expect most people would just fly.