Ticket Refunds

Thiewazuemb86

The train from Grindelwald to Zermatt on August 13, 2024 was cancelled and I was unable to take it. Therefore, I purchased a new ticket from Grindelwald to Zermatt via Kleine Scheidegg. I would like a refund.

Danhiel

Hello Thiewazuemb86

In such situations, it is not necessary to buy a new ticket, you can use the old one on another route. But you could obtain a refund here:

https://www.sbb.ch/en/help-and-contact/refunds-compensation/refunds-compensation/refund-form.html

Kind Regards
Danhiel

Krist

You should not have bought a new ticket. Your ticket was not for a train, but for a route, and if due to some circumstances you have to travel via a different route that is just what you do. You do not need a new ticket.
So I would get a refund for the new ticket you bought, that you never needed in the first place.
(And in fact, the new ticket should have been the same price, and the same type of ticket as the old one…)

Golden rule of railway travel #1: Never open your wallet because of something the railway did. I

Thiewazuemb86

I was told to buy it at a local counter. So I bought it at a local counter, not through the app. In that case, can I still get a refund from this URL?

Danhiel

Thiewazuemb86 No, it is better to ask at the ticket office in Zermatt station.

Thiewazuemb86

I asked SBB in Zermatt about a refund. I explained the details of this transaction. However, I was not refunded. It took me an hour to get through to them.

Danhiel

Thiewazuemb86 If I understood you correctly, you bought the ticket at the ticket office in Grindelwald station (or Grindelwald Terminal). I suggest now to send a mail to the Jungfrau Railways who exploits these offices and ask how to obtain a refund. If necessary, you could also send the ticket by post, but ask first.

If they don’t want to do it, ask for the reasons.

The address is here:

info@jungfrau.ch

RedBaron

Thiewazuemb86
One more thing you apparently missed:
The official replacement service those days between Grindelwald and Zweilütschinen was NEVER via Kleine Scheidegg. Instead, that was via Männlichen (cable cars) - Wengen on Tue 13.8., and replacement buses later as soon as the road was reopened around yesterday. Your initial ticket would have been valid on those replacement services!

In other words, the detour you chose via Kleine Scheidegg is considered as an optional additional trip at your own expense. But then, you should have bought that ticket only until Zweilütschinen or maybe Interlaken. Why on earth buying the Interlaken - Zermatt leg a 2nd time, where your 1st ticket still was perfectly valid?!?

You might try to have that double paid Interlaken - Zermatt leg reconsidered by calling the SBB Contact Center or using that form above. But the fact that this leg is just a “part” of those 2 tickets in question might make things VERY complicated…

RolandP

Hello Thiewazuemb86

I suggest contacting the SBB Customer Service through their contact form. Explain the situation and attach a photo of all tickets. Each case is evaluated separately.

https://www.sbb.ch/en/help-and-contact/customer-service/praise-comments/reklamation.html

Kind regards,
Roland

Danhiel

Hi RedBaron

OK, an error was probably made, but, in the same situation in Japan, it were very difficult for me to study the prescriptions, to find if my ticket is valid or not, if it is valid on route A or B. I would probably ask at the ticket office and hope that we can understand us in English.

I don’t understand why a ticket from Grindelwald to Zermatt was sold at the ticket office without clarifying if the ticket was really needed or not. In my opinion, the customer service of the Jungfrau Railways should examine these aspects of the problem and not the regulations.

In such situations, the T600 says:

über einen Hilfsweg

who can be translated with:

via an auxiliary route

My last question is, why the route via Kleine Scheidegg could be not considerated as a valid auxiliary route?

RedBaron

Danhiel
I don’t understand why a ticket from Grindelwald to Zermatt was sold at the ticket office without clarifying if the ticket was really needed or not.
If I were a sales agent working there, I’m not sure if I’d really ask every passenger buying some ticket whether (s)he has already got an existing one for the same destination…? (Just to avoid looking stupid… 🤔)

My last question is, why the route via Kleine Scheidegg could be not considerated as a valid auxiliary route?
See T600 section 15.2.4, 2nd sentence: That “Hilfsweg” is obviously not arbitrary at the passenger’s discretion!
On Tuesday before the road was reopened, Jungfrau Railways stated at the top of their homepage or the operating info page that the official replacement service are the cable cars via Männlichen. I’ve seen it and can clearly remember. Kleine Scheidegg was not mentioned
In other words, they did determine that (sole) “Hilfsweg” = Männlichen applicable with existing tickets according to 15.2.4.
As per today, now as the road was reopened, it’s not via Männlichen anymore, but the mentioned replacement bus. So a free leisure trip via Männlichen or Kleine Scheidegg (both also NOT included in a Saver Day Pass btw) is not included anymore today with a regular Grindelwald - Zweilütschinen ticket. So if using it today, you have to take that bus.

Krist

The official alternative route was indeed via the Männlichen at first. They extended the operation of the cable cars because of that. But once the sun sets this route is not practical anymore, so then you would travel via Kleine Scheidegg.

Danhiel

RedBaron
With such questions, I can only present my point of view and what I would make to obtain a refund, but I (fortunately) don’t work in customer services at either Jungfrau Railways or SBB and I cannot prejudge their decisions. Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong, I never pretended that all my answers are accurate and complete. It is good that other points of view are also presented, but it doesn’t clarify the situation for the person who asked. It shows the limits of this community.

RedBaron

Danhiel
No worries, I fully agree with you!
On the other hand, thanks to such discussions, someone might get a better understanding of some particular customer service (final) decision which was not in his/her favor.