Sleeper coach cancelled - what can you do?

Note: This blog entry was reposted from night-ride.ch, the predecessor website of nightride.com. 

Update October 2024: I made a new observation regarding advance notifications. See section The day of the journey.

Update July 2024: An SBB employee gave me a few insights into bookings and refunds at the counter. I have added the relevant passages and marked them in italics.

On my favourite night train connection Basel <> Amsterdam (operated by SBB in cooperation with ÖBB) it happens occasionally: The sleeper coach is cancelled and replaced by a couchette coach. Or even worse, the couchette coach is also unavailable, and you must spend the night seated and not lying down. The problem is apparently omnipresent (which my personal experience confirms - and since June also an exclusive data analysis) that SBB has been distributing flyers about the downgrades since the 2023 timetable change.

The instructions on the flyer are not very helpful, especially if you bought the ticket at a vendor other than SBB. Below are my tips for a stress-free night journey and a speedy refund when booking with SBB or ÖBB.

When making a booking

Book your tickets online and get a digital ticket. If you book with SBB via your Swisspass account, the ticket will be added directly to your SBB app.

For bookings with ÖBB, use the ÖBB app. Because of the conversion rate and the more accessible refund in case of problems (see below), you are currently better off with ÖBB anyway.

In my opinion, booking at the counter complicates everything (unless you have special requests such as taking bicycles etc., then you probably can't avoid it - this is no longer the case, special requests can obviously not be handled better at the counter than directly online at ÖBB). In short: Ideally, you book directly at the ÖBB online ticket shop or nightjet.com.

If you still like night trains: Find the perfect connection

The day of the journey

Check your apps early on for notifications about cancellations. Unfortunately, in my experience notifications via email or text message don't really work or don't work consistently (instead, you receive countless text messages about track changes weeks in advance - if you'll pardon the pun, it's downright kafkaesque). It is, therefore, worth installing both the ÖBB and the SBB app and keeping an eye on them. Sometimes one app has information that the other does not. The data exchange between railway operators remains a sad affair even in 2024.

In October 2024, I made a new observation regarding this. I had booked a sleeper car double. Two days in advance, I received a message via email:

Due to a technical problem, a couchette car has had to be used for this train instead of the sleeping car numbered 182. Affected passengers with a reservation are kindly asked to contact the train attendant [...]

Apparently, the advance notification finally works now (at least if you book directly with ÖBB). That’s something, at least. But two questions remain:

• Why can't a 'technical problem' be resolved within 48 hours? Maybe a different wording would be more honest. Suggestion: 'Due to a shortage of operational cars.'
• What if the issue is indeed technical and occurs on short notice? Will the notification work in that case as well?

And that's why I'll keep the recommendations above for now.

Before departure

You are standing before the train and suddenly realise: something is wrong, my coach is missing. Don't panic: First, try to contact the train staff, who are usually in charge of the situation and have unfortunately become rather jaded (who can blame them?), and find a solution. Sometimes there are still free beds in other sleepers or some berths in couchette coaches.

If the downgrade situation doesn't work for you, you can cancel the trip and later get a 100% refund for the outward and return journey. In such a case, I would also try to get back any expenses for the outward and return journey to the departure station, e.g. Bern > Basel or Bern > Zurich (no guarantee of success).

On the train

You have decided to bite the bullet and spend the night on a hard berth instead of a comfortable bed, or, in the worst case, you spend the night in a seat. In this case - at least with a digital ticket - you don't have to ask the staff to confirm the problems. They are so omnipresent on specific routes that you won't need much convincing later on.

After the journey

In the event of a downgrade, you are entitled to a refund. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find out online how high these refunds are. In my case, this is how it has been handled so far:

• Downgrade from sleeper to couchette: 50 per cent refund
• Downgrade from sleeper to seating carriage: 100 per cent refund

With the timetable change in December 2023, ÖBB has published a calculation table that is anything but customer-friendly in connection with the higher dynamic prices.

According to this table, a downgrade from a Standard Single sleeper carriage (listed at night-ride.ch under 1-seater compartment Economy sleeper carriage) to a couchette carriage Private compartment would only result in a refund of 30 euros. That's a pretty small refund if you pay around 500 euros for such a compartment.

At the same time, it is not at all clear to me how this calculation table applies to international routes, as it is listed here under National fare regulations and there is no equivalent for international journeys. 🤷

This is how you get your money back

• If you have booked the ticket via SBB (digitally or at the counter): You cannot avoid going to the ticket counter. They will first clarify whether there really was an incident - in such cases, a confirmation from the staff can speed up the process. Advantage: The money is transferred directly to your bank account or card. Disadvantage: In my experience, the procedure takes at least half an hour (including queuing). Update July: This information is apparently no longer correct. You must call the hotline because the application will be forwarded to ÖBB anyway. This is an even stronger argument favouring booking exclusively with ÖBB (see next point).
• If you have booked the ticket via ÖBB (digitally): You fill in this form, stating your ticket number. A screenshot of the ticket helps (although this is of course totally redundant, as you have already entered the ticket number...). Then you either select that you did not travel at all («I did not use my ticket.») or that your comfort class was unavailable («My booked travel class was not available when I travelled.»). In the latter case, you must select the compartment type from which you were downgraded. If you want to give the night train another chance, you can also have the refund paid out as vouchers, which will provide you with an extra 10%. Advantage: You don't have to go to a ticket counter. Disadvantage: You can't be sure how long the processing will take (I've experienced anything from a few hours to several weeks), nor are you assigned a case number to refer to later.

Tip: If you still haven't received the money after a week or two, simply fill out the form again in precisely the same way. It's tedious, but it usually helps.

My opinion

I don't find it customer-friendly that you have to take care of your own refund claim after a downgrade and that this process is then so laborious. Why don't the operators make an effort to refund the money proactively? Why can't they provide timely and reliable information about downgrades or failures? And why is there no easy-to-find, comprehensible and transparent information on how to get a refund? All of these issues make travelling by night train extraordinarily frustrating and can put off people - especially those who are using night trains for the first time.

If you are affected, don't hang your head, be persistent with the vendors, and perhaps give night trains a second chance. If everything works out, travelling by night train is actually great!

If you have any advice on simplifying the refund process, please send me an e-mail.

This blog post is part of our «FAQ Night Train» series. Here, you'll find all the valuable tips and tricks we've collected on many night train journeys.

Do you have feedback or an idea for another blog post? Write us an e-mail at info@nightride.com.