Delay due to strikes - can you claim on the SNCF Garantie Ponctualité?

Question

Thanks to the question on checking SNCF trains during a strike, I was able to discover that one of my trains today was cancelled. Sadly though, the only alternative involved a very hefty delay and an unexpected night in Paris...

Normally, one would be able to reclaim 75% of the cost of the ticket for a delay of 3 hours or more, under the SNCF Garantie Ponctualité. This would go some way towards the hotel costs, even if not really covering the inconvenience...

However, I'm not sure if that still applies if the cancellation was due to a strike. Are you able to claim under the SNCF Garantie Ponctualité for delays caused by cancellations during a strike, or is that excluded?

Answer 1

In practice, you're supposed to enter the details of your train on the site you linked to and you will see if you are entitled to any compensation (see the line “droit à une compensation”).

I just tried a train that was not running last week and the answer was “étude personnalisée”, which implies something like “on a case-by-case basis”. The reason for that is that the train was not late, it was cancelled… and that's not the same for the SNCF so that the garantie apparently does not apply.

Now, if you suffered a delay on the other train (compared to its schedule, not that of your original train), then you might still get something. But even if the train was actually late, the flyer also includes some warning about the SNCF reserving the right to “adapt” this program in “exceptional circumstances” so I wouldn't hold my breath.

Note that if you are stuck somewhere because of irregular operations, independently of any compensation for the delay, you can sometimes request a “bon de prise en charge pour un hôtel” at the station. I don't know if they hand those out during a strike but it's something to try (probably not possible afterwards, though).