Eurostar delay compensation for journeys with connections

Question

Following on from my query on getting French domestic train connections rebooked after a Eurostar boarding delay, and inspired by a comment on that question, I'm now pondering delay compensation.

The Eurostar disruption and compensation page gives this summary:

If you were delayed by more than an hour

You can claim a Eurostar e-voucher to use on a future journey.

In this case, my Eurostar wasn't quite by 60 minutes late into Paris. (55 minutes, so just short!). The Eurostar delay claim form therefore rejected my claim. However, the onward SNCF trains from Paris to my destination weren't all that frequent later at night. The later connecting train we ended up getting left Paris just over an hour later than our booked train, so we were about 75 minutes late to our final destination.

Does the Eurostar delay compensation threshold of 60+ minutes include connecting non-Eurostar trains? And if so, how can you go about claiming, given that the Eurostar delay claim form has no boxes to mention onward connections?

Answer 1

This answer is assuming you have a through ticket from St. Pancras to your final destination in France/Belgium/Germany/whereever. I am not certain whether this also applies to a journey made up of two separate tickets unrelated to each other.

For trains that operate within the European Union under the directive 95/18/EC (that is basically any train except for regional, urban and suburban transport plus the car shuttles through the Channel Tunnel), the regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 lays out the minimal conditions under which a passenger is eligible for refunds. (National laws may expand the conditions, i.e. to allow for refunds even in case of shorter delays.)

Chapter IV, Article 17:

1. Without losing the right of transport, a passenger may request compensation for delays from the railway undertaking if he or she is facing a delay between the places of departure and destination stated on the ticket for which the ticket has not been reimbursed in accordance with Article 16. The minimum compensations for delays shall be as follows:

   (a) 25 % of the ticket price for a delay of 60 to 119 minutes,

   (b) 50 % of the ticket price for a delay of 120 minutes or more.

   […]

   The calculation of the period of delay shall not take into account any delay that the railway undertaking can demonstrate as having occurred outside the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applied.

2. The compensation of the ticket price shall be paid within one month after the submission of the request for compensation. The compensation may be paid in vouchers and/or other services if the terms are flexible (in particular regarding the validity period and destination). The compensation shall be paid in money at the request of the passenger.

Thus, since you arrived at your destination more than 60 minutes after the intended arrival, you are entitled to a compensation of 25 % of the ticket price of the single ticket. (12.5 % of the total ticket price in case of a return ticket. This is specified amoung other things in the part I left out.

Unfortunately, I cannot find the relevant Eurostar web page where you would be able to directly claim compensation for the delay. I suspect that you should submit your claim to whichever company you bought your through ticket from. Ideally, a ticket office will provide assistance, but writing or emailing the company with a copy of your ticket attached should also work. In case they refuse to pay, friendly remind them of the respective paragraphs.