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URGENT question: can we change train ticket to a later time in the day?

Posted by (San Jose) on

We bought our 9:39am train tickets from Prague to Budapest yesterday at the train station. The price was steep: about 90 euro for 1st class as opposed to 36 euro which was available online 3 days before. So definitely plan ahead!

However now we realized that there's a place we really like to visit before leaving today. So my question is that since we bought the full-fare (?) ticket, is it possible to change the train ticket to a later time in the day? If so do I need to go to train station again to do this? We bought the tickets at the CD travel center but they don't open until 9am today.

Posted by
19100 posts

I can't speak for Czech Rail, but in Germany, standard (full fare) tickets are valid on any train for a period of time (a month?) after the first date of validity. Last September, I arrived at Frankfurt airport with a pre-purchased, full fare ticket for the first train I could have caught if my plane was "on time". I got to the Fernbahnhof a little too late to catch the train shown on the ticket. I didn't have the Reiseburo do anything; I just got on the next train going on the same route, and the ticket was accepted. I would expect Czech Rail to operate the same way. Reservations, however, are non-transferable.

Posted by
52 posts

Thank you Lee for the response.

I surfed around and found some information in the web link below. I think this is a 3rd party booking agency and it should refer to the same rule of Czech railway. If that's the case I should be able to go to train station at a later time and lose only the seat reservation fee. But when I talk to my hotel I was told if I had seat reservation then the ticket can't be changed. Guess I'll have to go to the train station to find out.

http://czech-transport.com/index.php?id=3088#After

22. What if I miss the train?
It depends on the type of your ticket. Discounted tickets Spaarnight, Globalprice tickets and tickets for night trains cannot be used for any other train. If you miss the train, you need to buy completely new tickets. If you travel by a day train with normal tariff ticket, usually all you have to do is buy at the train station a new seat reservation (a 3–4 EUR) and you can travel by the next train departing on the same day.

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