Compensation for fire-stranded rail passengers

More than 20,000 rail passengers could be in line for ‘one-off’ SNCF refunds, after severe travel delays on Saturday night caused by a forest fire in Aubagne, Bouches-du-Rhône.

Rail traffic throughout the Marseille region was disrupted until midday on Sunday following the fire that devastated 240 hectares near Aubagne. The line was closed between Marseille and Cassis, causing delays of up to 15 hours on one of the summer’s busiest weekends.

More than 3,000 passengers found themselves stranded in various stations for the whole night. According to authorities quoted by AFP, around 1,700 people were trapped in Toulon station, and 1,300 in Marseille with some stranded passengers forced to sleep on trains or camp beds.

In Nice, 370 people were forced to spend the night at the central station. The Red Cross was mobilized and meal trays were served to customers on site, according to the group.

The amount of refund passengers are able to claim depends on the length of the delay. It can be up to 75% of the ticket price for a delay of more than three hours.

A request can be made online on at the g30.sncf.com website, on the SNCF mobile app for phone or tablet, or at a ticket office in the station, within 60 days.

“Travelers who have spent the night waiting for trains at the station will be fully reimbursed. For other delayed passengers, refunds will be offered pro rata to the delay of their train on arrival,” said the railway company. A spokesman for the group told franceinfo that the compensation concerns “more than 20,000 people”.