Booking Information

Financial protection.

We are licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority and hold ATOL Number T7149. This ensures that in the event of the failure of our Company, customers’ money will be protected. If customers are on holiday at the time of Company failure, arrangements will be made for them to complete their holiday and return home. The flights we provide are supplied by other ATOL holders and are protected by their bonds. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk.

Payments for flights.

The payments that customers make for their flights are held by us in our trust account, on behalf of the ATOL holder who is supplying the flight, until the date that we pass the money to that ATOL holder. The ATOL holder supplying the flight will issue an ATOL confirmation invoice to confirm their contract with the customer. We will forward this to the customer no later than the day after we have received it. Will I need to take a Covid-19 test to travel?

You may need to take a pre-holiday test before you leave the UK. The test required varies by destination country and is also subject to your vaccination status. Check the current requirements for your holiday destination via the foreign travel advice section of the UK Government website https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice. This will also advise you on the type of test you may need to take.

The Travel Trust Association (TTA)

The TTA is a trade association of travel agents and travel organisers, established to provide financial protection for the customer. The TTA lays down strict guidelines on how the customer’s funds should be handled, and each member must adhere to those guidelines. Every TTA member pays the customer’s funds into a designated trust account which is supervised by an independent trustee; a Banker, Chartered or certified Accountant or Solicitor.

Why your travel arrangements are totally safe with the Travel Trust Association

The Travel Trust Association (TTA) recognises that for many people a holiday is the one chance to really relax – so it is important that customers are able to feel completely confident about their travel arrangements from the moment they make their booking. By choosing an approved TTA Member, customers can be sure that their travel plans are totally secure. These arrangements exceed the statutory levels of consumer protection.

Customer’s funds are secured in Trust by the Travel Trust Association Trustees.

Travel Trust Association

2 Crown Square Woking GU21 6HR 01483 545 780 www.traveltrust.co.uk

The holidays in this brochure that include air travel are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is T7149. ATOL protects customers from losing their money or being stranded abroad. It does this by carrying out financial checks on the firms it licenses and requiring a guarantee, called a bond, to be lodged with them.

If a firm goes out of business, the CAA will make a refund to the customer, or if already abroad on holiday, arrange for the customer to complete their holiday and fly home.

Status

The Railway Touring Company is a direct sell tour operator and retail travel agent. All parts of a customer’s holiday are covered by our TTA membership (number T726X), and the air travel for all of our customers’ holidays is covered by our ATOL membership (number T7149). Warren Travel Ltd, trading as The Railway Touring Company, acts as a booking agent for the service providers whose terms and conditions of booking and carriage apply to our tours. Copies of these terms and conditions will be obtained from the relevant service providers and forwarded to customers on request. Tours will be confirmed and take place subject to minimum and maximum numbers booking. Railway components of a tour are provided subject to the serviceability of motive power and stock, and the operating conditions prevailing at the time of the tour. In the event of a failure to operate services as advertised then ‘best’ alternatives will be provided.

Programme and prices

Details of each tour programme and its cost are published in our tour brochure, in leaflets, by correspondence, or by amendments notified to customers. Customers are required to acknowledge their acceptance of this information.

Payments

All tour bookings should be accompanied by payment of a deposit per person as follows:

£200 for travel in the UK

£250 for travel within Europe

£350 for travel beyond Europe

A confirmation of booking will be sent to customers which includes a statement of their account and a balance due date.

The balance of payment is required in time for us to pay our suppliers, usually twelve weeks before travel. There are occasions when we are required to pay for group tickets earlier than this and the balance due date will reflect this. During the period of time that we are establishing a viable tour group, deposits are fully refundable. Once we have confirmed the operation of a tour then deposits are not refundable. Due to the high costs involved with debit and credit card transactions our preferred methods of payments for balance payments are cheque or bank transfer.

Fidelity insurance

It is a requirement that all tour bookings be covered by Fidelity Insurance. This is a financial protection insurance that protects the customer’s money until the tour takes place.

The cost of this insurance is included in the tour price.

Customer cancellation

We have the following customer cancellation policy for all of our tours:

Cancellation prior to 12 weeks before tour departure – loss of deposit

Cancellation between 8-12 weeks prior to tour departure – 25% refund of tour cost

Cancellation less than 8 weeks prior to tour departure – no refund

Passports,

Visas And Health

Customers are responsible for ensuring that they have the correct travel documentation for tours, and this includes passports, visas and health certificates. We are willing to give advice on passport and visa requirements but customers should seek professional guidance on medical related matters. We shall obtain guidance from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and tourist board where a security risk exists or arises in respect of a tour destination. This information will then be passed on to tour customers.

Prices

Prices are determined against known exchange rates, fuel costs and tax regimes prevailing at 18th October 2022. The exchange rates used for prices quoted in this brochure are as follows:

£1 = 1.13 Euros

£1 = 1.16 US Dollars

£1 = 1.1304 Swiss Francs

£1 = 11.58 Norwegian Kroner

£1 = 1.16 Cuban Convertible Pesos

In the event of significant changes we must reserve the right to amend prices.

A NO SMOKING policy will be pursued where we have the control or influence over the service that we are providing on our tour.

Our chartered steam trains

Whenever possible we hire steam trains for our exclusive use. This allows us the flexibility, within operational parameters, to run to our requirements. It also enables us to stop the train for photographs of the scenery; the train itself; and sometimes staged train movements, known as run-pasts. We can often arrange for tour customers to ride on the footplate of the locomotive, should they wish, but at their own risk. Since our tours often number around 40 customers there are occasions when we have access to older trains with limited capacity, and sometimes to facilities not normally available to large groups or individuals. However, on occasions due to popularity and where space permits this number can be exceeded.

Scheduled trains

Where we travel by scheduled train, with few exceptions, we travel First Class in reserved seats or reserved carriages. This has proven to be much better value for money since the additional space, comfort and lack of crowding are obtained at a worthwhile supplement compared with Standard Class travel.

Alternative airports, independent travel and extensions

Our customers come from throughout the UK and overseas. Wherever possible we choose flights which allow connections from local airports, and prices for these connecting flights start at around £149 return. Most overseas tours allow for independent travel arrangements whereby customers may extend their stay, stop en route, or make their own travel arrangements. We can provide a ‘ground only’ quotation for all of our tours so that overseas customers and independent travellers can make their own way to and from the tour joining point.