Can I cancel my SGR ticket and get a refund during COVID?
After several months of lockdown, the two SGR trains are back on track. The SGR is a blessing as it has given travellers a cheaper option to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa and vice versa.
Now, a lot of people who book the SGR tickets online tend to make mistakes. From my blog comments, most people in Mombasa forget to select the origin city and use the default Nairobi to Mombasa order on the SGR booking website. As a result, the majority of travellers find themselves stranded or looking for ways to change their tickets.
This article will answer the following questions:
1) I booked an SGR ticket from Nairobi to Mombasa by mistake instead of Mombasa to Nairobi. Can I change it?
2) I had booked and paid for my ticket but have now changed my plans. I am no longer travelling. Can I cancel my ticket and get a refund?
3) I booked a ticket for myself but want to change the name of traveller on my SGR ticket. What do I do?
How to change your SGR ticket during COVID
Wrong departure point
Most travellers outside Nairobi often forget to change the point of departure and hence end up with a wrong point of departure on their tickets.
Before COVID, it was easy to cancel your SGR booking for a fee and then book again with the right details. However, since COVID struck, you can no longer cancel your SGR ticket.
The only way to get help is to change your travel date to a future date. The SGR office is currently allowing you to reschedule your travel date for free. However, this change can only be made once. Your new date of travel must be within 60 days, and you can only change your ticket up to 48 hours before travel (2 days).
Wrong date of travel
If you wanted to travel on a certain day but have now changed your mind, it is easy to reschedule your SGR booking. Visit the nearest SGR terminal with your ticket number and the mobile number attached to it then make the change. You will not be changed to reschedule, but can only do it once.
Changing the names of travellers
If for any reason have switched your travel plans with someone else, there is no way to change your SGR ticket. Neither can you cancel it and obtain a refund. One of the SGR ticket policies is that your ticket is non-transferable. The only way to get help is to move your date of travel to a future date within 60 days.
SGR rescheduling policy
According to new SGR ticket policies, you cannot cancel your ticket, change your travel details, get a refund or change your ticket details apart from the travel date alone. The following policies will apply when rescheduling your SGR booking during COVID:
i) Change individual bookings should be done not later than 48 hours before the travel date. This is 2 days before travel. So if you are traveling today or tomorrow, you cannot change your ticket.
ii) You can only reschedule once. If you have changed your travel plans and modified your SGR ticket, you cannot do it again. In case you won’t be able to travel on the new date, you forfeit the whole ticket amount.
iii) You won’t be changed to reschedule your booking. Just supply the new travel date and get your new ticket.
iv) You cannot make any other changes to your ticket. If you want to change your point of departure, name on the ticket, or other ticket details, you will have to forsake the original ticket amount and buy a new ticket. Apart from changing the date, any other changes on your ticket will cost you the whole ticket amount.
You can always call the SGR office on 0709 388 888for assistance. However, if you cannot make it to the station and cannot reach the nearest station, I can help reschedule your booking for a small fee.
