Editor’s note: This article was first published in December 2011, when Truecalia had just launched; the free registration, premium features, no-commission policy and price cap it describes reflect the portal at that time and may have changed.
The idea behind Truecalia, a portal for swapping or reselling train tickets, came from the penalties passengers face both when they change their journey and when they ask for a refund on a ticket.
Even so, nothing stops you from giving your train ticket to someone else at any given moment, and that may be exactly where this portal proves really useful.
Truecalia helps put two groups of rail travellers in touch: those who have to cancel a trip and hold a ticket that cannot be changed or that carries high refund fees, and those who want to buy a train ticket but can no longer find any left at promotional fares.
The service and registration are free, although there is also a premium service that lets you set up alerts for a date and route you are interested in, highlight a listing, see the requests posted on the portal, or leave a contact phone number, so that you have a better chance of finding or reselling cheap train tickets.
The transaction takes place outside the portal, so Truecalia does not charge any commission on the deal. It also has one rule: nobody may profit from reselling tickets, because the resale price cannot be higher than the price originally paid for the ticket. That lets sellers get their money back and buyers get train tickets at competitive prices. To build trust in the transaction, Truecalia checks that the ticket’s booking reference is valid.
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Without a doubt, it is a good idea for people who use this means of transport, whether regularly or now and then. You can visit the portal at Truecalia.com.
