TERMS & CONDITIONS
Important information
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
This document sets out the terms and conditions by which you contract with us to provide you with services relating to our heritage rail journeys. By making a booking through us (by phone, by email or online via our website) you acknowledge that you have read, understood and you agree to be bound by them. A list of terms / definition is included at the end of these Booking Conditions.
‘You’ and ‘Your’ means all persons named in a booking (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date).
‘We’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ means Seymour Railway Heritage Centre inc. (ABN 30 936 154 323).
Seymour Railway Heritage Centre Inc. (herein referred to as the SRHC) is XXXXXXX (member of, accreditation etc). We are committed to the safe operation of our trains and providing quality heritage rail journeys.
PRICING AND ITINERARY
All prices are listed in Australian dollars and are correct at the time of publication. In the even that operators or service providers alter prices, SRHC reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions and to change or update the fares, fees and surcharges at any time, up to and including the day of departure, without prior notice.
SRHC will use all reasonable endeavours to provide the tour you have booked in accordance with the advertised itinerary. However, due to the nature of travel, it may not always be possible for SRHC to adhere strictly to the original itinerary or tour inclusions. When circumstances beyond the control of SRHC occur, SRHC reserves the right to make alterations to the tour inclusions or itinerary accordingly, before or after the commencement of the tour. Any changes will be notified to you
1 : if prior to your tour departure date, by phone or email – or
2: if during your tour, personally by our Train Manager or onboard staff
To the maximum extent permitted by law, you agree that SRHC is not liable to you for, and you release SRHC from, any cost, claim, loss, damage or expense whatsoever arising either directly or indirectly in connection with any alteration to your tour inclusions or itinerary or substitution carried out in accordance with this clause. This includes without limitation any claim for distress, disappointment or loss of enjoyment arising from the alteration(s). This is also applicable to any personal expenses incurred by you including food, beverages and personal items or costs associated with any other travel arrangements affected by the changes, including any costs and expenses incurred by your for cancelling or changing those arrangements or arising from failure to meet a connection.
BOOKINGS
All bookings must be made directly with SRHC and are subject to availability of the appropriate services (eg. carriages, locomotives, hotel accommodation and coaches) at the time of booking.
PAYMENTS
Full payment will be payable per person at the time of booking.
Payments can be made in the following ways:
– by direct deposit into our bank account (allow one working day for funds to clear)
Seymour Railway Heritage Centre
BSB : 063545
ACC: 10077575
– by credit or debit card (Visa or Mastercard) via our online booking engine (allow one working day for funds to clear)
– by cheque or money order mailed to:
PO BOX 515, Seymour VIC 3660 (allow one week for funds to clear)
CANCELLATIONS & AMENDMENTS
If you wish to cancel, please notify SRHC in by email of your booking cancellation request at our email address info@srhc.org.au
Cancellation outside 48 hours of travel does not incur a fee. A full refund will be provided. Cancellation within 48 hours of travel incurs a 100% cancellation fee of all monies paid.
If you wish to make amendments to already booked Travel Arrangements, please contact us as will endeavour to facilitate them as part of our Cancellation and Amendment Services. While we will endeavour to facilitate these amendments, please note that some amendments are subject to agreement by our suppliers and providers. If you request us to make amendments to your booking, you agree to pay us any additional fees or increase in costs / fares.
Only in the event that Extraordinary and Unavoidable Circumstances directly impact our ability to operate the tour or journey
We strongly encourage you to obtain travel insurance with comprehensive cancellation protection as soon as your booking is confirmed (see TRAVEL INSURANCE section below).
EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES
In the event of Extraordinary and Unavoidable Circumstances, SRHC may cancel or modify your Travel Arrangements.
If your travel arrangements are cancelled due to Extraordinary and Unavoidable Circumstances, then we will used reasonable endeavours to obtain a full refund or future travel credit of funds paid to date less any third-party Travel Provider or Travel Supplier costs incurred. If cancellation occurs due to Extraordinary and Unavoidable Circumstances after a tour or journey has commenced and SRHC provides any alternative travel services (such as transport or accommodation) you agree to pay for these additional costs. SRHC will use reasonable endeavours to provide a refund for any unused portion of your travel arrangements, subject to the refunds SRHC is able to recover from Travel Providers and Travel Suppliers.
Your rights to a credit or refund may be limited under the Travel Provider / Supplier booking conditions. We make no guarantee and expressly disclaim any warranty that we will be able to obtain a credit or refund for a Travel Provider or Travel Supplier. Please note that any credit or refund issues by the Travel Provider / Supplier may be partial only and may be subject to specific conditions. We have no control over these conditions.
DOCUMENTATION
Final tour documentation will be distributed to you by email approximately 1-2 weeks prior to departure. All additional documentation will distributed to you in person on the day of departure or whilst on tour or aboard your journey.
HEALTH & PARTICIPATION
SRHC reserves the right, at the discretion of the Train Manager, to deny boarding if you, upon arrival at the railway station or the start of the tour or at any time during the tour, you are deemed physically unable to participate safely in the tour or journey. No refund will be given in these circumstances so please consider carefully the following:
You may NOT rely on the onboard staff or crew or fellow passengers for personal assistance (with the exception of a carer who is also travelling as a paid passenger). You warrant that you are in good health and / or fit to travel on this tour / journey. While our tours and journeys do not require a special level of fitness, for your own safety and they overall benefit of all passengers, you must possess a moderate level of mobility, including the ability to:
> negotiate railway stations without assistance
> embark and disembark trains, coaches and other methods of transportation without assistance
> climb and descend steps and stairs unaided
> handle your own luggage
> use combined shower / bath facilities (it is not possible to guarantee walk-in shower facilities)
Regrettably, heritage trains are not designed to accommodate passengers who are confined to a wheelchair or need mobility equipment. You may be seated in a carriage without toilet facilities so you must be able to negotiate your way between carriages easily and without aid. Additionally buffet, kiosk or dining car(s) may be located several cars away from your carriage. At some stations the platform may be lower than the train door, or there may be no platform, requiring the ability to negotiate stairs up and / or down.
Limited first aid facilities are available on all trains. You should carefully consider your own medical requirements, especially when rail journeys travel to remote areas. SRHC cannot guarantee that facilities such as refrigeration are available on all trains for those passengers requiring safe storage of medication. Please discuss with SRHC at the time of booking.
INCLUSIONS
Travel arrangements include heritage rail travel, group coach transfers, hotel accommodation, meals, sightseeing and other activities as specified and the services of our onboard staff and crew. Accommodation is allocated on a twin-share or single basis unless otherwise requested and confirmed. Hotels are capacity controlled, subject to change and some room types may have additional costs.
NOT INCLUDED
All items not specifically referred to as Tour Inclusions including airfares and taxes, excess baggage, meals, gratuities and tips except where indicated, travel insurance, laundry, drinks and items of a personal nature.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
SRHC strongly encourages you to be adequately insured for the duration of your tour and recommends you consider comprehensive travel insurance to cover cancellation, medical requirements, luggage and additional expenses. The choice of insurer is yours. We strongly suggest you purchase insurance at the time you pay for your rail journey or tour. This is because cancellation fees and charges may be imposed from that time.
DINING
Where meals are included, vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free dietary requirements can be catered for and may be requested at the time of booking. SRHC will notify all relevant Travel Providers and Travel Suppliers of your requirements and they will endeavour to provide these alternate meals types, but they cannot always be guaranteed.
With limited facilities available onboard most trains and in some regional areas, catering for other specific food preferences may not be possible. SRHC will endeavour to cater for allergies and medical needs but cannot guarantee that all foods will be totally free of specific allergens such as nuts, dairy or gluten. Onboard meal services are dependent of travel route, the type of carriages used, access to re-stocking, etc. Therefore, on some occasions meals may be subject to revision from what has been advertised.
Under no circumstances may you bring and consume your own alcohol aboard any of our trains.
TIMETABLES
You accept that SRHC does not control mainline rail infrastructure and no control over the operation of any railway tracks. Scheduled passenger and freight trains will at all times have priority over heritage trains. As such, all train departure and arrival times are subject to change at any time throughout each day of operation and, where listed, are a guideline only.
As train departure and arrival times cannot be guaranteed, SRHC strongly recommends you do not make any personal onward travel arrangements on the final day of travel of a tour. SRHC does not accept any loss or additional costs on your behalf for missed travel connections, should trains or replacement forms of transport be delayed.
Should any train be unable to run due to track conditions, weather, line blockage, signal failure or any other circumstances outside the control of SRHC, the right is reserved to replace these services with alternate services such as coach transport and there will be no refund for the replaced rail services.
TRAIN CONSISTS
Your tour / journey includes travel aboard on or more heritage trains. All locomotives and carriages are subject to change at any time up to departure and during the tour. Should any piece of rolling stock become unavailable, SRHC will endeavour to replace it with alternative locomotives, carriages or railmotors as close as possible to the equipment that was originally scheduled to operate. However, limited amounts of heritage rollingstock are available meaning that at times SRHC may need to replace equipment with alternative rollingstock to that originally advertised.
You understand that heritage rollingstock has not been in commercial service for many years (several decades in some circumstances) and is largely maintained by our volunteers. Onboard facilities such as toilets, seats and lighting are mainly heritage, often as originally built and therefore differ from modern trains. Your acknowledge that this is part of the rail experience. The onboard facilities may from time to time experience a failure of one type or another. In such as case, SRHC will endeavour to work to rectify the issue(s) as soon as is practicable.
SEATING
All tours and journeys will have allocated seating or allocated carriages (open seating). Your carriage and seat numbers (where applicable) will be shown on your ticket.
As a general rule, seats are allocated so that parties of tow are given one window seat and one aisle seat. Please be aware that any specific seating requests
BEHAVIOUR
As travelling aboard our trains involves travelling with others you agree to accept the full authority of the Train Manager as designated by SRHC. You are expected at all times to behave in a courteous manner towards other passengers, staff, crew and other persons with whom you have contact with whilst onboard or during the tour / journey. Any passenger exhibiting rude, offensive or aggressive behaviour may be disembarked at the next available station. In such circumstances SRHC will not be liable for any refund, compensation or reimbursement of the remainder of your fare or additional costs incurred by your and / or your travelling companions. In certain circumstances we reserve the right to notify the Police or other authorities.
RESPONSIBILITY
SRHC is not itself a hotelier, nor does it own hotels, coaches, airlines or Travel Providers. The booking services that SRHC supplies consist of arranging and coordinating train travel, accommodation, transfers and tours, making bookings and issuing documents to be redeemed by Travel Providers.
SRHC exercises every care in the selection of reputable Travel Providers. However, it is important to note that all bookings with SRHC are subject to the terms, conditions and limitations of liability imposed by the Travel Providers whose services we utilise, some of which limit or exclude liability in respect of death, personal injury, delay or loss or damage of baggage.
OUR LIABILITY
Australian Consumer Law and corresponding legislation in state jurisdictions in certain circumstances impose mandatory conditions and warranties into consumer contracts (‘Consumer Warranties). These booking conditions do not exclude or limit application of the Consumer Warranties. Other than the Consumer Warranties, we disclaim all warranties.
To the fullest extent permitted by law:
> SRHC does not accept any liability under these Booking Conditions, in tort (including negligence) or at law for any injury, loss (including indirect losses), delay or additional expenses caused directly or indirectly by the actions or omissions of a third party over whom we have no direct control (including a Travel Provider); and
> Our maximum liability to you under these Booking Conditions, in tort (including negligence) or at law is limited to resupplying the Booking Services or Cancellation and Amendment Services (as applicable) or paying to have the resupplied.
GENERAL
The contract between SRHC (Seymour Railway Heritage Centre Inc.) and you is governed by the laws of the State of Victoria. Any disputes shall be dealt with by a court with the appropriate jurisdiction of Victoria.
If any provision of these Booking Conditions is found to be unenforceable, then to the extent possible it will be severed without affecting the remaining provisions.
Any personal information you provide us will be collected, stored, used, protected and shared in accordance with Australian Privacy Principles, and our Privacy Policy, which is published on this website.
DEFINITIONS
‘Booking Services’ means the following services:
> Providing heritage rail travel
> Facilitating your purchase of Travel Arrangements from Travel Providers; and
> Providing a mechanism for you to pay for Travel Arrangements.
‘Cancellation Fees’ means the following services:
> Endeavouring to arrange amendments to booked Travel Arrangements with Travel Providers;
> Cancelling Travel Arrangements with Travel Providers; and
> Processing any refunds or issuing any credits due to you from Travel Providers.
‘Unavoidable and Extraordinary Circumstances’ means circumstances to which your Travel Arrangements cannot proceed due to flood, earthquake, war or civil strife, acts of terrorism, hurricane, cyclone, industrial disturbance, strike, fire, lock-out, epidemic, pandemic, failure or delays of scheduled transportation, or any law, order, decree, rule or regulation of any government authority (including quarantine requirements or government travel advisories), or for any other reason beyond SRHC control.
‘Travel Arrangements’ means any travel arrangements booked through us to be supplied by SRHC or a Travel Provider / Supplier which may include (but are not limited to) rail travel, accommodation, meals, transfers, guides, activities, tours, flights and cruises.
‘Travel Provider / Supplier’ means a third party who principally contracts with you for the provision of Travel Arrangements subject to the Travel Provider / Supplier Booking Conditions.
‘Travel Provider Booking Conditions’ means the booking conditions of a Travel Provider / Supplier.
UPDATED: 16 August 2023