Hello
I have a global Eurail pass. Tomorrow I have a train going to Paris from Barcelona Sants. I paid for a reservation to Nimes then train switch and another reservation to Paris airport.
Change of plans,
I need to go to Paris, Gare de Lyon station now. This would be via my first train that I have reserved to only Nimes. (It’s a direct train).
Could I just stay on the train to gare de Lyon. I can change my Eurail ticket easily enough. Thx for any advice.
So buying a reservation on the train you should get fined, that makes sense for overload reasons.
So if a train is sold out of reservations (online) they might not sell you a reservation on the platform? Thx for the info!
Cheers, Brian
Wow, I thought you could (without penalty) buy your reservations on the train but that being said I was always puzzled for the reason of to many people on the train wanting to buy reservations. That lady with us got lucky, they just made her pay a reservation fee. Thx for the reply.
Generally if you let staff know on the platform before boarding they'll sell you the reservation without a fine. They may add a 10€/CHF fee like they sometimes do in Switzerland.
Of course some are stricter than others. As you said you were all lucky.
Maybe they didn't check you as you sat on your reserved seat? In the Swedish high speed trains with mandatory reservations the tickets are normally not checked if you sit on your reserved seat. The ticket inspectors only check people sitting on seats where no-one is supposed to sit.
Probably yeah but that doesn't seem exactly fair, they couldn't know I was on my seat. I could've taken the seat of a no-show. Either you check nobody or everybody...
They only checked him and never wanted to check my ticket ! I didn't find the situation very fair... Actually I did hometown in Switzerland - Geneva - Lyon - Barcelona without being checked a single time.
Maybe they didn't check you as you sat on your reserved seat? In the Swedish high speed trains with mandatory reservations the tickets are normally not checked if you sit on your reserved seat. The ticket inspectors only check people sitting on seats where no-one is supposed to sit.
Wow, I thought you could (without penalty) buy your reservations on the train but that being said I was always puzzled for the reason of to many people on the train wanting to buy reservations. That lady with us got lucky, they just made her pay a reservation fee. Thx for the reply.
Highly depends on the situation I'd say. They tend to be harsh for "safety reasons" on high-speed lines. Overcrowding is rarely an issue in Germany though, also a country with high-speed lines...
Experience last year on a cross-border train to Spain : someone next to me didn't have a reservation and had to stand after Valence TGV. It was fine for him, he used a seat in the hallway no problem. After 30 min-1h the conductors came and asked for his ticket. He only had the pass and no reservation so they gave him a 75€ fine + 35€ reservation even though he had found a seat and didn't bother anyone.
They only checked him and never wanted to check my ticket ! I didn't find the situation very fair... Actually I did hometown in Switzerland - Geneva - Lyon - Barcelona without being checked a single time.
Hypothetical question here Ralderton or anyone.
The young lady we met that was on the train that couldn’t get a reservation because the train was full got very lucky, ironically the only empty seat in the train car was beside us. She paid for a reservation while on the train. She had a Eurail pass.
My question is what if a few hundred people did what she did and jumped on the train but didn’t have reservations because they were sold out. What would they do with all these people with no seat reservations? Just curious! It was at least 4 hours into a 6.5 hour journey before the Conductors came around.
Cheers, Brian
All good thanks again!
+4
Sounds like things have worked out then! Thanks for the update.
Update:
We got on Train and I found a male and female Conductor. I pleaded my case and the male Conductor said you need to get off the Train in Nimes. He then lightened up and said if you like you can buy another reservation right now for Nimes to Gare du Lyon.
I told them I already paid for two reservations (more than enough to cover this trip). I said after Nimes we are willing to sit in the bar car or benches they have between cars. I also said I couldn’t cancel my reservations because the reservations were in French and I didn’t know how to.
The lady Conductor chimed in and said no problem sir and told me if the Train fills up we would have to sit on a bench or bar car. No more money spent.
We met a lady that was desperately trying to find a reservation for the entire train ride Barcelona to Gare du Lyon. None were available. She found a seat near us and is waiting to purchase a reservation. They are some open seats. The Conductors haven’t been around yet, I tracked them down for my issue. Thx again for all the great advice.
Thx for all the the awesome help, very much appreciated!
I do see now the reservation from Barcelona to Gare du Lyon is more expensive than Barcelona to Nimes, my apologies!
It appears Barcelona to Nimes may not have any reservations available? So I would keep that reservation as is.
If I could cancel Nimes to CDG it would help cover the cost of reserving Nimes to Gare du Lyon. How do you cancel? The reservation is completely in French.
Thx Brian
I was looking at cancelling all my reservations are in French. Argh
Sorry Ralderton leaving Nimes not Nice.
On Eurail.com
I paid 27 euros per person from Barcelona to Nimes and from Nimes to CDG 12 euros per person.
I show from Barcelona to Gare du Lyon at 27 euros per person, unless I am mistaken with prices, I can’t be cheating the system.
Cheers, Brian
Thx Ralderton I found my train number leaving Nice doing what you suggested.
+4
You should be able to cancel your other reservation: all SNCF reservations are flexible until the departure date, except any booking fees. You might also be able to book a Barcelona-Paris reservation all the way for €35 pp (+€2 pp on the Interrail portal), and cancel the existing Barcelona-Nîmes one.
Thx so much, do you give it much hope the Conductor might let us stay on the Train instead of getting off in Nimes if we don’t buy reservations? Such a piss off we already bought two reservations x 2 people. I realize we might have to switch seats.
What if we stay on the Train without talking to the Conductor? Play the Canadian didn’t know any better, lol.
Cheers, Brian
+4
There's definitely availability for that train between Nîmes and Paris.
There are two trains listed with the same departure time. This is the two separate units mentioned above. If you click on the +i icon, you'll see that the second one is the correct train number - the unit that's come from Spain.
Use the b-europe website I posted above to find the reservation
Since the train is fully run by SNCF it will be French staff from Barcelona. Frankly I've had good and bad experience so feel free to try but they're not particularly nice with tourists... Nîmes - Paris is not a 15 min journey either.
Barcelona - Nîmes costs 25€ and Barcelona - Paris 35€ so they could argue that you're trying to cheat the system.
A second unit is added in Perpignan. Both units have available seats. https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish lets you choose which train.
The RER is not included : tickets from the airport cost around 12€.
I couldn’t find a reservation from Nimes to Gare de Lyon on train 9708, different train number, rookie here.
Thanks for all the help guys, you’re awesome. Hey Ralderton when I replied figured that was hoping for a miracle I was replying to AI_G. I hadn’t read your response to me. You nailed my train, it is the 10:33 train, number 9708 leaving tomorrow.
I am considering pleading my case to the Conductor because I will be losing my Nîmes to CDG and paying for Nîmes to Gare de Lyon when I had a reservation from Barcelona to Nîmes that could have covered all the way to Gare de Lyon, argh. Should I bother with Spain conductor?
Can I use my Eurail pass to go from CDG to Gare du Nord, I know the RER (I believe it’s called) goes there. Or Gare de Lyon to CDG using RER?
I guess I am asking can I use the RER with Eurail pass? I have a few extra travel days left. My vacation is almost over. Not positive it’s the RER.
Cheers, Brian
+4
That €20 reservation should be available until the train is completely full.
If you want to double-check the train’s full itinerary, you can but the details into bahn.de/en, and it will give all the stops and timings.
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