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.
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.
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Sounds like things have worked out then! Thanks for the update.
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.
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...
No. You have only reserved to Nimes, the most likely scenario is that the seat you booked will also have a booking for someone else from Nimes - Paris who will be expecting the seat to be empty.
As you have another reservation to Paris Airport? (CDG I’m assuming) you can use this and then use local trains to Paris.
You can always approach the train staff before Nimes, show them your pass and reservations and ASK if there are any free seats you could take to stay on the train, they may or may not allow you to stay on.
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The problem is that you don’t have a reservation on the train you want to take after Nîmes. Even if you do have a reservation to ‘Paris’, even if the price would have been the same.
Strictly, you would have a problem if the conductor checked your reservation. And Nîmes to Paris is a long way to try travelling without a reservation. Saying that, I’v been on the wrong TGV before (accidentally) and the conductor was not happy, but he didn’t charge me anything. I had to stand in the bar, because there were no seats.
There should be availability for a new reservation at €20, unless the train is completely sold out. What time do you want to go?
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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.
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€.
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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
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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 for all the the awesome help, very much appreciated!
All good thanks again!
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
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.
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.
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.
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
I should mention. The reservation to Nimes or Gare de Lyon is the same price. I have paid enough. Couldn’t make a new reservation, not available. After Nimes only one more stop before Gare de Lyon.
Thanks for the reply. That’s what I figured, I was hoping for a miracle, lol.
Cheers, Brian
Any point talking to the Spain conductor, wait for France conductor or talk to both?
14:17 tomorrow it leaves Nimes, I can’t find my train number leaving Nimes to book a reservation, different ones, train switch would be very fast.
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If you’re on TGV 9708 or 9704, arriving in Paris Gare de Lyon 1718 or 1918, then there’s availability for a reservation from Nîmes in both classes at €20.
https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish
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14:17 tomorrow it leaves Nimes, I can’t find my train number leaving Nimes to book a reservation, different ones, train switch would be very fast.
That’s TGV 9708, departing Barcelona Sants at 1033, arriving Paris 1718.
It arrives in Nîmes at 1417 and departs at 1421. There’s availability via the B-europe link above.
Thx you my phone has 2% battery
It’s 9708
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