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Discount for SNCF trains for EURAIL pass holder?

  • 19 February 2023
  • 2 replies
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Hello, I have recently purchased two EURAIL global passes for my holiday to Europe in May/June - however, I am having trouble booking seat reservations through EURAIL for Italy and Spain so I am trying to book them through their respective rail websites.

I found the train from Barcelona > Marseille on sncf-connect.com, but the two seat reservation is approximately 220 Euros. It is a first-class seat and I have a first-class EURAIL global pass.

My question is: am I able to get a discount on my seat reservations with my EURAIL pass if I am booking the trip directly through the train service website?

If not, what is the purpose of the pass if I am travelling Spain>France and France>Italy if I cannot book these tickets through EURAIL website, and am instead booking directly with the train service?

Thanks so much for any assistance.

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Best answer by Hektor 19 February 2023, 07:48

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It's not possible to book reservations for rail pass holders for the routes mentioned on the train company website. The price you got is for a ticket without rallpass, not for a seat reservation. 

Here is how to get reservations Spain to France: 

Here is how to get reservations France to Italy: 

But 1st class reservations for both trips are among the most expensive ones for rail pass holders, too. 

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I found the train from Barcelona > Marseille on sncf-connect.com, but the two seat reservation is approximately 220 Euros. It is a first-class seat and I have a first-class EURAIL global pass.

There is no direct train from Barcelona to Marseille at this time. A seat reservation on the Barcelona to Nîmes train should cost €27 per person when bought through the Eurail reservations portal. 

From Nîmes to Marseille, you can get an Intercités (reservations usually €10 per person + €4 booking fee, book through https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish).

€220 seems like a full price, it shouldn't cost more than about €50. You can save even more by taking regional trains (no reservations) all the way to Marseille (but you'll be travelling for quite a long time).

Check the timetables for the Barcelona to Cerbère services on https://rodalies.gencat.cat/en/horaris/index.html and those from Cerbère to Marseille on the app indicating "no seat reservation required" (but double check on SNCF as the app timetables aren't always accurate and not real-time).

 

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