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Error when making reservation

  • 23 September 2021
  • 22 replies
  • 2443 views

Hello, I am trying to book a TGV between Marseille and Lyon for Saturday the 25th.

However I get an unexpected error during the last step of the process and I don’t know why, could somebody help me out please ?

 

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Best answer by Nanja 23 September 2021, 16:16

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Userlevel 7
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Hi Adrien, this is an issue on our side, related to missing billing details, which should be mandatory to fill out. Somehow, it is possible to skip this step and then end up on the error screen. If you did fill it out, it is possible that it is not saved correctly on our side. As a workaround, we suggest you to fill out the billing details (again) manually, before moving to the payment page. Apologies for the inconvenience.

 

Thank you Nanja for your answer. Unfortunately, I tried what you told me to do but I still get the same error. Is there any other way to make this reservation ? 

 

Userlevel 7
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Thank you Nanja for your answer. Unfortunately, I tried what you told me to do but I still get the same error. Is there any other way to make this reservation ? 

 


You can reserve french TGV´s even here https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish but they charge 4€ servicefee instead of Eurails 2€ :)

Userlevel 7
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Hi Adrien, I'm sorry about that. We are working on the issue to fix it as soon as possible. The alternative is B- Europe, as Seewulf suggested. Cheers, 

Hi,

I have the exact same problem trying to book TGV tickets from Paris to Barcelona on December 22. 

I tried using the B-Europe link above. In the destinations, that page doesn’t show any stations in Spain. So, no luck there,

Please help.

 

Userlevel 7
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I have the exact same problem trying to book TGV tickets from Paris to Barcelona on December 22. 

I tried using the B-Europe link above. In the destinations, that page doesn’t show any stations in Spain. So, no luck there,

Did you try the workaround?
"fill out the billing details (again) manually, before moving to the payment page”

I did. But, no luck. 

After you choose the particular train and 1st class, and “add to the cart”, I filled in the shipping address, unchecked “use the billing address:, and refilled the billing address details again. But, after confirming the passenger details, the same error shows up before showing me the payment page.

 

Userlevel 7
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I've now tried it myself (in Chrome and Firefox) but I can't get it to work either.

@Nanja, after filling out both shipping and billing addresses manually, there is still this error:

When I then click on "Search again”, another error comes up:

So it's really not working. When will this be fixed?

Userlevel 7
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Hi, this is an issue on our site. A ticket has been opened to fix it. As soon as I know more, I will give an update here @gvr. Hopefully we will be able to fix it before your departure date. The alternative option would be to book your reservation at the station. Will keep you posted.

@Nanja, thanks. We land at CDG 21st night. The departure for Barcelona is next morning from Paris Gare de Lyon. Do you have a recommendation when and where we can make the seat reservations - at the airport train station even if late at night, or only at the Gare de Lyon station next morning. If it is the latter, is it risky to leave it so late?

 

 

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We land at CDG 21st night. The departure for Barcelona is next morning from Paris Gare de Lyon. Do you have a recommendation when and where we can make the seat reservations - at the airport train station even if late at night, or only at the Gare de Lyon station next morning. If it is the latter, is it risky to leave it so late?

For this train, it's risky to leave it so late. There's only a few TGVs to Barcelona and they have a limited quota for Interrail/Eurail reservations. Hopefully it'll be fixed soon.

Hi, I faced the same issue despite multiple trials. May I know how can I request a pass cover number for mobile passes so that I can book seats through this website: https://travel.b-europe.com/?

 

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A pass cover number can be requested here.

However, b-europe.com won’t sell reservations to Barcelona online. Domestic reservations in France should work.

@rvdborgt thanks. In that case, hopefully it gets fixed very soon. The other problem is that Eurail seems to need 30 days or so to “ship” the paper tickets for the reservations to the US. Seems like an awfully long time...

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@gvr 

30days is just the time to be sure :)  (As sometimes they are holded by the Customs )
Eurail could send the reservations to your first Hotel/Hostel in Europe (often a bit faster :) )

Hi, just realized that certain time slots will work, and not because of this IT related issue with EURAIL. Looks like more on the quota available for pass holders or the ticket price of that time slot.  Managed to book mine by choosing a less popular time slots and no error appeared during the last step after verifying passenger details.

 

Hope it helps in your case.

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Hi Gvr, thanks for your patience. We have checked it and there seems to be no issue with the train carrier system sending the data to our system. This means that the message appeared because the train is fully booked for pass holders. There is only one direct train on that day so it easily becomes fully booked, unfortunately. 
You can either try the alternative option which goes via Lyon or choose a different date for your journey. 

@Nanja I am REALLY frustrated. I tried every combination (train, class) and got the exact same error each time. 

How is it possible that both 1st and 2nd class are all fully booked more than a month in advance in non-peak season, for travel on December 22? And, on both train options from Paris to Barcelona?

I thought Eurail pass is a great way to travel, but this has been extremely difficult.

 

 

 

 

@Nanja Tried for December 23rd. Same result, same error!!

 

Please help. Is there anything else I can do?

 

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@Nanja, I've also tried again. I do get to see a price in the search results (and then the dreaded error message when I continue). If the train is fully booked, however, that should not be the case: the search results should not give a price, correct?

@gvr, the trains on 22 December look full for pass holders, but maybe there's availability on the 23rd. You could try calling German railways (+49 30 2970, available 27/7) or Belgian railways. Don't know if they will send the paper reservations to the US but you can ask. Alternatively, maybe you can have them sent to your hotel in Paris.

Alternatively, look for connections to Portbou and then continue to Barcelona with a reservation-free regional train (not included in the rail planner app because Spanish railways don't find it necessary to send all their data to the European timetable centre).

You can thank French and Spanish railways for their f’ed up system. Some railways are their own worst enemy :(

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@gvr

 

see attachment for possible other connections than from Paris Gare de Lyon.

 

You can book 1 of both connections online, so that you are sure of your places. 

In case you would choose to leave at 11:59 am, and you are traveling via Lyon part dieu, you could go to the sales in the Paris Charles de Gaulle station in the morning and ask if they can still book you the train directly to Barcelona from Paris gare de Lyon.

The sale would be open from 07:00. So if you chose to take the 08:28 train, it will be stressful .

 

I just don't know what it's like to cancel via interrail. SNCF says you will be refunded 100% if you cancel before departure, but don't know if Interrail will refund everything?

 

I hope it is clear to you, and that it has helped you a bit.

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@rvdborgt, the search results can give a price even when it is fully booked. The price is often provided, whereas with French/Spanish trains, the availability of seats is not. This is why, only on the '’payment details'’ page you'll find out that the train is not available (in this step the actual system call takes place, to verify availability). 

Gvr, I understand it is frustrating. The route is very popular and with only one direct train per day, and limited seats for Pass holders, it is easily sold out. On our website we advise to book as far in advance as possible (this is possible up to 3 months in advance). As mentioned before, I can only advise you to either try the alternative option which goes via Lyon or choose a different date for your journey. 

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