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Help! Reservations aren‘t working

  • 27 September 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 115 views
M

Hey,

 

I was trying to reserve seats for my upcoming France trip. To do so the rail planner app always transfers me to the eurail website.
 

The problem is: 
The website wants me to login with „the account I used to purchaisr the pass“. Bit I didn’t buy the pass, I won the „Interrail German French“ pass. So I have no account connected to that pass. If I create a new account with the email address I got the pass send to, the website tells me „no pass connected“ and theres no possibility to connect my app or my pass to it. It also says that it’s not possible to get reservations without a valid pass connected.
 

Does anyone know what I did wrong and how to go from here? I‘m getting a little bit desperate since the trip is very spontaneous and starts soon.

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Best answer by thibcabe 27 September 2023, 22:07

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5 replies

T
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Mmmhhh this pass is a special case. Don't you have a booking number anywhere ? Create an account with any email and then it should be possible to create a trip and then add the number + first/last names. Not all people buy their passes on the official website (myself included) so this option exists.

You can book all domestic seat reservations here : https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish (4€ fee per order).

Cross-border trains are very popular and can sell out a few days in advance. They can be bought at DB ticket counters or on interrail.eu. First check if there's still availability online on sncf-connect.com and then you could go to a ticket counter if it doesn't work.

Don't worry there are multiple alternatives if they're sold out : cross-border regional trains like Offenburg - Strasbourg, Saarbrücken - Metz,...

For further questions mention route and travel date. I'll gladly help ! :)

M

Thank you very much for such a fast response!!

Yes I got a booking number but the problem is that I already activated the pass in the app. But as far as I can see it is not possible to connect an account to the app. It sounds stupid but I really can’t find any option to do so.

 

Yes I am already taking a regional train to cross the border towards france, thanks for the tip! I‘m more concerned about my connections within france. Bit from what u are saying those don’t seem to be that much of a problem?

T
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Ah then the app and the website aren’t really connected. For example seat reservations bought on the website will never appear on the app : whenever asked you have to show both the PDF (reservation) + QR-code on the app (ticket).

It is also recommended not to activate your pass in advance in case you wake up ill or there are strikes, etc. Once a travel day has started it cannot be cancelled.

Yeah availability a day or two in advance is not an issue, especially on routes with frequent trains like Paris to Lyon, Lille or Bordeaux. But if you need to take a specific train to connect elsewhere I’d recommend booking earlier. There is a 10€ limited fare, then 20€ until the train sells out.

It’s always possible to take the slower reservation-free TER regional trains but they do not run often (as opposed to Germany) : 2-3 times a day is not uncommon...

M

Thanks a lot! I actually got a step further! That really helped!!

 

Now I got one more (hopefully) question.

 

i wanted to take the Train from Strasbourg to Marseille St. Charles on the 2nd at 9:03 o clock. Now it says „Prices unavailable“ and I got transferred to this website: https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish

 

Here it says „train fully booked“. Are there any other possibilities to get a reservation online in advance then? Or is it hopeless for that train now and I should take a different train?

 

T
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Userlevel 7
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Unfortunately TGV intersecteurs (those avoiding Paris) are really rare and popular…

This train is fully booked for the whole journey but there are some alternatives :

  • TGV Strasbourg - Dijon 09:03 - 11:11 20€ (1 seat left so book ASAP!)
  • TER Dijon - Lyon Part-Dieu 11:41 - 13:42
  • TGV Lyon Part-Dieu - Marseille St-Charles 14:06 - 15:46 20€ 2nd class or 22€ 1st class incl. upgrade !

You can book the upgrade through b-europe.

If the first TGV has sold out in the meantime either take the slow route via Mulhouse, Belfort and Besançon or spend a few hours in Strasbourg and take the afternoon TGV : it’s a lovely city and the weather should be great on Monday.

You can still hope for cancellations on some parts of the journey like Strasbourg - Lyon : they do happen at short notice but you need to check often and book right away.

Last option : you could get any ICE to Basel SBB using your pass and then cross Switzerland all the way to Geneva (a full-fare advance ticket would cost about 50 CHF/€). From Geneva TER to Lyon using your pass. Not necessarily faster but something to keep in mind...

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