Lyon to Barcelona day after Christmas

It is showing as no reservations available for the Montpelier - Barcelona service.

There are quotas for passholder spaces on the France--Spain TGV services.

There not being availability on eurail booking is not a good sign but it does have glitches, there is no other online passholder booking for this route but other sources of reservations by phone are listed here:

Alternative travel is possible via Cerbere/Portbou and local trains, it does involve multiple connections and longer journey times but cheaper reservations with no quotas, ask if you want further information on this routing.

Thank you.  On rail planner the leg from Montpelier - Barcelona is allowing me to book.  I go through the whole process and then I get an email stating “Something went wrong with the reservation.”  Does this mean the quota has been met.  They have charged me and not I must wait for my refund.  😥 

@Al_G can you share the other route through  via Cerbere/Portbou and local trains?  I will try contacting the ticket offices when they open up but will also look at alternate routes from Lyon.  

THis is still a Xmas day-2nd day. For the ESpanoles, a bit less for the FRench

As from 11/12=main timetable change day, the hitherto coöperation between RENFE and SNCF for the INtern .TGV/AVE trains via hi-speed is cancelled. RENFE has up till now not yet decided if it will continue running its share, which are in fact those trains NOT going to Paris. And its too late to get it organised on itself anyway. SO; on a very costly hi-speed line FR-ES, only 2 trains remain/day-3 or 4 in main season. NO trains at all from Lyon or Marseille.

You do not have to go to ticket office to ask for regional trans via Port Bou-just check your planner but IN FR they will tell you that they know nothing for ESpana and RENFE will not have anything by now for that day. Expect it to be same as roughly now-rodalies, about ev 2 hrs on festivos (holidays) and NO RES needed nor even possible. Catalunya Express).

Ly->Nimes (or Perpignan) has TER trains about ev 2 hrs-change Avignon or Tarascon, as the other region starts here. If you choose Mtplr- be very, very wary as it now has 2 stations, the old in town and new on the hi-speed with NO connection between the 2 on suns.

I’m having the same issue. I’ve been waiting more than a month to book a train Paris → Barcelona on December 11th.

I called multiple times SNCF in the past few weeks, last time on October 27th, and they told me that the train has still a lot of (regular) seats but that somehow they can’t make any reservation in their booking system for an Interrail pass holder.

If anyone knows better, I’d like to know if this situation is going to be fixed soon or whether I should go through Portbou…

There is a pass holder seat quota on the train so even if there are free seats those might not be bookable with Interrail. 

@AnnaB Yes, you are right. But it seems that nobody with an Interrail pass has been able to book any of those seats yet because I’ve been checking in regularly since a few days after SNCF released the regular seats in October. I also called other booking centres in Luxemburg, Switzerland, etc. at the end of October.

Based on my research, nobody is able to book any Paris → Barcelona for any date after December 10th.

@AnnaB @Al_G 

Keep in mind, that this train service Paris-Barcelona (Lyon-Barcelona will not run from timetable change) will run not more as RENFE-SNCF cooperation but as SNCF TGV InOui, this means that the booking advices for this line will change. Maybe Eurail/Interrail has to change their systems to sell the reservations for this trains.

I can tell, that calling SNCF Call Center (in English) was possible in October to get reservations for pass holder for trains in the new timetable (from 11 DEC 22).

@Nanja Can you please check if there is a problem with the sale of these reservations due to the change from RENFE-SNCF to SNCF TGV InOui?

As far i know yes. As Eurail used a similar system as DB to issue these reservations and the DB System cant sell anyreservations anymore from the new timetable. So i assume some struggles currently. 

@Angelo I’m surprised that you have been able to get reservations through the call centre! Every agent I was in talk with told me they couldn’t make the booking!

I wonder if there’s a difference in picking the French service instead of the English one…

I didn't book it, but someome on Twitter. 

Yes there is a difference, the french one most of the time can't sell you a reservation. In English yes.

I’ve just called SNCF’s English customer service and was able to confirm you can book through them. Thanks @Angelo!

@clementprdhomme do you mind sharing the number you contacted? Thank you.  

@crstine21 If you don't get help from the first person you speak to at SNCF, ypu need to call again. Not all SNCF staff are so service minded and there was also reports that not all SNCF customer service locations can book interrail reservations. So if you are unlucky the first time, just call again.