Good morning,
I received an alert this morning that TGV tickets were available for the dates I need. However for the 2nd June I can’t see the train I want on the Rail Europe site or the SNCf site. Screengrab attached shows the 10.45am on the Rail Planner app. Is this train not on sale yet or is it not running?
Thank you.
Best answer by rvdborgt
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+7
Probably needs a bit more time to get external systems let make the seat reservations. Try in the afternoon, or tomorrow.
Will do ! Thanks.
SNCF don't show this train. It does exist: it starts in Nice at 7:58 but without a stop in Marseille - maybe that stop is not certain yet.
Maybe it will show up later from Marseille. You could book another TGV and change your reservation if this one shows up after all. Domestic TGV reservations can be exchanged or cancelled free of charge.
It does show as stopping for 13 min in Marseille on the SBB app but not on DB Navigator… a bit surprising. On SNCF Connect earlier and later dates show the 10:45 train, only Sundays don’t work for whatever reason.
It wouldn’t surprise me if this is another case of “inexistant stop” : like you can’t book the Sunday evening TGV from Dijon to Lausanne, even though it makes a scheduled stop there. SNCF staff thought I was crazy as they couldn’t see it on SNCF Connect while it was on SNCF own regular schedules…
They knowingly mislead people so they earn more money with long distance customers (Paris - Lausanne, Nice - Paris,...).
Sorry for the rant. You can only wait and see for now… as rdvborgt said feel free to book the 09:22 TGV in case.
It does show as stopping for 13 min in Marseille on the SBB app but not on DB Navigator… a bit surprising. On SNCF Connect earlier and later dates show the 10:45 train, only Sundays don’t work for whatever reason.
You can see the stop in the DB planner's text interface (English here), if you look for the train and then click on the train number. This version of the DB planner also shows technical stops, I've noticed before, where passengers are not allowed to get on or off.
It wouldn’t surprise me if this is another case of “inexistant stop” : like you can’t book the Sunday evening TGV from Dijon to Lausanne, even though it makes a scheduled stop there. SNCF staff thought I was crazy as they couldn’t see it on SNCF Connect while it was on SNCF own regular schedules…
Did you want to take the TGV there? And did you succeed?
They knowingly mislead people so they earn more money with long distance customers (Paris - Lausanne, Nice - Paris,...).
Sorry for the rant. You can only wait and see for now… as rdvborgt said feel free to book the 09:22 TGV in case.
I wouldn't be surprised either if this is due to SNCF's attempts to maximise profit.
You could also book this train from Toulon (last stop before Marseille) and hope for the best… although according to SNCF rules, origin and destination on your reservation must match where you get on and off.
It wouldn’t surprise me if this is another case of “inexistant stop” : like you can’t book the Sunday evening TGV from Dijon to Lausanne, even though it makes a scheduled stop there. SNCF staff thought I was crazy as they couldn’t see it on SNCF Connect while it was on SNCF own regular schedules…
Did you want to take the TGV there? And did you succeed?
Yes I wanted to. SNCF staff in Annemasse were really unfriendly (maybe they had had a bad day...) and quickly ended the discussion : "this train does not exist", "it's pointless to show us what planners show". SBB could see it on their computers (they showed it to me) but couldn't book it.
In the end I took the early afternoon train. I took the 19:32 TGV out of Dijon multiple times but never on Sundays.
I also hate the quotas they have for Frasne (and Neuchâtel) customers or the extraordinarily expensive tickets for short distances across the border (80€ for 15 min). I understand that the TGV can be priced a bit higher but there's simply no other alternative there???
Did you want to take the TGV there? And did you succeed?
Yes I wanted to. SNCF staff in Annemasse were really unfriendly (maybe they had had a bad day...) and quickly ended the discussion : "this train does not exist", "it's pointless to show us what planners show". SBB could see it on their computers (they showed it to me) but couldn't book it.
In the end I took the early afternoon train. I took the 19:32 TGV out of Dijon multiple times but never on Sundays.
What sometimes helps is to approach the train staff and ask them: "I'd like to take this train to XXX but could not book a reservation”. We did this successfully a few times a few years ago, (between Annemasse, Bellegarde and/or Évian), during a partial SNCF strike. I did notice that some TGVs are only pick-up or set set down at e.g. Annemasse, so you'd have to book a reservation from an earlier station but that's not possible anymore after the train has already left there. Staff was possibly more understanding because of the strike of course.
I also hate the quotas they have for Frasne (and Neuchâtel) customers
Also for Bellegarde and possibly Mulhouse. Certainly for Bellegarde I've noticed that reservations and tickets from/to Paris may not be available while you can still book the same train for Geneva-Paris.
or the extraordinarily expensive tickets for short distances across the border (80€ for 15 min). I understand that the TGV can be priced a bit higher but there's simply no other alternative there???
Unfortunately, that's SNCF who see international passengers as a cash cow and try to maximise profit.
Yeah I told them that I couldn't book online (this time it was for a ticket).
Totally agree with your other points.
Bellegarde and Frasne indeed have a quota. Tickets are also generally more expensive from/to these stations than from/to Lausanne or Geneva (different price buckets, etc.).
Mulhouse has some sort of quota for Lyria yes but fortunately there are regular TGVs there too so it's not that bad. Still annoying of course.
Thanks everyone, quite an annoying mystery when things don’t tally!
I’ve booked seats on the 9.03am from Marseille and then, as you say, I can always swap them if the other one appears. It gives us a couple of extra hours in Paris for lunch anyway!
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