French trains

toby1kenobi

Hello all,

Me and my wife are taking the bikes to Provence in June. In between rides we're thinking we'll do a couple of legs by trains. I know that you can't take bikes on all trains, and have seen several references to online timetables that give indications of which ones do allow this but have so far failed to locate them...anyone point me in the right direction?!

Cheers,

Toby

xilios

Hi, my wife and I took the train in Baziers a couple of years ago and had a hell of a time. Unless you know the language you'll have a difficult time, (smiles alone won't help). We didn't find anyone who spoke english and ended up getting two tickets on a train that indicated the bikes had to be in bags but still there wasn't any room on the train for them.
The conductor ignored our calls for help and we ended hauling up the bikes ourselves.
Also visiting their web page doesn't help as it's also only in french
The bottom line is its just luck if you find a train that accepts bikes and if the ticket sales person and conductor are in a good mood.
I should add that when we got to Spain in was totaly different, everyone spoke english, they were very helpfull, room for the bikes in every car and the conductor was very happy to guide and help you with the bikes.
We love cycling through France and we're heading there in about three weeks (details on our page below) but we would rather cycle over a couple mountain passes (in the rain) than try to get our bikes on a french train again

andymiller

xilios wrote:

.
Also visiting their web page doesn't help as it's also only in french
:

The train timetables are available in English:

http://www.tgv.co.uk/

and

http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/home/

(and a number of others). These links will also give you times for non-TGV trains.

I've never had any problems taking bikes on French trains.

toby1kenobi

Morning!

Thanks for the replies Xilios and Andy. Andy, cheers for those links, I have actually been looking at those already but neither seem to give any indication of whether bikes are allowed - am I missing something? I know that it varies by train type, and then even varies within train type, but beyond that...

I keep seeing references to timetables that indicate which specific trains should accommodate bikes, not managed to find any yet though. Any help much appreciated!

Cheers,

Toby

waltho bum gravy

i've only tried a couple of times and i've never had problems taking on french trains in the past. not once. not sure i know what is meant by saying you have to speak the language and no one speaks english. a couple of things. firstly you are in france, learn a bit of the language, it's not hard. even "c'est possible avec velo?" with a plaintive look will get you further than you think. secondly take the bike to the ticket window and point at it if necessary. they will understand.

also as a general rule of thumb the trains around lunchtime - mid afternoon tend to be those that allow bikes on board and often have a separate compartment. the tgv's don't accept bikes unless they are bagged up i think.

megilleland

Bikes on SCNF dealt with here: (all in French only - you will have to run it through an online translator)
http://www.velo.sncf.com/

Bike Regulations on trains:
http://www.velo.sncf.com/img/memo_train_velo.pdf

General maps
Main line day trains carrying bikes:
http://www.velo.sncf.com/img/carte_des_ ... e_jour.pdf
Main line night trains carrying bikes:
http://www.velo.sncf.com/img/carte_des_ ... e_nuit.pdf

Check times of trains here (bike symbols which trains carry bikes):
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/leisure/fr/launch/home/

TER Regional trains - The majority of these trains carry bikes. Good maps and timetables (click on region). When region opens click on Cartes et horaires:
http://www.ter-sncf.com/index.asp

andymiller

toby1kenobi wrote:

Morning!

Thanks for the replies Xilios and Andy. Andy, cheers for those links, I have actually been looking at those already but neither seem to give any indication of whether bikes are allowed - am I missing something? I know that it varies by train type, and then even varies within train type, but beyond that...

I keep seeing references to timetables that indicate which specific trains should accommodate bikes, not managed to find any yet though. Any help much appreciated!

Cheers,

Toby

Sorry - should have mentioned that: when you get the listing of the individual trains you click on 'Details' (this is in small letters on a blue tab at the bottom right hand corner of the pale blue oblong) you should then see a series of white-on-blue pictogrammes. (eg wheel chair, cocktail glass and hopefully a bike).

'C'est pas evident' as our French colleagues would say. If you still can't work it out I'll see if I can post a screen grab from home.

toby1kenobi

Thanks for the tips, and especially thanks megilleland - I have finally seen some timetables with bikes on! Also, I found this, which is very encouraging (Google translated version):

"In TER your bike travel free; in Rhone-Alpes regions, Alsace, Auvergne, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Alsace and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (2), all trains TER accept bicycles, in the availability of seats."

If anyone else has any further feedback do chip in, but thanks everyone who's helped so far.

Toby

toby1kenobi

toby1kenobi wrote:

"In TER your bike travel free; in Rhone-Alpes regions, Alsace, Auvergne, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Alsace and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (2), all trains TER accept bicycles, in the availability of seats."

Although curiously not all of the routes show bike symbols in the online timetables...anyone know what I should believe?