jvc

I am not at all familiar with rail travel in France, despite having lived here now for a while. Can I buy a rail ticket on the SNCF website? It is just a day trip, and I know you can buy them at the automatic ticket machine at the station, but ours is broken more than it works!!!
I also know you have to validate your ticket before boarding the train, how does this work if you buy a ticket online? merci!

Nectarine

I've bought SNCF tickets online and they were delivered by post and arrived within two days. I think there's an option to collect them from the ticket desk at the station. Then, when you have the ticket you insert them in a machine which is at the entrance to the platform, it digitally 'validates' them in some way and returns the ticket to you.

jvc

Oh great Our ticket office is miles away, and does not open until late, so was hoping buying an online ticket would be valid on the train? It's for tomorrow, so would of been handy to buy online and had an instant ticket. Thanks anyway!

EuroTrash

You can buy a ticket online and have the eticket emailed to you, it arrives more or less instantly. Just download it and print it off, it is one sheet of A4, and take it with you, no need to compost it at the barrier, and have it ready for inspection on the train along with your photo id. Couldn't be simpler.

mentalist

I got my Paris-Poitiers-Paris tickets on-line, which I printed myself. No need to have it authenticated on the platform.

cshurt64

On a related subject, has anyone else noticed that the conductors never seem to be interested in looking at your tickets once you are on the train? My wife and I went from CDG to Tours and back on the TGV and never once did anyone look at our tickets. We didn't have to compost them either, what's up with that?

EuroTrash

I went to Paris and back by train last week and tickets were inspected both on the way there and on the way back.

grannybunz

EuroTrash
You can buy a ticket online and have the eticket emailed to you, it arrives more or less instantly. Just download it and print it off, it is one sheet of A4, and take it with you, no need to compost it at the barrier, and have it ready for inspection on the train along with your photo id. Couldn't be simpler.

Except when SNCF fail to send the confirmatory e-mail and there is nothing to print off ! Happened to us last week and we had to go to the local office - not too far away and collect the tickets. The lady there happily informed us that "It happens all the time"

jvc

I'm assuming photo ID can be a CV or Passport? Yes they don't normally check our tickets here either, although we always have plenty of police on board who regularly walk through the train. Thanks all!

cyrian

Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.
If you collect your ticket just before departure then they are already composted.
Otherwise you need to compost them.

EuroTrash

Well not quite all the time, I've bought literally dozens of tickets this way over the last few years, 30 or 40 I would say (I go to Paris by train at least once a month, plus other places too) and never a hitch yet. The email is clearly triggered automatically, no way a real person could send an email that fast after you press the button. Did you look in your spam?

grannybunz

Yes, spam was checked!