Buying and using Tickets for French rail travel

Welcome to ShowMeTheJourney's guide to booking train tickets for journeys within and from/to France.

The aim is to provide is some context for the tickets and journey options you should encounter, in usual circumstances when making a booking either online, or by using the app, or at the station.

SMTJ has striven to ensure that the advice presented is as accurate as possible, but a guide such as this cannot cover every combination of journey options.

In addition to being aware of when tickets will be placed on sale - see the note below, the nine things most worth knowing about booking tickets for French rail journeys, are:

1. SNCF operates virtually every train in France, but it does not have a monopoly on ticket sales through its booking site, SNCF Connect.
SNCF Connect will have the cheapest prices and it doesn't charge booking fees.

Other alternative sites including Trainline, Omio and SaveATrain partner with SNCF and they can particularly good options if you’re not in France when trying to book tickets online.
SNCF also operates RailEurope, which is in effect a dedicated online booking service for making bookings from outside of Europe.
If you reside outside of Europe you may discover that SNCF Connect rejects phone numbers or card numbers, but RailEurope and the other sites which partner with SNCF won't do so.
Though RailEurope, Omio, and Trainline add booking fees when making a purchase.
It can be a good idea to compare journeys across Trainline, Omio, SaveATrain and Rail Europe, particularly if your journey involves taking more than one train, as the departures offered and their respective prices can differ between them.

2. Multiple different types of train service can often be available between the destinations that you will be travelling from and to.

3. There are also multiple types of tickets that can be booked for French rail journeys, but most are specific to a type of train service.

4. When booking tickets for 2nd class journeys by regular TGV InOui trains and on most Intercités routes, you will only be offered one type of ticket on each departure.

5. As tickets will be specific to each type of train service, you cannot, for example, buy a ticket valid for a journey by a TER train and then board a TGV train.

6. For journeys the TGV InOui trains and the other express trains (Intercités), you will save money the further ahead you can book before your date of travel; And this is now also the case when booking some long-distance journeys by TER trains on certain routes to and from Paris - the Nomad and Grand Est services.

7. The SNCF Connect ticket booking service, provided by the national rail operator in France, can only sell train journeys which have a maximum of two connections between trains.
8. Seat reservations are automatically assigned when booking tickets for any journey by TGV trains, Intercités trains and Ouigo trains.
9. Seat reservations are not typically available on TER trains - the exceptions are the NOMAD services to and from Paris-St Lazare and Paris Nord; And the Grand Est services from and to Paris-Est.

SNCF is now taking a unique approach to the time periods at which tickets become available ahead of a travel date for travel - and as this approach is relatively new, there are some caveats to this information.
What is definitely occurring, is that in effect there are multiple booking periods which commence at different times of year - the logic presumably being that SNCF can now run multiple promotions throughout the year, which announce when tickets are available for future dates of travel.
It's tricky to make sense of this - and it remains to be seen whether it is a permanent situation, hence this attempt to explain what's occurring - Note that the dates aren't specific, as SNCF is seemingly not following a fixed calendar of 'x' will occur on 'y' date.

For travel by the Nomad, TGV InOui and Intercités services

1. In common with the other European national rail operators, SNCF has a key update to its timetable which occurs on the second Sunday in December. Tickets cannot be made available until the new scheduled is confirmed, so tickets for travel from the second Sunday in December until early to mid-March will be placed on sale in early to mid-November.
2. The in mid-January there will be a Spring release of tickets for travel until mid-May.
3. In March there will be a Summer release of tickets for travel until July*
4. In July there will be an 'Indian Summer' release of tickets for travel until late October
5. Potentially as late as September there will be a release of tickets for travel until the second Sunday in December.
   *= And to add yet another layer of info - SNCF released tickets for travel between Paris and Lyon, Marseille and Montpellier until July on the November ticket release.

Each of these booking periods is seemingly for departures up to 16 weeks ahead, but they overlap.
So, for example, when looking up a journey on January 15th, it's possible to book for travel until the end end of March - around 10 weeks ahead of the travel date.
But when looking up a journey on January 22nd, it possible to book around 16 weeks ahead.

Hence, if you can't see tickets for sale on your travel date, when looking up a journey on SNCF Connect, it can be a very good idea to click on the 'Be Aware' button on the search results pages.
SNCF Connect will then send an automated email, informing you that the tickets for the journey(s) you want to take, are now on sale.

For travel by the Ouigo services

Tickets for the more basic Ouigo services can now usually be booked up to 6 months ahead!
So note that when looking up a journey you may only see tickets for sale by the Ouigo services, but avoid assuming that taking these trains will therefore be your only option.

Click the questions in the Content menu to jump to the info you need, or grab a coffee and scroll through the entire page; 10-15 mins reading will ultimately save you time, money and confusion!

There are multiple types of tickets which are available for French train journeys, but each of them are only made available for travelling on specific train services; so the type of ticket you will be able to book online will depend on whether you will travelling on a

• a TGV InOui service
• a Ouigo service,
• a TER service, or
• an Intercités service.
• a Krono + service (Paris ↔ destinations in Normandy).

Seconde tickets
When booking 2nd class tickets for journeys by TGV InOui and Intercités services, these are now typically the default type of ticket that will be offerred.
(They are what is offered when the Prems tickets have sold out, or aren't available for any other reason - but the Prems tickets are evidently now rarely made available).
These Seconde tickets are also typically cheaper when they're first placed on sale - But a notable feature is that the prices of these tickets can vary significantly between departures on a travel date, so taking some (the more popular) departures can be more than €50 expensive than other trains leaving that day.
So it can pay off to be as flexible as possible re: timings and look through the day's departures when on the booking services.

Premiere tickets
When booking tickets for journeys by TGV InOui and Intercités services, this type of ticket will always be available if you want to travel in 1st/Premiere class.
They are cheaper when initially placed on sale, and the prices will rise according to demand, up until departure, so you'll save the further ahead you can book.

Prems tickets
These are discounted tickets which are* only available in 2nd class on longer-distance journeys by TGV InOui and Intercités trains
The prices typically rise after being placed on sale; when all the tickets at the cheapest price point have sold out, the next batch of tickets is placed on sale at higher price.
Though as a limited number of Prems tickets are placed on sale for each departure, they can sell out completely on popular departures weeks in advance; and they're unlikely to still be available on any departure if you'll be looking up a journey less than a couple of days ahead.
*= Though finding Prems tickets on has evidently become a needle-in-a-haystack scenario, when looking up more than 20 journeys more than 3 months ahead on different routes, I wasn't offered a Prems ticket.
Though according to the info on SNCF Connect, they are still offered for sale?

(The T&Cs for these three types of ticket)

These three types of tickets all share the same ticket exchange and refund policy.
The terms on SNCF Connect state:
'Ticket can only be exchanged (adjustment to the current fare) and refunded prior to departure: 40% of the price 6 days prior to departure (€15 max fee). From 30 minutes prior to departure, tickets can be exchanged up to two times (for the same day and the same journey), and are non-refundable after the first exchange'.
Which could be clearer, but it seems as though the four key things to be aware of are:

1. Exchanges and refunds are free up to 7 days before departure.
2. If you want to amend your booking in the 6 days before departure:

• If you are travelling on a TGV InOui train you must pay an amendment fee of €19 per person per person for an exchange or a refund.
• If you are travelling on an Intercités train, you will be charged an amendment fee of 40% of the price you paid for the ticket, up to a maximum of €15.

3. In the 30 minutes before departure, refunds cannot be requested and exchanges are only allowed for the same journey later that day. The same amendment fees apply to the exchange.
4. If you arrive at a station too late to make a train you were booked on to, you won't get your money back on your original purchase and will have to book an entirely new ticket, which will be at the most expensive last minute price.

Business Premiere tickets
These tickets are more expensive than Premiere tickets for 1st Class/Premiere Class journeys by TGV InOui services, but a key difference is the access they provide to the Business Class lounges at stations.
Though what also justifies the higher price is the greater flexibility, because these tickets can be exchanged and refunded free of charge up to 30 minutes after departure, so if you get to the station just too late to miss the train you were originally booked on to, you won't lose out financially.

Billet Tarif Normal Semi Flex
These tickets are typically offered for sale when travelling on the Kronos + services from and to Paris-St Lazare station in Paris.
They are cheaper when they are placed on sale and will become more expensive closer to the travel date.
They are exchangeable, though any difference in price will need to be paid.
They can also be refunded free of change up to 1 day before departure, but on the day of departure only 50% of the price paid can be claimed before departure (maximum retention fee of €12).
After the booked train has departed they become non-exchangeable and non-refundable.

Flexible Seconde / Flexible Premiere
These tickets are also typically offered for sale when travelling on the Kronos + services from and to Paris-St Lazare station in Paris.
They are more expensive than the 'Billet Tarif Normal Semi Flex' tickets, but they are both refundable and exchangeable free of charge before the departure of the booked train.
They aren't discounted, but the difference in price with the 'Billet Tarif Normal Semi Flex' tickets can narrow to only a few euros in the days before departure.

Tarif Normal / Bilet Tarif Normal tickets
Note the subtle name difference with other types of ticket.
These are the more typical types of ticket which can be purchased for travel by TER trains though which of the two types of ticket you will be offered seemingly varies according to the journey you will be booking.

They can be refunded up until the day of departure, but they can't be exchanged - the logic being that they are not discounted when booked online, so if you refund then re-book, you won't lose out financially.
Though whether they can be refunded with or without paying a €5 admin fee, varies depending on the region in which you will be commencing a journey.
But if you have to abandon your trip on your travel date, you won't get your money back.

Offre Essentiel Adulte tickets and Offre OUIGO+ Adulte tickets
These are the two types of ticket available for journeys by Ouigo trains, which offer a cheaper alternative on most of the high speed routes taken by the regular TGV InOui trains.

• Offre Essentiel Adulte: a feature of these tickets is that additional requirements such as: Seat selection including choosing a seat with a power socket; taking a large suitcase, are charged as supplements when booking
• Offre OUIGO Plus Adulte; these tickets are more expensive, but seat selection is included in the price and the seats will be in coaches equipped with Wi-fi.
  Also if you will be taking two items of luggage larger than 55 x 35 x 25cm, you will need to purchase this type of ticket.

Though the refund and exchange terms of using both of these types of tickets are the same, and as stated on SNCF Connect they are,
Non-cancellable, non-refundable ticket. You can exchange or modify your ticket online up to 30 minutes before the departure of your train, subject to conditions and an exchange fee of no more than €19 per journey and per passenger (exchange fees do not apply to the OuigoFlex option).
In addition to these fees, there may be a price difference between your old and new tickets.

So if you're considering whether to book a 2nd class ticket on a TGV InOui service, or to save money by taking a Ouigo instead, something to factor into the decision is that if you subsequently need to abandon your trip, a ticket for the InOui service can be refunded, but a ticket for a Ouigo service can't!

Intercités Tarif Superflex
This type of ticket isn't seemingly available on the premium Intercités routes:
Paris <> Clermont Ferrand
Paris - Limoges - Brive - Toulouse
Marseille - Montpellier - Toulouse - Bordeaux
but it can be available, along with other types of ticket in 1st and 2nd class, on the other IC routes.
They live up to their name, because not only can they be used on any departure on your chosen travel date, they can be used on any departure on the same route in the following 7 days!
The terms of use on SNCF Connect state; 'Ticket free exchangeable up to the start of the validity. During its validity, ticket exchangeable for a ticket with a reservation, a ticket with a smaller discount or upgrade to a higher comfort class. In other cases, refund is possible subject to a penalty of 10% until the end of the validity.'

The key difference with booking international long-distance rail journeys on SNCF Connect, in comparison to to booking journeys solely within France, is that multiple types of ticket will be available to select in both 2nd class, as well as 1st class.
Therefore, if your booking sufficiently far ahead for the cheapest prices still to be able, there will be the options to choose either the cheapest tickets, or to pay a higher price to travel in the same class and with a matching on board experience, but then benefit from having the flexibility to amend your booking pre-travel.

So it's worth seeking out the terms and conditions for each type of ticket, when there is a choice available.
SNCF will defer to how tickets are sold in the country in which the international journey will be commencing or finishing, hence the difference to how tickets can be used on French domestic routes.
In summary, the types of tickets at the cheapest price either can't be refunded or amended at all, or only on payment for an admin fee, - but with refund and exchanges being available, at no additional cost, for the more expensive type tickets.

On SNCF Connect the specific T&Cs for each type of ticket won't be placed before you on the screen, you have to be proactive and click on the 'more info' links and their equivalents.
So it can be easy to be dazzled by what appears to be great rate, but then not to realize exactly what you've been purchased; And to subsequently discover that, because you now want to travel on a different date, that you're being asked for more than twice the price you originally paid.

International journeys with connections:

What cannot now be booked on SNCF Connect are rail journeys which involve making connections between trains in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and The Netherlands.

The independent agents Rail Europe and Trainline sell tickets for end-to-end journeys which involve both making a connection in France and a connection between trains in these six countries.
Omio will sell tickets for end-to-end journeys which involve both making a connection in France and connections in Germany and Italy.
All three agents will sell tickets for journeys which involve taking a direct train from France to Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and The Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and The Netherlands, plus an onward connection to destinations in these countries not served by direct trains.

The French national rail operator SNCF, operates four different types of longer distance train services:

(1) Standard TGV trains - now classified as TGV InOui services

(2) More basic low cost TGV trains - Ouigo services

(3) Express trains which aren't high speed - Intercités/IC services

(4) Regional trains, which connect regions on longer routes - TER services

When looking up a journey you will often have a choice of booking tickets for two or more of these services, hence the summaries below of the differences between how tickets can be booked and used on these types of train service

Online Bookings Open*:

• TGV InOui = up to 4 months ahead (16 weeks ahead)
• Ouigo = up to 6 months ahead
• Intercités = up to 4 months ahead (16 weeks ahead)
• TER = up to 4 to 6 months ahead

*These are the usual booking periods, they can be shorter during mid September - early November; OR longer if SNCF is running a promotion.

The ability to refund tickets (subject to specific T&Cs):

• TGV InOui = Yes
• Ouigo = No
• Intercités = Yes
• TER = Yes

First Class/Premiere Class Available:

• TGV InOui = Yes
• Ouigo = No
• Intercités = Yes
• TER = some routes only

Reservations Available: (complimentary and included in the ticket price):

• TGV InOui = Yes
• Ouigo = Yes
• Intercités = on the three main routes
• TER = No

Choice of seating area/place (window or aisle etc):

• TGV InOui = Yes
• Ouigo = Yes
• Intercités = on the three main routes
• TER = No

Choice of specific seat:

• TGV InOui = (Yes- in 1st/Premiere/Business Premiere class only)
• Ouigo = Yes, included within the price of Ouigo Plus tickets
• Intercités = No
• TER = No

Can be booked at the station:

• TGV InOui* = Yes
• Ouigo = No
• Intercités* = Yes
• TER = Yes
  *Will be more expensive than booking in advance online.

Can be booked both on SNCF Connect AND the websites it partners with:

• TGV InOui = Yes
• Ouigo = Yes (Ouigo journeys can also be booked on Trainline)
• Intercités = Yes
• TER = Yes

This depends on two factors:

• the route you will be taking; and
• the train service you will be travelling by.

And if there' is an opportunity to save, the amount you will be saving will also depend on how far ahead you will be booking.

Ten things worth knowing if you want to travel at the cheapest possible price:

(1) If you will be taking a TGV InOui or Intercités train, the prices will be cheaper the further ahead you book.

(2) Tickets for the TGV InOui and Intercités (IC) services can be available from up to 16 weeks / 4 months ahead - see the notes above.

(3) Tickets for journeys by the cheaper Ouigo trains are usually placed on sale up to 6 months ahead on SNCF Connect.
Meaning that if you look up journeys more than six months ahead on the routes taken by Ouigo trains, you will usually only see the Ouigo services, so in that scenario, avoid assuming that they will be your only option.

(4) If you are happy to put up with a more basic on-board experience; AND to be at the station a minimum of 5 mins before your train will depart, you may be able to make big savings by taking the Ouigo trains.

Ouigo and TGV InOui trains now share these routes:

• Paris Gare De Lyon - Lyon St Exupery (Lyon Airport) - Aix-en-Provence TGV - Toulon - St Raphael - Cannes - Antibes - Nice
• Paris Gare De Lyon - Lyon St Exupery (Lyon Airport) - Avignon TGV - Marseille
• Paris Gare De Lyon - Valence - Nimes - Montpellier
• Lille - Aeroport CDG - Marne la Vallée - Lyon St Exupery (Lyon Airport) - Avignon TGV - Aix-en-Provence TGV - Marseille
• Paris Est - Strasbourg and Metz and Nancy
• Paris Montparnasse - Poitiers - Bordeaux - Toulouse
• Paris Montparnasse - Nantes
• Paris Montparnasse - Rennes

On these routes, you can often save more than €30 if you book tickets for the Ouigo train in comparison to taking a TGV InOui service.

(5) When different train services are available between two destinations, the slower TER services can actually be the most expensive option, if you can book in advance.

(6) That's because the prices of tickets for journeys by TER services aren't typically discounted, so you won't save by booking them in advance online.

(7) The most heavily discounted (cheapest) tickets inevitably sell out fastest on the most popular TGV and Intercités departures, so you can often make substantial savings by taking alternative earlier/later trains on your travel date.

(8) SNCF applies an airline style pricing policy to TGV InOui journeys and the longer distance Intercités journeys; meaning that prices can be more expensive at times of likely high demand.

So it CAN be worth avoiding:

• Travelling to/from Paris on the afternoon/evenings on Fridays and Sundays.
• Travelling long distance on routes to/from the coast on summer weekends (Friday - Sunday) particularly in August.
• Long distance trains in winter towards ski resorts after midday on Friday and back from the ski resorts on Sunday afternoons/evenings.
• Summer journeys on Friday-Sunday on routes that have comparatively infrequent TGV and Intercités services.

(9) If you'll be booking several long-distance tickets per year SNCF has introduced a new range of discount cards, which all cost €49 and entitle their holders to significant price reductions on tickets; and you don't have to be French to purchase and use them.

SNCF sells a range of railcards, known as Carte Avantage which are very popular in France; particularly as it's not uncommon for a journey of more than three hours by a standard TGV InOui service to be priced at more than €100, if you're not booking at least two months ahead.

A tad oddly SNCF offers three types of Carte Avantage cards which are split according to age, Jeune for those aged 12 to 26 and Adulte for those aged 27-59 and Senior for those aged 60 and over; but they all cost €49, are valid for a year and all have the same core benefits:

However, for one way journeys you can only access the benefits when travelling on Saturdays and Sundays and for two way journeys / a round trip, you need to be staying overnight on a Saturday, or a Sunday, or travelling in at least one direction on a Saturday or Sunday.

Travel at those times and the benefits to the card holder are:

• a 30% reduction on tickets for travel by TGV (TGV InOui) and Intercités; in effect these are the standard French long-distance express trains,
• When travelling at the times when the discounts apply, there are also maximum price caps, so on certain journeys by the TGVs, the discount can be more than 30%; max price of journeys of up to 1hr 30mins = €39; up to three hours = €59 and over three hours = €79,
• A 25-50% discount when travelling by regional TER train services in most regions; with Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Provence Cote d'Azure and Ile de France being the three regions where no discounts apply on the TER trains.
• A 30% discount on the high speed trains from France to Germany (not Eurostar); to Italy (not Frecce), Luxembourg, Spain and Switzerland.
• Those discounts also apply to one other person travelling with you, so you can purchase pairs of tickets at the discounted rates.

Each card holder can take up to three children at 60% of the child ticket costs.
Those aged 4-11 qualify for child ticket rates in France, but when travelling with kids, their tickets will be discounted on any day of the week.

Carte Avantage cards + tickets OR one country rail passes

Working out whether combinations of Carte Avantage cards + discounted tickets will be better value for money during your holiday, than using one country InterRail or one country Eurail passes valid for France, can a somewhat convoluted process, but if you will be taking two or more journeys of 3hrs +, then it's worth doing the calculations; particularly if you will be travelling on or over weekends in July and August.

Something which needs to be factored in when doing the math is that the discounted tickets you book with the French railcards will include the seat reservations, but when using Eurail and InterRail the reservations for the TGV InOui services and on some Intercités services, will cost from €10.

Also if you won't be travelling solo, you also need to factor in that the benefits of the Carte Avantage cards extend to more than one traveller.

Another significant recent change to how tickets can be booked on SNCF Connect is that the only type of ticket that will be available, once you have selected a journey, are likely to be E-Tickets.

You will typically have four options for using these E-tickets that have been booked for travel by InOui and Intercités and ('Nomad' services when travelling to and from Paris St-Lazare).

1: You can store your ticket in the SNCF Connect app - obviously this will only be an option if you book with SNCF Connect, so check the info when booking on alternative services
If you book with SNCF Connect and your runs out charge the conductor will be able to find your reservation (except on Eurostar, the ICE trains to Germany and the Lyria services).

2. By printing your confirmation email. (Except bookings using discount cards).

3. Using your SNCF loyalty card, but remember to import it into your SNCF Connect app.

4. By printing it at the station using a self-service kiosk (except when taking the ICE trains to Germany and the Lyria services).

Options 3 and 4 are seemingly not available when booking tickets for travel by Ouigo and TER Services

Collecting an E-Ticket at a station pre-boarding

The info on the T&Cs section of the SNCF Connect website states

'Please note that the name of the person who made the booking and the order number will be required when collecting your ticket from a Self-Serve Kiosk located in metropolitan France or Luxembourg stations, or from SNCF ticket booths or Shops in metropolitan France'.
Note that isn't seemingly possible to pick up a pre-booked ticket at a staffed ticket counter.

If you will be making a local train journey anywhere in France or making most journeys by regional TER trains, the answer is yes.
TER train services can cover long distances such as Lyon ↔ Marseille and Nice ↔ Marseilles.

Although if you will travelling on a non-high speed route shared by TER train services AND express train services; then tickets booked last minute at the station for those TGV InOui or Intercités services can still be a few euros cheaper.
So if you won't be travelling particularly long distances on a non-high speed route, keeping your plans flexible and booking tickets at the station, for whatever type of train service will be next to depart, can be a good option.

However, if you will be making a high speed journey by the TGV InOui services, or travelling long distance on the top flight Intercités routes, you should avoid buying tickets last minute at the station if you want to save money.

The short answer to this question is yes, you need to be aware of which train services your ticket will be valid for; and then only travel by that type of train service and no other.

When travelling by train between destinations in France there can be, but not always, a choice of:

(1) TER trains - Regional trains and the local trains outside of Paris.

(2) TGV InOui trains; the standard, more comfortable high speed TGV trains.

(3) Low cost, but more basic Ouigo TGV trains which travel on the same high speed routes as the standard TGV InOui trains (but tickets for Ouigo trains CANNOT be booked at stations).

(4) An Intercités express train service.

Why this matters:

This choice matters when booking tickets at a station (or online).
If you have booked a ticket that is valid for a journey by TER train, you cannot then use it to travel on a TGV, or on the type of Intercités train service on which reservations are compulsory.
Similarly if you book a ticket for either type of the Intercités services, you cannot then use it to travel on a TGV train.

In other words you cannot just hop on the next train to your destination, you have to travel by the type of train service that your ticket is valid for
These rules apply even if you will be travelling comparatively short distances.

Ticket stamping machines are positioned at the entrances to the voies (platforms/tracks) that a train will be departing from AND/OR in the station buildings, particularly on the concourse.
However, you don't need to stamp tickets that you have booked online and printed.

The only tickets which require stamping are those which you have purchased at a ticket desk, or have purchased/collected from a ticket machine.
You obviously need to do this before boarding, but it can be easy to forget to do so, particularly if you are in a hurry.

If you have a choice between taking a

• TER service,
• or a TGV InOui service
• and/or an Intercités (IC) service
  and you will be buying walk-up tickets last minute at the station, the TER service will be the cheapest option.

The price difference in comparison with an Intercités (IC) service can be less than around €5, but last minute tickets for journeys by TER trains, can be more than 50% cheaper than last minute tickets for travel by the TGV InOui services.

High speed TGV services vs TER services:

When you have a choice between taking a TER train or travelling along a high speed line by TGV InOui service, then if you can book ahead, the TER service can be more expensive.
On the high speed routes, the discounted Prems (2nd class) and Premiere (1st class) tickets will be placed on sale for at least some of the TGV InOui departures; but not the TER services.
Routes on which this scenario applies include:

• Lyon ↔ Marseille;
• Paris ↔ Le Mans: and
• Paris ↔ Dijon.

Booking ahead and saving on the NON-high speed routes:

Between some French cities there are no high speed lines, examples include:

• Marseille ↔ Nice
• Montpellier ↔ Perpignan; and
• Toulouse ↔ Bordeaux.
  On these routes, longer-distance TER services often share the railway line with the express Intercités and InOui services.
  When that is the case, if you can book ahead the tickets for those express services can be the cheapest option.
  Though on some routes, tickets for the TER trains are always seemingly slightly cheaper.

If you will be booking last minute at the station, the price difference between the TER and either of those two express train services can be around only €5.

If you will be looking up a new journey on SNCF Connect be aware that some of the connections between trains on multi-train end-to-end journeys can be tightly timed.

Despite this, SNCF Connect does not give an option to extend connecting times between trains when looking up journeys.
More info on how to check the connecting time between trains is available on the how to use SNCF Connect guide; see below

Connections between trains are not guaranteed, but tickets will be valid on the next alternative train to depart; regardless of which ticket you have booked
If you are connecting into an InOui or Intercités train, so have seats reserved on that train, you will need to stop by the ticket desk in order to have your reservations re-issued for a later departure.

Though at times when multiple train delays are occurring you can have your ticket 'validated' at an 'Accueil' information desk and show it to the conductor when boarding your next train; though if you do this, seats WON'T be guaranteed.

On your ticket(s) 'voiture' = coach/carriage number, ‘Place Assise’ = the seat number.

Reservations will automatically be included and specific seats assigned when booking tickets for journeys by standard TGV InOui,

If you book 2nd class tickets on SNCF Connect for a journey by an InOui service, you can choose seating preferences such as window or aisle.

However, if you're booking 1st/Premiere class for a TGV InOui departure, you'll also have the option to choose specific seats on a seating plan.
If TGV Atlantique and TGV Océane trains are being used for your selected departure, when booking 1st class tickets, you can choose seats which face forwards, but this facility is not available on departures by TGV Duplex trains.

On Ouigo trains, your seat(s) will be automatically assigned when booking, but you can pay an additional charge in order to choose specific seats, including seats with power sockets.

If you will be travelling by IC (Intercités) trains, then only on these routes reservations will automatically be included and specific seats assigned
However, reservations are optional when travelling on other IC train routes.

Reservations are not possible on TER trains, so you won’t guarantee a seat on a TER train by booking tickets online.

Children aged under 4 travel for free (but you need to travel with them on your lap) and children aged 4-11 pay half fare on all trains; except for Ouigo trains, these have different terms for child tickets.

The adult rate is charged for all travellers aged 12 and over.

On journeys by TGV and Intercités trains a flat rate fare of €7 is charged regardless of whether a dog is placed in a bag or basket, measuring 45 cm x 30 cm x 25 cm maximum, or is on a leash.
Though when looking up journeys on SNCF Connect, the nationally managed train booking service, on a few journeys the price was €11 for dogs on leashes.
This £7 fee also applies to the regional TER trains, except for journeys within these regions; Normandy, New Aquitaine, Pays de la Loire and South Region.

In Normandy if you haven't reserved, which isn't possible on most TER services, a dog weighing less than 6kg is charged at the €7 flat rate, but a dog weighing more than 6kg will be charged at half the adult rate. Unless a ticket with reservations has been booked for the 'Krono' services to/from Paris, because on these trains the dog can travel free of charge regardless of its size.
In Pays De La Loire if you place a dog weighing less than 6kg in a bag or basket there will be no charge, but dogs weighing more than 6kg will be charged at half the adult rate.
In New Aquitaine, the rate payable for travelling with a dog, regardless of whether it is in a bag/basket or on a leash, depends on the distance of the journey: from 0 to 43 kms = €2; from 44 to 80 kms = €4; for 81km and beyond = €7.
In Occitanie a dog weighing less than 6kg and placed in a bag/basket is charged at the €7 flat rate, but a dog weighing more than 6kg will be charged at half the adult rate.

If you have booked a ticket on SNCF Connect and your train has subsequently been cancelled you can apply for a refund.

This is the page on the SNCF Connect website in which you can find the info relating to refunds and commence your claim.

Omio, RailEurope and Trainline sell tickets for international train journeys from and to France; including many journeys that require changes of train outside of France.

SNCF Connect, which doesn't charge a booking fee, now only sells tickets for journeys by direct high speed trains between France and Belgium, Germany, Barcelona, London, Switzerland and The Netherlands.

Although it can be worth comparing prices with alternative ticket agents, as follows:
(the links to all of these ticket booking services can be found below).

• To/from Belgium AND journeys by Eurostar and Thalys trains; check B-Europe,
• To/from Germany; check DB,
• Check Eurostar prices on Eurostar.com

Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the TGV France-Italy services

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