How to take a thrilling high speed rail journey from Lyon to London

Take this journey via Lille and you could avoid having to make the transfer in Paris between the Gare De Lyon and Gare Du Nord.
So it's an easier journey than travelling via Paris and usually no more expensive.

Departing from Lyon:

These TGV InOui services, which have connections on from Lille to London, typically depart from Lyon Part-Dieu at 11:00; 14:00 and 17:00.
They do not also depart from Lyon-Perrache.

Departing from Lyon on a low-cost service:

Some booking services will also offer a journey option on Mon-Sat which involves departing from Lyon at around 09:00
But this journey option is different as it involves taking a low-cost. but more basic Ouigo train service from Lyon to Lille.
That Ouigo train will depart from Lyon Perrache station and not from Lyon Part-Dieu station and it will also arrive in Lille Flandres station and not at Lille Europe station.

Checking-in at Lille-Europe:

These trains from Lyon are typically due into Lille more than 90mins prior to the departure of the connecting Eurostar on to London.

Eurostar recommends that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets should arrive at Lille-Europe 90 minutes before departure, but the access to check-in will closed off from 30 mins prior to departure.
So this won't be an issue even if a train from Lyon arrives in Lille up to 50 minutes late.

Taking a Eurostar from Europe station:

These four things are good to know:

(1) Eurostar check-in is located in Hall 4 on the concourse.

(2) You can only check-in for the next departure, you cannot check-in ahead and then wait for your train in the Eurostar departure hall.

(3) Announcements will be made in English and French as to when the check-in has opened, there is little point in joining the queue for the check-in desk prior to this announcement.

(4) Around 5 -10 mins prior to departure another announcement will be made that travellers can now descend to the voie (platform/track) which the Eurostar will be departing from.

The departure screens shown above will show you in which zone/répére you can wait for easy boarding into the specific coach in which your reserved seat will be located.

ShowMeTheJourney has produced a detailed guide to connecting into a Eurostar from a TGV train.

The Eurostar on to London:

Final Destination: London St Pancras

Note that these trains will no longer be calling at Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International, until an unspecified date likely to be in 2025 at the earliest.

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.
Our guide to arriving by Eurostar in London is here.

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date.

The very cheapest tickets tend to sell out particularly quickly on this route.

The search results for the Lyon to London journeys, combine these journeys via Lille with the alternative connections via Paris.
The connections via Lille typically depart from Lyon at 11:00; 14:00 and 17:00.

Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.

Seat reservations are automatically included when booking tickets for both trains.

Eurostar train's general ticket terms:

Eurostar train ticket terms summary

The only ticket type are the Flexible tickets, but it is the class of service you opt to travel by, which impacts on the terms and conditions of travel.

*Exchanges

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure to the same destination up to one hour* before departure time.

• If the cost of your new ticket is more than the cost of your original ticket, you will be required to pay the difference;
• If the cost of your new ticket is less than the cost of your original ticket, you will not receive a refund of the difference.

Book to travel in Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure up until the end of the previous day, without having to pay any price differences on any other charges.

The Eurostar ticket terms summary is here

Refunds

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:

• Up to seven days or more before the date of departure you will need to pay a fee of £25 per person for a one-way / single ticket and £50 per person for a two-way / return ticket - So you will only receive any sum you paid in excess of these sums.
• Less than seven days before the date of departure, tickets are non-refundable - Also applies if you exchanged a ticket to an alternative departure, under seven days ahead.

Book to travel in Premier class:
Up until the end of the day before departure date, tickets can be refunded at no additional cost

Seat Reservations on the Eurostar

Reservations are mandatory so seats are assigned when booking - But after a booking has been completed, you use the ‘Manage Your Booking’ facility, which can be easily found on the Eurostar website and select specific seats within the travel class you have chosen.

You will need to enter a Booking Reference number - but other booking agents such as Trainline, Rail Europe, SNCF Connect, B-Europe and NS International, will also include this number on the communication sent to you.

The impact of the connections

General ticket terms for TGV InOui trains

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 three 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.

Making the connection in Lille:

There is relatively new E.U. legislation which protects travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays, but it only applies to 'through tickets'.
The Eurostar terms and conditions specifically state that when booking journeys which combine Eurostar + Thalys trains 'through tickets' will be issued.
However, 'for all other journeys that combine a Eurostar Service and a service provided by another carrier(s), including when purchased in a single commercial transaction, those tickets will be separate contracts and issues regarding delays, missed connections, cancellations, compensation, and the management of aftersales will be handled accordingly'.

Though both SNCF and Eurostar are members of The Railteam Alliance which offers a Hop on the next available train (HOTNAT) policy.
It 'allows travelers to take the next high-speed service leaving from the same station as originally planned when a delay on or cancellation of a preceding Railteam member’s high-speed service prevents them from making their originally-planned connection. This service is free of charge and is subject to the following conditions:

• HOTNAT only applies at the station at which the passenger originally planned to change trains and in cases of train delays and train cancellations.
• The approval of HOTNAT is subject to the available capacity on board each train. Seats are not guaranteed'.

So 'issues regarding missed connection and cancellations' should be 'handled' by Railteam's HOTNAT policy.

Though HOTNAT can't be applied if the arrival into Lille is after the final Eurostar of the day has departed for London - and the low cost Ouigo services are not covered by HOTNAT.

Travel via Paris and you will need to make the transfer between the Gare De Lyon, where the TGV will arrive, and the Gare Du Nord, from where the Eurostar will depart.

Though not all of the TGV trains from Lyon to Paris have well timed onward connections into a Eurostar departure.

Departing from Lyon

These train from Paris to Lyon depart from Lyon-Perrache station prior to calling at Lyon Part-Dieu.

The alternative train journey options:

(1) There are no low-cost Ouigo services between the main stations in Lyon and the Gare de Lyon in central Paris, which have well-timed onward connections into a Eurostar
Though when looking up this journey you may see Ouigo departures listed, but note that they will be departing from Lyon-Sant Exupéry TGV station - which is the station at Lyon Airport.
You can take the Rhone Express tram from Lyon Part-Dieu to Sant Exupéry.

(2) There are also direct TER trains from Lyon to Paris.
Their journey time is more than double than that of these TGV trains because they don't use the high speed line.
Unless you will be buying tickets last minute at the station, they won't be any cheaper than these TGVs.
However, if you will be travelling with a rail pass, you can save a minimum of €10 by taking those TER trains.

Checking-in at the Gare Du Nord:

At the Gare Du Nord the check in and waiting area for the Eurostar (the 'Hall Du Londres') is at an upper level, above the main concourse.
The access to this upper level is some distance from the voie/platforms/tracks that the Eurostars depart from.
The escalators leading up to Eurostar departures are located at the rear wall of the station building, on the opposite side of the concourse to voies/platforms/tracks 14 - 15.

When the service is operating normally, the transfer across Paris by the RER train will take less than 25 mins, from stepping off the TGV at the Gare De Lyon to being on the concourse at the Gare Du Nord.

However, Eurostar recommends that holders of Standard Class and Standard Premier tickets should arrive at the Gare Du Nord 90 minutes before departure.
The access to the check-in desks is closed 30 mins prior to departure for Standard Class and Standard Premier ticket holders.

(For holders of Business Premier ticketsEurostar recommends](https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/your-trip/check-in) that should arrive at the Gare Du Nord 30 minutes before departure, with access to check-in being closed off from 15 mins prior to departure).

These timings inevitably impact on the end-to-end journey options offered by the ticket agents.
Many TGV trains from Lyon arrive in Paris around 1hr 15mins before the departure of the Eurostar, but if these trains are only 15 mins late, the connection into the Eurostar won't be possible

Typically all of the journey options offered by Trainline have an end-to-end journey time of between 6hr 25min and 6hr 35min.
These trains arrive in Paris around 2hr 15mins prior to a Eurostar departure, so should enable a stress-free transfer - when the train arrives in Paris on time, you should be at the Gare Du Nord within the recommended check-in time for Standard Class and Standard Premier ticket holders.
Though it also allows for contingency time in the event of delay of up to around 1hr 45 min.

Some of the journey options offed by SNCF Connect and Rail Europe have an end-to-end journey time of around 5hr 55mins.
These journey options will have an arrival time in Paris around 1hr 15mins prior to the closure of the check-in to Standard Class and Standard Premier ticket holders.

The Eurostar on to London:

Final Destination: London St Pancras

Note that these trains will no longer be calling at Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International, until an unspecified date likely to be in 2025 at the earliest.

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.

Our guide to arriving by Eurostar in London is here.

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of of the travel date

Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.

Seat reservations are automatically included when booking tickets for both trains.

Your ticket will not include the RER train across Paris from the Gare De Lyon to the Gare Du Nord.

Eurostar train's general ticket terms:

Eurostar train ticket terms summary

The only ticket type are the Flexible tickets, but it is the class of service you opt to travel by, which impacts on the terms and conditions of travel.

*Exchanges

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure to the same destination up to one hour* before departure time.

• If the cost of your new ticket is more than the cost of your original ticket, you will be required to pay the difference;
• If the cost of your new ticket is less than the cost of your original ticket, you will not receive a refund of the difference.

Book to travel in Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure up until the end of the previous day, without having to pay any price differences on any other charges.

The Eurostar ticket terms summary is here

Refunds

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:

• Up to seven days or more before the date of departure you will need to pay a fee of £25 per person for a one-way / single ticket and £50 per person for a two-way / return ticket - So you will only receive any sum you paid in excess of these sums.
• Less than seven days before the date of departure, tickets are non-refundable - Also applies if you exchanged a ticket to an alternative departure, under seven days ahead.

Book to travel in Premier class:
Up until the end of the day before departure date, tickets can be refunded at no additional cost

Seat Reservations on the Eurostar

Reservations are mandatory so seats are assigned when booking - But after a booking has been completed, you use the ‘Manage Your Booking’ facility, which can be easily found on the Eurostar website and select specific seats within the travel class you have chosen.

You will need to enter a Booking Reference number - but other booking agents such as Trainline, Rail Europe, SNCF Connect, B-Europe and NS International, will also include this number on the communication sent to you.

The impact of the connections

General ticket terms for TGV InOui trains

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 three 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.

Making the connection in Paris:

There is relatively new E.U. legislation which protects travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays, but it only applies to 'through tickets'.
The Eurostar terms and conditions specifically state that when booking journeys which combine Eurostar + Thalys trains 'through tickets' will be issued.
However, 'for all other journeys that combine a Eurostar Service and a service provided by another carrier(s), including when purchased in a single commercial transaction, those tickets will be separate contracts and issues regarding delays, missed connections, cancellations, compensation, and the management of aftersales will be handled accordingly'.

Though both SNCF and Eurostar are members of The Railteam Alliance which offers a Hop on the next available train (HOTNAT) policy.
It 'allows travelers to take the next high-speed service leaving from the same station as originally planned when a delay on or cancellation of a preceding Railteam member’s high-speed service prevents them from making their originally-planned connection. This service is free of charge and is subject to the following conditions:

• HOTNAT only applies at the station at which the passenger originally planned to change trains and in cases of train delays and train cancellations.
• The approval of HOTNAT is subject to the available capacity on board each train. Seats are not guaranteed'.

So 'issues regarding missed connection and cancellations' should be 'handled' by Railteam's HOTNAT policy.

Though HOTNAT can't be applied if the arrival into Paris is after the final Eurostar of the day has departed for London - and the low cost Ouigo services are not covered by HOTNAT.