? About e-tickets on TGV

Old Oct 27th, 2012, 06:32 AM
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? About e-tickets on TGV

I will need to purchase our tickets on the TGV train from CDG to Lyon and will not have access to a printer. Are the tickets emailed to me in a pdf (or some other format) that can be printed at a later date? Thanks!
http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/train-t...ckhere&hid=Q8V
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Old Oct 27th, 2012, 06:51 AM
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You will get a confirmation email with a reference number and a link to "your account" where you can go at any later date and print them out. You should also be able to find the equivalent of "my account" on the general sncf website - something like "mes billets" or "mes transactions" or something like that where you can print any time. Sorry, running out now but will check this later and give better details if someone else doesn't.
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Old Oct 27th, 2012, 06:57 AM
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When you purchase the tickets, you can print them out immediately, but your last click in the process can be "save as PDF" rather than "print".
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Old Oct 27th, 2012, 07:34 AM
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Thanks -- think I got it. I have never gone all the way to the end to see what is offered.

StCirq-battening down the hatches? We always loose power.
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Old Oct 27th, 2012, 07:41 AM
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Yup, yestravel, we've got plenty of candles, and food of course. Stay safe!
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Old Oct 27th, 2012, 07:48 AM
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do you have enough wine?
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Old Oct 27th, 2012, 08:18 AM
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Once you have the pdf file saved, you will find all sorts of places where you can print it.
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Old Oct 27th, 2012, 10:04 AM
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The conductor on the TGV scans the printed out ticket with a hand-held gadget he has. I can see how it would be a problem if you can't print it out, however we had no ready access to a printer at our apartment a couple of weeks ago. My wife just took her iPad with her to a Galleries Lafayette fashion show, where I think they scanned her screen.

I'm not computer knowledgeable enough to know if the TGV conductor could just scan the image on ones iPad or iPhone. Does anyone out there know?
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Old Oct 27th, 2012, 11:11 AM
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I just remembered how I've retrieved purchased tickets from the SNCF sight. Pretty sure when you log on you'll see Mes Voyages somewhere at the top. Click on that and you should be able to get a link to print from.
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Old Oct 27th, 2012, 11:56 AM
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I was planning on booking on the TGV site not directly on the SNCF site.
http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/train-t...ckhere&hid=Q8V

Does that make a difference in the responses re the pdf file? Will the reservation show up on the SNCF site so I could find it and print it as suggested?
We will be able to print it before getting to Paris, but not the day of the booking.

nukesafe, good question... Anyone know if the train conductor is capable of scanning from an iPad or iPhone?

Hope the predictions on Sandy are way off. You two stay safe and cozy up your way.
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Old Oct 29th, 2012, 02:58 AM
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Not sure about the SNCF site, but yes the tgv-europe site allows saving as a PDF. In the past I have printed my tickets and taken a USB stick with backup information.
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Old Oct 29th, 2012, 05:40 AM
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There are only two types of e tickets that can be printed by the user: PREMs or iDTGV tickets.

PREMs may be printed from home or issued at any SNCF boutique or train station service window. To my knowledge, there is no way the conductor can scan the bar code from a mobile device.

iDTGV tickets - must be printed in advance as tickets are checked before you board the train. Any SNCF boutique or train station service window will issue them to you at a 7€ per ticket upcharge.

Any other type of ticket purchased on line can be picked up at any SNCF ticket kiosk IF you have a EMV (pin and chip) credit card. If you have a magnetic strip credit card, you will need to ask at any SNCF boutique or train station service window and present, for the agents inspection, the exact same credit card that was used for the on line purchase as well as the reservation number of the transaction.
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Old Oct 29th, 2012, 05:52 AM
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> I'm not computer knowledgeable enough to know if the TGV conductor could just scan the image on ones iPad or iPhone. Does anyone out there know?

My friend, a French guy living in Lyon uses TGV trains often for work and for private travels and he doesn't need to printe paper tickets. He says he has confirmation on his iphone and he rides the trains that way. I have never paid much attention and don't know how exactly it works but your question remonded me of that. I would ask him next time, maybe I will speak to him already this evening. It seems he buys Prems tickets.
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Old Oct 29th, 2012, 06:00 AM
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Sarastro, that is no longer true. E-tickets (e-billets) that you print yourself are now available for all TGV trains, and for all fares, at least via the voyages-sncf site.
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Old Oct 29th, 2012, 06:15 AM
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I presume you mean all fares on a TGV train, they certainly are not available for all fares of any kind on other trains.

They must have changed their system to be totally computerized and require ID to tell when to refund a ticket, as it used to be a paper ticket was essentially like cash, if you had it, you could get a refund. Which is why they would never allow you to print tickets yourself if they were refundable.
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Old Oct 29th, 2012, 07:58 AM
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This must be a very recent change. What precludes someone from printing a ticket for travel and then printing a second ticket to submit for a refund? This was the very reason that only non-refundable tickets (PREMs or iDTGV) were printable by the user.
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Old Oct 29th, 2012, 08:00 AM
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What precludes someone from printing a ticket for travel and then printing a second ticket to submit for a refund?

The ticket's validity could be automatically canceled once scanned by the conductor.
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Old Oct 29th, 2012, 10:25 AM
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no different than what you do when u fly and use a scanned boarding pass.
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Old Oct 29th, 2012, 12:03 PM
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no different than what you do when u fly and use a scanned boarding pass

No different?

It hasn´t been since the days of People Express since I last saw someone verify a ticket on board an aircraft. Unless the conductor checks individuals as they board or he has some type of satellite communication as he scans tickets during the voyage, the only thing that kept people from traveling on one copy of a ticket and claiming a refund on a second copy was to limit self print to non refundable tickets.

If this self print ticket option is as wide spread has some purpose, the SNCF has set itself up for wide spread fraud unless they have secretly invested in massive new hardware and software to control all tickets in real time. I know they planned to upgrade their ticket tracking network, I just remain skeptical that the SNCF has fully implemented such a sophisticated system this soon.
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Old Oct 29th, 2012, 12:20 PM
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he has some type of satellite communication as he scans tickets during the voyage, the only thing that kept people from traveling on one copy of a ticket and claiming a refund on a second copy was to limit self print to non refundable tickets.

It is possible that the scanner has the same type of connection as is used by any other computer on the train (Wifi?).

The conductor is likely to take his scanner to a recording station at the end of the trip if that is necessary before the passenger receives a refund (which can be held up for verification).

I suspect that the SNCF does not need us to tell it of the pitfalls of self-printing all tickets.
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