Another SNCF question (or 2)
 

I've tried to reserve the express train from Perpignan to Barcelona for Sunday morning, July 25th. However, I get a message that says there are no places available. I checked the Rail Europe site and would be able to make a reservation through that site, but the price is more than a third higher. Anyone have this experience before? Should I just bite the bullet and get the (gulp) more expensive tickets through the Rail Europe site, or is there any possibility that there might be additional seats released in a week or two.

This is within the 60 day time frame to buy tickets, yet not that near to the day of departure, so I wonder if they are all booked up or held for some reason.

I have been using SNCF trains regularly during my past 6 weeks in France. I constantly had problems trying to buy tickets online and each time ended up having to go down to the station and buy them at the counter to get the one I wanted. One thing I did realize is when you choose to view the website in English, you are not given the same deals as when you utilize the site en Français. Maybe there is someone who can help you figure this out.

progol, I don't know if you can access this link, but here's the page I arrived at when I input your requirements:

http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/...mp;_AGENCY=VSC

Now it does say that certain legs of the trip "are not open to reservation," but I'm pretty confident that just means you can't reserve a seat, not that there AREN't any seats. Maybe if you're looking on the English site, they mistranslated it or poorly translated it.
Anyway, the 8:56 reserve-only express to Barcelona that morning looks like a pretty good deal at 30 euros.

I've ordered tickets thru RailEurope before...just b/c the website indicates there is availability at a given rate does not mean there actually is. You might place the order then RE will contact you to see if you'll accept an alternative or book again (if indeed there are no more seats).

I saw this when I plunked in a 1-way/2nd-class for July 25:

PERPIGNAN (66) 08h56 CORAIL 463
BARCELONA SANTS (ES) 11h46
Second Class - Non Smoking
Reservation required
30.00€
PLEIN TARIF : Exchangeable before departure. Refundable: 90% before departure and 50% after.

I meant that I saw availability on SCNF when I plunked your date in...

I don't really understand the problem. I just asked for the same info on the SNCF site, even using the English section, and didn't get a single message about no places available on that date's morning trips. I think there were only three listed in the morning, and the express train was Corail 463 at 8:56 am. That was the one with the shortest time period. The others in the morning were 4-5 hours, so I can't imagine you'd want them.

SNCF allowed me to select that trip and came back with a price and seat reservation possibility. It was 30 euro (plein tarif, meaning no special discount). I was looking for second class. In fact, they said a reservation was required and gave me a nonsmoking seat, even though I had "no preference" in the S/NS box.

They did say that tickets for the other two morning runs, which were really long because of slower trains and a transfer, were "not sold on the internet". They didn't say no places were available, but you didn't want them anyway. They won't sell online tickets for some of the short, piddly train runs.

I didn't expect you all to be so thorough! I left out some of the details in what exactly happened.
I, too, found the train I wanted and proceeded to choose it. I believe it's the 8:56am from Perpignan to Barcelona. After making all the appropriate selections (2nd class, etc), I would then select it for payment. It was only at that point that I would be sent back to the reservation page and, on my URL address bar, it would indicate "error". I did this several times. Finally, before attempting to pay, I chose the little tab that said "options". It was when that box came up that it said "no places available". I had this happen a half dozen times.

I then tried the Rail Europe site; and not only could I book a general ticket, but I could make reservations (according to the website). That was many dollars extra, and somehow, the total for two tickets ended up around $118 (or so. I can't remember exactly). I deleted the ticket before paying, but, to the best of my knowledge, I did get reservations on that very trip and not just a general reservation.

The later train (1:00pm-ish) is the one that doesn't take reservations and is clearly a lot slower. That's a 5 hour trip instead of a 3 hour one and has a change. I didn't get the details on that one since I really don't want to take it. However, I DID try to pay for that one and I could've purchased it if I wanted to. So, I consider the possibility that the morning train IS really full up. Or for some reason, doesn't release all the seats.

So, even though the train I want comes up in making the reservation, it "disappears" when I try to pay for it.

Okay, does my longwinded explanation now explain my problem?!

I appreciate all your efforts, though. I will try the French site and see what happens! Maybe my HS French will suddenly improve!
Paule

I did try the site in French; the same thing happened. And it's only when trying to actually purchase the ticket that the problem begins apparent.
My inclination is to wait a few days, and if this doesn't seem to change, then I'll try to book it on Rail Europe. Or should I just wait till I get to France and see what happens?
Paule

For those of you who actually might be interested...I did check with Rail Europe, and Travelnut is correct: even if I do reserve tickets, it doesn't mean that seats are available. They will then offer alternatives. They say they don't charge the credit card, though, unless the alternatives are acceptable.

Still no luck on the SNCF site with the train I want to take; however, there is an earlier train at 8:30am with only an hour stopover, so while the express route is much quicker, at least I can still get into Barcelona in the middle of the day. I will probably reserve the available trains, and see if the one I want is available when we actually get to France.
Thanks for your help, once again.
Paule

I found that dichotomy between SCNF and RailEurope as well. I needed a TGV connection between Paris and Lyon on a specific day in July. I bit at the higher fare on RE for the added certainty. One week later, I was happily holding the tickets in my hot little hands. They even had specific seat assignments. I think this is worth the extra charge, and their site is much easier to navigate.

That does explain a little more. The "error" coming up (in the URL address bar?) sounds clearly like a server/connection problem, and not related to a particular reservation. I've had that happen on various web sites, including SNCF's, I think. It means it can't connect to the necessary place if it's what I'm thinking, or that the server for that address is not even operating.

I've never seen that options tab, at least never paid attention to it, so I don't know about that. It could possibly be there are no seats left, though, if that is a very popular and busy train, and there really aren't any. If you want that route on that day, that is the only likely train most people will want, and that's a Sunday to boot. You wouldn't think it would be completely booked this far in advance, though.

I'd keep trying for a while, a different times, to see if it's a web site problem.

Christina,
I think the "error" in the URL address bar (or whatever you call that space at the top of the computer where the website address appears) is not a website problem; it's telling me that the purchase can't go through and so, the word "error" appears, along with lots of other computer symbols and letters. I get bounced back to an empty reservations page.

The reason I don't think it's a website problem is that this only occurs when I try to pay for that particular train ride; I've found other trains, and when I try to pay for them, there is no problem. As I mentioned, I may just reserve the earlier but longer train, and then check for seats on my preferred train when I get to France. IF the train is really booked up, then the Rail Europe site won't help me.

That little "options" tab definitely is more important than would appear, though! It's on the upper right hand side of the reservations page, and it is how you would select a seat preference. When I click on it for my preferred train, I constantly get "No places available". I thought I was so clever, and even tried 1st class and EVEN smoking! I mean, come on! Smoking? Who'd actually choose that? But even those all come up "No places available" when I click on that options tab. And that seems to be the only way to find out if there are no spaces available.
Okay, so you've all learned more than you'll ever need to know about that darned site!
Paule