As I posted a while ago, I purchases Cologne-Paris roundtrip tickets on Thalys.com . I chose the option to print out tickets at home. The to/from tickets are separate pages.

So far as I know, there won't be any impediments to making the trip, but weather has been so crazy lately I want to be prepared for various contingencies. Suppose I miss the Cologne-Paris leg. Is there any way this would prevent me from taking the Paris-Cologne leg, like it does with roundtrip airfares?

No problem - just bring both tickets with you as sometimes - ie if its a very cheap fare - it is supposed to be both ways. (They really just want to make sure you haven't given away/sold one half) but this check hardly ever happens.

No, because you don't "check in" for the train - the SNCF/Thalys can't know whether you have taken the first leg or not.

Yes or No,
Yes if it is a specific Return discount, you have to show both tickets and the first one has to be validated (by the conductor)
No if it is a full price ticket (since it doesn't make any price difference there is no checking anbout the 1st leg)
You can throw away the return part f a discounted return ticket, not the 1st one.
I've seen more than one person obliged to buy a new full price ticket plus a fine in the Thalys.
If you miss your train and your ticket is exchangeable - you can change the 1st part in the station and keep the second part (with a small fee).
Else you can go at the ticket at the counter to se what is possible.

Norween, this is a discounted return ticket. So it does sound that if I'm very unlucky and miss the first leg (which I'd have to be - it's 27 hours after landing), I'm out of luck.

Hey will,

If you end up 27 hr late, you probably didn't make the plane at all.

Don't worry and enjoy your visit.

Ira, true enough, but you know how weather has been lately, and mostly I'm just good at worrying about unlikely things .

WillTravel, I am looking to do the exact same thing, purchase a ticket from Thalys.com from Cologne to Paris. I want to book a SMYLS (sp?) roundtrip ticket and discard the second half as we are flying home from Paris. Even buying the roundtrip and throwing away half is cheaper than buy a one-way. Did you have any problems buying and printing online? I would say I live in Germany as we will be there for a time first but still print them at home.

The agent I was talking to about buying a German train pass, a Eurail sales agency, offered to scout them out and buy them for me but I'm wondering if he would charge me a fee for that.

Anyway just wondering if anyone can see any problem doing that.

Hi CR,

If you use the first half of the ticket, no one will know or care if you used the second half.

That's what I thought. Thanks