France train tickets online - did they change the system?
 

I need info on booking tickets Brugge-Bayeux (via Paris), then another ticket Rennes-Paris.

I bought train tickets in 2006 with no problems and printed them out on the internet, but it looks different this time. They're asking for country of origin/ pick-up location...and I just want to print them out.

Am I on the wrong one? Using sncf, voyages.sncf or somesuch.

And can I buy the Brugge-Bayeux on the same site, need to use RailEurope, or what?

Many thanks.

I just purchased r/t tickets from Paris to Nimes for April with no problems. I opted to pick them up at a kiosk using the same credit card that I used to make the purchase.

I don't know how the system worked before, but it worked just fine for me about 30 minutes ago.

I was at sncf.com

Good luck!

Yes - apparently the web changed a short time ago and is a real mess now. There was a thread about it maybe 2 weeks ago. Perhaps a search will turn it up - but the Fodors search function really doesn't work very well.

Click on my name Iwan2go and you will see a saga! I missed out but others have had success - good luck!

Hi I,

using www.voyages-sncf.com you can print your own PREMS tickets.

Regular tickets have to be picked up or delivered to an address in Europe.

(Some folks have reported wuccessful delivery to the US)

SNCF doesn't want to sell me a ticket from Bruges to Bayeux, but does have PREMS for 97E from Brussels and 39E from Lille Flandres.

Leave the country as France.

You can easily buy your ticket from Bruges in Belgium.

Hope this helps.

((I))

Thank you for your advice. Ira, thanks for the hint to use Brussels-Bayeux, not Bruges-Bayeux. I do have a question, though.

I'm trying to tell my brother, who does not speak French, how to buy this ticket. On the new website, if you click "English" on the bottom, it switches you over to the RailEurope website. I did manage (I think) to get through to the part where you can print them out in French.

Is there any way to do this online in English, and have the tickets sent via email? The PREMs sell out early.

Thanks!

Iwan2go see my response to the other thread about PREMS and try that for English.

ozgirl, thank you, but when I go to the site you give the link for and hit the english flag, it goes to a site that says "document non trouve", the page doesn't exist.

Am I doing something wrong here?

thanks for your time in replying, I do appreciate it!

yes, it will say "document non trouve" when you first click on the link and then it will appear NOT to change when you click on the flag but if you continue with my instructions it should work...?
Try again and let me know where it doesn't work, not that I'm an expert!

Hi I,

>I'm trying to tell my brother, who does not speak French, how to buy this ticket.

I use www.freetranslation.com

((I))

Thanks ozgirl. They must have changed it again...when you insert "uk" it's in English until you click "pick up tickets in France", and then it reverts back to French.

Oh well, just have to buy in French! At least now I know why he was mixed up about it. ira, I'll send over the link on translation.

Merci beaucoup!

Hello Iwan2go, I just did a dummy run and it stayed in English as far as I could go (entering credit card.) However, from past experience I know how bizarre this site can be! Sorry it didn't work for you.