Identification required for train travel
 

I am about to purchase train tickets in France either thru train line or loco2 websites.
They ask to list travelers' names as they appear on their identifications. We are traveling with two others who I can't reach for awhile and don't know if their middle names are on their passports read. I am wondering if middle names are required for train identification purposes if the middle name appears on one's (passport) identification?

I think I answered my own question. The train ticket field does not have a space for a middle name so I assume that first and last names are sufficient.

We just took the TGV from Avignon to Paris last Saturday and the ticket-taker just scanned our tickets. Nobody asked us for IDs. We took the train 2 other times also. Once, nobody even scanned our tickets. Another time they were just scanned - again, no ID.

Stu Dudley

Well I made the mistake several years ago of doing a day trip out of Paris to Angers, I think. I took our tickets, left our passports at the hotel and had an unpleasant encounter with the ticket checker on the train. So now I do carry my passport.

Sounds like you're a train novice -for some understanding of Europe trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Discounted tickets may require ID as they are not transferable I believe to others.

Though, as mentioned above, it may be unlikely IDs will be checked, lack of a field for middle name may not mean they don't care about the names "as they appear on their identifications." I 'd guess that all names, other than the family name, would go in the field for first names. But I suspect it's a nonissue.

A personal note, some years ago when I was making a name change on my passport I simply left off any except my first name and last name and it's made all such things easier. Everything - tickets, credit cards, all transactions of any kind, have a first name and a last name, period. I'll know when I can't remember those 2 my travel days are over.

>>Discounted tickets may require ID as they are not transferable I believe to others.<<

This past Saturday, nobody asked for an ID on my discounted ticket. Same with a discounted ticket on my June 5 trip - although they asked for a "senior" card which I did not know about nor have.

Stu Dudley

I've been asked to show a passport and not been asked. That whole thing obviously depends on the person who checks the tickets.

The OP has answered the question already.

If there is a dispute among passengers who are confused - or have been double-booked seat reservations - the agent will ask for your passports.

If the barcode scans as a genuine ticket, they probably won't both with names.

Only if you printed out multiple copies, gave them to all your friends, and you all bundled onto the train so the conductor found 15 people all with the same genuine print-at-home ticket, THEN he'd start asking for ID to match against the ticket!

They do spot checks; it is not at all systematic.

And don't worry if you reverse your first and last name. It is a very common mistake and quite a few cultures don't even understand the difference between first and last names.

It is a requirement in France that one must always carry identification.

Staff at the boarding platforms for Ouigo trains and iDTGV trains have always made a positive ID to ticket match each time I have taken them.

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>>Staff at the boarding platforms for Ouigo trains and iDTGV trains have always made a positive ID to ticket match each time I have taken them.<<

We did not encounter any staff at the CDG, Lyon, or Avignon boarding platforms.

Stu Dudley

Just have your passport handy and match names on ticket with in passport. So simple - whether they check or not is irrelevant to OP's question.

The only time I have been asked for my passport was when I bought tickets at the SNCF boutique.
Never had to produce my passport unless I was going to another country.