Lyon to Arles
 

I will be arriving Lyon at about 1345 on a Friday in May. I plan to go directly to Arles. Will I need to get a cab to the train station or does a train which serves Arles leave from the airport (St. Exupery not the business airport)?
Thank you.

My husband is from the area and thinks you will not be able to get a direct train from St-Exupéry to Arles. You'll likely need to change in Lyon centre or in Avignon to make it all the way to Arles on the train. There is no need to get a cab from St-Exupéry to another rail station. Taking a bus to the centre of lyon and then getting the train from there is also an option depending on what makes most sense with your train connections. Hope this helps :)

If you go to www.voyages-sncf.com you will see that there are direct trains from St-Exupéry to Arles as well as trains that connect in Marseilles and Avignon. I just plugged in a random date in March, but it's clear that you will have lots of options and not need to take a bus or cab or anything else into the center of Lyon.

If you go to www.voyages-sncf.com you will see that there are precisely two direct trains a day from Lyons airport to Arles and your arrival time means you'll just miss one of them.

You can hang around Lyons airport for the rest of the day till the 1925. Or you might get the 1420 to Marseilles and change. But if French immigration is at its usual level of efficiency, you'll probably get to the airport station just in time to see it depart.

In which case, get a taxi (though the tram - every 15 mins, taking 29 mins, http://www.rhonexpress.fr/presentation/?rub_code=81 - is likely to take only slightly longer and be a lot cheaper) to Part Dieu station, whence there are trains connecting elsewhere to Arles every half hour or so. There are no trains or buses from Lyons TGV station to Part Dieu.

That airport is small. It's only a 250-meter walk on a people mover to the train station. I don't see any reason 35 minutes from touchdown would be a real hurdle in terms of making the train, assuming the plane's on time and especially if the OP doesn't check luggage. And if she doesn't make it, there are options for trains that make a single change at Avignon or Marseilles.

Thank you for your responses.