costa777

I will be visiting France in April 2014 and travelling around with an 9-day France Rail Pass that I'm going to purchase.

I have read through the SNCF Velo website about travelling with bike but found the info and FAQ section provided in their website to be quite generic and did not answer my qestions. It will be great if anyone of you could help answer my questions as below:

1) I learnt that a bike can travel for free on TER trains with the train ticket purchased. Does this also apply to France Rail Pass?

2) For TER trains that show a "bicycle" icon in the train details searched in SNCF website, how does the bicycle coach look like? A separate coach specifically for bicycle like those in regional trains in Italy or it shares the same coach with passengers with a designated area for bicycle?

3) For TER trains that have no "bicycle" icon displayed, can I still travel with my bike on it provided I hold it at a corner as not to obstruct the passageway and door? Will this violate the rules?

4) Same question as no. 3 above for CAR trains?

5) Is the France Rail Pass valid for travel on TGV to Geneva from Lyon?

6) Is the reservation fee for all TGV trains fixed at the same price irrespective of the destination and distance travelled?

Thank you in advance.

Sarastro

4. CAR is probably not a train, it is a bus used in some markets to supplement train service. Buses have no means with which to carry bicycles.

5. Probably but you will need to purchase a reservation which typically costs more than a regular ticket purchased up to 3 months in advance. Reservations available to pass holders can be severely limited.

Generally, French Rail Passes are not a good value and if you are planning on using a train requiring a reservation such as a TGV or Lyria, required reservations are difficult to obtain.

kerouac

I confirm that whenever you see 'car' on an SNCF schedule, it means that a bus is being used.

On TER and RER trains, the bicycle area (when it exists) is at one end of a normal passenger coach.

Christina

5) no, the France railpass is only good for SNCF, the French railway. It isn't good for going to foreign countries. You do get some discount, though, for a TGV to Geneva. Basically, you do have to buy a ticket still, not just use the pass, but you get a passholder fare, subject to availability, though.

No, the reservation fees are not the same for any train or distance. They don't vary that much and aren't that expensive, but I think they can vary from around 5-10 euro.

Pvoyageuse

3) For TER trains that have no "bicycle" icon displayed, can I still travel with my bike on it provided I hold it at a corner as not to obstruct the passageway and door? Will this violate the rules?
The rules vary locally. Some trains do not accept bikes at all and most do not accept them Monday to Friday at peak hours(roiughly 7 am to 9 am and 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm) There are no reservations and it is advisable to be at the station 20 minutes in advance. Some trains have a designated area and some don't - in which case you are allowed to keep your bike with you. There is usually room for 20 bikes per train.

If you want to take a TGV you must make a reservation for your bike and it costs €10. There is room for 2 to 4 bikes per train.

The above rules do not apply if you dissassemble your bike and carry it in a bag. In this case it is considered as hand luggage.

StCirq

Don't buy a French railpass.

costa777

Thanks all for the replies. They have been very helpful to me especially on the clarification about CAR being a bus and not a train. In addition, I have also got a reply from the SNCF office to the email that I have snet to them. Here are their answers:

Question 3 - No

Question 5 - No

bilboburgler

It all starts here
http://www.seat61.com/bike-by-train.htm#.UtVqvfv3KSo