Lack of Passenger Safety on France's High-Speed (TGV) Trains


Recent personal events prompt me to post this in order to point out the unaddressed and unspoken of theft and safety problems on France's high-speed (TGV) trains, so that travelers may be forewarned. This month my wife accompanied our son (a minor) on the TGV from Strasbourg to the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, since he was leaving for a study year in an American high school. As always, after boarding the TGV, they placed their suitcases in the allotted space and took their seats further on. During the trip, she wanted to retrieve something from my son's suitcase, only to find that it had been stolen. His best and favorite belongings for a year abroad, as well as the gifts for his host family : gone !

It turns out that the suitcase was stolen at the Strasbourg train station by a non-passenger who came on board and left with it just before the train's departure. The numbing, nauseating shock of the loss was made worse by the ineffectual response of the French National Railroad or SNCF : they informed the conductor, who only notified SNCF representatives (not the police) at the two previous train stations on their trip. They had to contact the police upon arrival in Paris, with the loss of time that delay implied. Since the suitcase was in the normally allotted space and not formally checked in, the SNCF dis not assume financial responsibility for the loss and insurance coverage through VISA could not apply. I should point out that in over twenty previous TGV trips she has taken, the check-in option had NEVER been mentioned by the SNCF.

When we discussed our mishap with acquaintances in law enforcement and other TGV users, our surprise increased. We found out that baggage thefts are not uncommon, thus prompting forewarned passengers to chain suitcases to racks in the allotted space. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for isolated passengers who fall asleep to have cell phones, laptops and other belongings stolen. Add to this that not everyone on board is a paying passenger with a valid reason for being there, and things are even more worrisome.

Needless to say, the SNCF does not alert passengers to these security risks. TGV ticket prices are high enough for the SNCF to provide more security. No need to be a security expert to point out that with even greater ease than that needed to steal a suitcase before the train's departure, someone could place an explosive device aboard, Until the day the French National Railroad will perhaps do something about this, let's stay alert and keep a calm eye on our belongings and whatever may seem out of place.

You make some valid points...but I would NEVER let my bag out of my sight on a train. I've never understood why people would leave their precious cargo half a train car away.

I'm sorry about your loss of the suitcase and the consequent problems.

Having only done one [return] journey on the TGV, IMO the space allowed for luggage is a major problem - there are far more bags than space allowed which leads to confusion, even panic when people are trying to get on and off.

As for checking the bags, we travelled with a travel rep from the company who had organised our trip and at no point were we told about the option to do this, let alone advised to do so. Do you have a link to the relevant web page?

<i>I've never understood why people would leave their precious cargo half a train car away.</i>

On most trains you don't have much option except to do that as the storage is at the carriage ends with only space for small items nearer.

That is why, just as with checked luggage on flights, nothing that is important, expensive or essential goes into the carriage end luggage

Yes what is this 'checking in' of bags?

What dothehoyshall said. You can't get large cases to your seat in the economy section of the TGV and even if you could, there's nowhere to store them. Also it is an all reservations train so your seat may be a long way from the luggage area. And if you are travelling alone and need the loo, what are you supposed to do? lug your case with you???

<<That is why, just as with checked luggage on flights, nothing that is important, expensive or essential goes into the carriage end luggage>>

As someone who accidentally went off with the wrong case on a recent trip, I agree wholeheartedly. Fortunately we found out about the mistake quite quickly and there was no harm done, but I was glad that DH had agreed to put his meds in the hand luggage.

<nothing that is important, expensive or essential goes into the carriage end luggage>

OK, but my suitcase is generally pretty essential to my trip! I think this warning is very useful, and hope that the proper authorities will think about ways to address rampant theft.

I've never heard of checked bags either. Who does the checking? There aren't many SNCF people around usually. We take about 2-4 TGV trips in France every year, and I keep my eye on our bags between the time I place them in the baggage area, and when the train departs. If there is an intermediate stop - I'll stroll back to the baggage area & keep an eye on them. On an earlier trip, I carried a bicycle chain & lock with me to secure them to something - but I quickly realized that this idea was not practical at all.

>>TGV ticket prices are high enough for the SNCF to provide more security. <<

First class tickets from Paris to Avignon purchased 3 months in advance are 40E and 2nd class cheaper. We always travel first class to get more baggage room and I don't consider 40E to be a high price. Driving would be a high price - 7 hrs & 110E for tolls & gas plus usually an extra day's car rental.

Are there more bags stolen from the airports? For non-international travel, the baggage retrieval area is not secured. Many moons ago I picked up a bag that looked like mine, got home, opened the bag, & it was full of diapers (clean). This was when I was in college.

Stu Dudley

We've always secured our luggage to the bars at the end of the storage area in the car. Even without the possibility of theft, people can mistake bags in the hurry of getting off the train--TGV intermediate stops are very brief. Precious things stay in the hand-held luggage, kept at our seats.

Title should be 'pay attention to your luggage'

I always keep an eye on my luggage until departure.

I am sure not one luggage ever gets stolen on US trains and not one disappears from greyhound buses. But it does happen not only in france i saw it happen in Belgium, I am sure it happens in Germany Italy Spain etc.

As for SNCF what can they do once it has happened ? How to increase security ? Post one guy in each platform until departure ?

Do you have the police at home going off with sirens wailing when a robbery happens ? I had a break in in my house last year police came when they had time and we filled papers for insurance. What else would they do ? What should SNCF do ?

They do alert their passengers though. They tell them to pay attention to luggage and warn when they know if pickpockets present in trainstations. Even in Chinese actually.

What more ? Maybe being helped by passengers not foolishly leaving their luggage unattended.

Next thread will get to complain that thefts happen in restaurants and what do the waiters do ? Run after the thieves ? Search everybody ? Yet the costs of meals are high enough and they get tipped !

Sorry for your loss but if you are not the first to blame (that would be the thief) I would put you in second. And SNCF in third.

Thanks for the info!

You make some valid points...but I would NEVER let my bag out of my sight on a train. I've never understood why people would leave their precious cargo half a train car away.>>

You must have limited train travel experience or else are willing to stand for hours the entire trip in the entryway where the doors are, if this is true, as you cannot always predict where your seat is.

I agree that it is often impossible to always hve your eye on your bags, in fact most of the time for me. If you book a reserved seat, taht seat may not be within eyeshot of the luggage area, so what are you supposed to do? Some cars have some luggage space between the seats, but you can't count on that either.

Now if you always travel with a small case that can be put overhead, sure, that would work, but many people do not.

I try to et on board fairly early, and thus my bag is often under others or at the rear of some and thus would sometimes be difficult to steal by someone trying to do that quickly.

I will admit that I would NEVER leave something valuable in the suitcase I put in the end-car luggage rack (of course all your clothes are valuable, but I mean money, CCs, expensive electronics, etc). So there isn't a single thing that I would ever want to retrieve from my large suitcase during a train trip. I think it is good advice not to leave smaller bags or valuable things in those bags on the end racks.

I am really kind of surprised anyone would want to steal a huge suitcase, having no idea if anything of value would be in it or not. So if this was a smaller totebag/messenger bag, etc., maybe they figured it might have something valuable in it.

Very unfortunate, I'm sorry to hear this.

But it's very rare. It's normal to leave bags at the car ends as millions of people do every day all over Europe. It's a part of daily life here, day in day out.

99.9% of the time there's no problem, no-one steals a bag of assorted laundry and toiletries. But every so often some enterprising thief thinks he'll try his luck, and there's a small spate at one specific location or route until they catch him and stop him. Just as theft of airline checked baggage happens, but is also rare.

Chaining your bags up isn't normal, you'd get funny looks just as you would from the flight attendants if you chained your laptop to the airline table in front of you just in case you fell asleep and someone nicked it!

I always put my bag above my seat, the overheads take anything up to backpack size which is the maximum I ever take anywhere. Often there's a rack inside the saloon near my seat, I use the inside ones not the outside-the-seating-saloon ones.

the only reference I can find on SNCF sites about 'checking luggage' was on idTGV trains where there is an allotment of bags and you must pay a lot extra to exceed that limit.

afpi711,

Thank you for posting. It is sad to hear of a faimly having such a happy event spoiled for them.

The same risk exists on many Italian trains. The police are very keen, however, to keep uticketed passengers off the high-speed trains -- but many very popular destinations in Italy are not serviced by the high speed trains.

I think it is particularly difficult to keep sight of one's bags if you are carrying lots of large luggage, as cruise ship pasengers often do or -- as in this case -- studeents do. Many trains in Italy offer insufficient luggage space overhead and no way to chain luggage to anything.

This was a particular painful situation where there was no choice but to put important items into a bag so large it couldn't be stowed nearby. For other travelers, the very best defense is never to put into luggage any item you would grieve to never see again, and keep the rest with you at all times.

"No need to be a security expert to point out that with even greater ease than that needed to steal a suitcase before the train's departure, someone could place an explosive device aboard"

Frankly, this is what concerns me far more than luggage.

I am sorry to read about your loss. I am always a little nervous about a case left at the end of a carriage. I travel with a day pack and a 22 inch roller. Usually I can fit the roller between seat backs or overhead, but occasionally that's not possible. In those cases I keep as close an eye as possible on the bag during stops - I have been known to get up and follow the departing passengers to the luggage area to make sure. In India I carry a cable lock, but that is expected there. I noticed that the N'Ex express to/from Narita airport in Tokyo had built-in luggage locks, but that is unusual.

It has never occurred to me to check the roller, but if I had a large case I might look into the possibility. I know it is possible on long distance Amtrak trains.

Agreed! And it's so weird to me that Fodorites always line up to basically defend the indefensible. Yes, $hit happens, everywhere, all the time, but if officials are letting unticketed people come and go from the trains at will, that's a problem with a solution. Telling passengers to keep a hold of their luggage is good advice, of course, but authorities have to do their part, too. It's not OK that they shrug it off.

I don't know if tighter security would help in that regard. The explosive could easily be planted by a paying passenger. That's why you see "if you see something, say something" signs everywhere.

If the luggage storage at the end of the car bothers you, pack lighter. I feel bad that your trip was interrupted in such a way- your poor son! Just the worst luck. But if your luggage is out of your hands, and sight, you always run that risk. You shouldn't need to be told that your phone or laptop or purse could disappear on the train if you fell asleep leaving it unsecured. I don't know if I'd feel better about checking a bag. It's like storing a bag at a hotel- you've no way to know who has access to it.

"if officials are letting unticketed people come and go from the trains at will"

That is the way many stations are designed. There are ticket barriers at a lot of major stations, but not the many others. One reason people choose to take trains rather than planes is precisely to avoid the security theater in airports.

I would like to know exactly how the OP knows what happened and HOW it happened.

Was there an eyewitness to this person who boarded at the station, took the bag, and got off the train with it?

I am NOT saying it didn't happen; just want to know how it was discovered, that's all.

This whole snatch the bags routine went on for years at the intermediate stations between Schiphol airport and Centraal Station in A-dam and the thieves never even got ON the train, they simply reached in, grabbed the bags, and ran.