jacqueline19

hi
searching on the sncf website there are trains leaving and arriving at same time , same price, same journey time and same station but diffrent train numbers. these trains leave from paris airport to avignon tgv sation at 17:01. am i missing something and which one should i book or are there actually 2 trains leaving
thanks

Sarastro

Trains are sometimes joined together with common departure points and times but one may split after Avignon and travel towards Nimes and the other might travel to Marseille.

Just choose which ever you like. Sometimes the train choice will include the price of the navette or shuttle from the TGV station at Avignon to the old station near the town's center.

winnick

You should also look at iTGV for rates. Depending on the time you want to leave iTGV sells tickets at 1/2 price compared to the SNCF Rail Europe sight. Plus you can select a car that doesn't allow children and which they refer to as their iZEN service. We did that last month and it is amazing how nice it is to ride in a car where no one talks loud, no cell phones are used and no screaming babies.

Sarastro is correct on the train car makeup. I would select the Avignon TGV station as your destination. That station was a joy to come into and the car rental area is just 100 meters away off gently sloping ramps that make dragging luggage a non issue.

kerouac

Just as airlines codeshare, the SNCF and its little brother ID-TGV operate the same trains using different cars.

jacqueline19

thanks all
i did look at itgv but they only leave from gare de lyon and not the airport which is where we are leaving from and forgot to mention. will buy prem tickets 3 months prior which should be about 45 euros each for the 17:01 train on a thursday in november. I am amazed how the prices vary depending on the day of the week and the time

Suzanne2

Ironically, we are doing the same thing on Friday the 19th of November. I have not yet started looking at the train schedules. 2 years ago we went from CDG to Angers without any problems.

jacqueline19

i would also like to know whether we should buy train ticket from perpignan to barcelona in nov ahead of time and would there be any savings. the train is a talgo train leaving at 0856am. the only place i found it is on rail europe and they charge shipping.

t_line

The idTGV tickets have the advantage of being exchangeable (at a small fee) for other idTGV tickets. I don't think the TGV tickets all are. I also travelled in the idTGV idZEN area and it was very quiet, very pleasant. The Avignon station is very easy to get around and as the other posters said, the car rental area is right across the street.
Give yourself LOTS of time to get to the Agignon TGV station especially if you leave in the morning. We got stuck in a traffic jam and wasted 1 hour 15 minutes sitting going nowhere. We heard it is frequently like that!

AlessandraZoe

Agree with Kerouac: the SNCF and idTGV operate the same trains using different cars.

We left from CDG Terminal 2 to Avigon and returned to CDG Terminal 2 on idTGV, so I'm not quite sure why you're not seeing the same.

I haven't anything to offer about the Perpignan to Barcelona legs, though!