Hi all, I purchased PREMS tickets successfully a couple of years ago and have just done so again for a friend. What I can't remember is whether we needed to validate them anywhere before we boarded or just show them to the conductor when asked? I think we did the latter but I am trying to give some foolproof instructions to my friend and not lead him up the garden path so just wanted to check!
Thanks.

No validation of self-printed Prem's tickets.

The only tickets that you validate are the cardboard tickets that come out of the machines or the ticket offices.

Thanks kerouac, thats what I thought but wanted to be doubly sure when advising someone who is a bit nervous about going solo.

Kerouac, I am buying Prem tickets and having them mailed to France for travel on Oct. 12. Will I need to validate those before boarding train?

Also, I am in the US. Is it possible to print out my Prem. tickets and not have to have them mailed to France? When I try to do things in English, the site reverts to Rail Europe from SNCF.

Merci beaucoup.

PREM tickets are never validated. It is just a piece of paper and is nonrefundable so there would be no point to validating them. Perhaps you don't understand the whole point of validating tickets -- it is to mark them used so you can't try to get a refund on them. For prepaid, nonrefundable tickets, that it thus irrelevant. For regular paper tickets, they are often valid for at least 30 days for any train on a route, so you could try to get a refund.

It is true you can't use the SNCF website in English, I think they figure if you don't know French, you should have to deal with a travel agent (Raileurope), or they just want to earn money from American tourists (SNCF owns part of Raileurope, I think). Of course it is possible to not have PREMs mailed, I think most people do not. YOu are given options as to how you intend to receive them when you buy them online. Printing is one option, they send you a PDF or you can connect to it, mailing is an option if you live in France or maybe some other countries (but not US), or you can pick them up at the train station (at the window or using an automated machine).

If you can't use the French website, I don't know how you planned to have them mailed to you in the first place, whichever option you choose you have to deliberately select (and for mailing, you have to give an address).

I believe if you use www.tgv-europe.com and say you live in the UK (that site asks where you live, regular voyages-sncf does not), it will be in English AND you can buy at regular prices and choose the print option for a PREM, assuming that option is offered when you select a ticket for purchse. I'm not positive of this as I never use the English site, but I think I've read that on here.

Christina is correct. Go to tgv-europe.com and say you live in Great Britain. If you get a Prem's fare, print the ticket yourself. For any other fare you can pick up your ticket at any SNCF station or boutique in France.

I will go to the tgv-europe.com site. Thanks a lot. My former plan was to muddle through the French site and then mail them to our apt. owner.

For the record, Rail Europe is owned by a consortium of national rail companies and SNCF is the majority owner. SNCF recently started allowing tickets to be mailed to Canada so Canadians no longer are bumped to Rail Europe. Maybe there is hope that someday people who live in the USA will get equal treatment.

Be sure to tell your friend to carry ID that matches the name on the PREM ticket - we bought PREMs for a day trip and (foolishly) did not have any ID with us - I don't like to carry around my passport. Fortunately when the agent on the train checked our PREM tickets and asked for ID, he let us off with a warning to be sure to carry ID next time.

In French it is 'composter', and the machine is one that stamps the ticket...look for the yellow box.