Yes, Another TGV Question - Quick Answer Needed Please
 

Briefly, DD called, plane to CDG is delayed and even though they booked their TGV to Bordeaux 5 hours after plane was supposed to land, they are not sure if they will make it.

Two questions:

What are the odds of making a 14:16 TGV from CDG TGV 2 (they are arriving on AA #48 - I cant remember what terminal) if the plane lands at say 12:38?

They are trying to decide in the next 40 minutes (before their hopeful takeoff time) if they will exchange their tix for the 16:25 TGV. They have exchangable tix.

Thanks, opinions please on what would be their best course of action.

OOPS


They don't know if they should exchange tix now before they takeoff at hopefully 7:00 CST or wait until landing in CDG.

Merci

Do they have checked bags which they will have to retrieve - or carry-ons only??

1 hr 40 mins should be OK with carry-ons only, but I would be nervous if I had to pick up checked bags. Usually, we get through immigration quickly, but have to wait for our bags.

Stu Dudley

Thanks Stu. Both have checked bags.

I guess we should investigate if they need to change tix now before they leave USA or can they do that upon arrival at CDG?

Also, are they carrying TGV tickets which have already been printed, or do they have to pick up tickets at the train station?

I would never book a 1 hr 40 min connection with checked bags and tickets I had to pick up at the station. An extra 2 hr 10 min wait at the TGV station would relieve a lot of anxiety.

Stu Dudley

I don't know what the penalty "fees" are if they get to the train station and their scheduled train has already left. They may have to pay an additional full-fare. I've never had to do this so I can't suggest whether to change reservations now or wait till you get there.

I have to go to the Gym now - good luck.

Stu Dudley

By contrast, I don't find this so alarming, that seems like enough time to me, if it is 1:40, don't see the problem. And I always check bags. I don't know why it would take longer than that.

The way to approach this is to book the later train and exchange tickets for the earlier departure. There is a 10€ fee for exchanging tickets on the day of departure as long as the originally scheduled train has not left the station.

Of course, any response is guesswork because unless we really know exactly what type of tickets they have, no one can answer accurately.

Thanks Christina. That time is approximate as they haven't even taken off yet. Ugh.

But they are young and their plan now is to run to catch the 14:15 train and if not then just re-buy tix. Double ugh because SNCF already lost their first tix and yet charged them (they are still investigating and put in a claim on their credit card).

Thanks again

Any other experiences??

Thanks sasatro. I did state they have exchangeable tix.

The problem was that they were trying to decide to change before they left USA but turns out Sncf cannot locate their reservation online and thus they can't do that.

They are just gonna run like hell and try. If not, I guess they buy more tix. Sigh...

They should be able to exchange their tickets for the TGV on the day if they don't make it to their original train on time.

A couple of years ago I missed my train to Lyon from Paris due to a mixture of flight delays and my cutting the train reservation too close. I missed the train by a matter of minutes. I went to the ticket desk and as it was clear that there was no way I could have caught this train, they immediately exchanged it with no extra fees or quibble for the next train (and I'm not sure I even had an exchangeable ticket!). They should be fine :)

soogies

Did she make the TGV?

Stu Dudley

Here is a quote from the tgv-europe.com site concerning the TGV 2NDE ticket:

Can be exchanged free of charge up to 1 hour after the departure of the train, and can be exchanged and refunded with a 50% administrative charge up to 60 days after departure
- Simplified purchase or exchange (Express Pro Line, Pro Minute Exchange Terminals)
- Last Minute Access: if you did not have time to exchange your ticket, your reservation allows you to take the previous or following train to the same destination at the last minute, but with no guarantee of a seat.

For any discount fare ticket, if you miss your train you forfeit the ticket.

Allow up to one hour to get through immigration/passport control and plenty of time to stand in line at the ticket window at the CDG TGV station to retrieve your ticket. A two-hour connection time would be the bare minimum--and three hours would be better to allow for a late flight.

Well, it isn't the bare minimum because I have done this several times in less than 2 hrs and had time to spare when I already had my ticket. Besides, the person already had their ticket, that's the point.

Thanks everyone. TGW- as Christina pointed out they already had tix. They are experienced travelers and actually allowed FIVE hours from the time they landed. Ths was whittled away by the over three hour plane delay.

Good news, though! They made the train with 45 minutes to spare.

For future reference anybody: they arrived on American Airlines terminal 2 at 12:34, did immigration and got their bags and were at the TGV at 1:30. So, like Christina said, it can be done in under two hours.

Thanks everyone for the responses.

I just saw this and am very glad they made the train.

FYI for the future, DH and I were very early for a TGV from Avignon to Paris. He checked to see if we could take the earlier TGV. The answer was yes but it was going to cost 100 extra euros total so we waited.

UPDATE , Bordeaux - Paris

For future reference, the girls missed their early train this morning out of Bordeaux. Prems tix in hand. However, DD managed to convince the clerk to just exchange for new tix for the next train out - at no charge! So there ya go - you never know unless you ask.

In '01 we had tickets on the TGV from the Avignon TGV station to CDG. This was the 3rd day that the new TGV was running. On the first 2 days, the TGV was 1 1/2 hrs late. We had to meet my 80 YO FIL at CDG (he was flying in from the US) and then catch another TGV to Brittany (Rennes). This was my FIL's first visit to France since he was there in '44 - carrying a gun.

We went to the "ville" ticket office in Avignon the day before our trip and tried to tell a clerk that we needed to exchange our tickets for an earlier run because we had to meet my 83 YO FIL and couldn't chance missing him. The clerk said "no". We asked if a "supervisor" could authorize it, and he said "yes" but the "supervisor" was gone for the day. The clerk said to try to exchange the tickets tomorrow at the TGV station.

We got to the TGV station the next day and asked the clerk if we could take an earlier departure because we were meeting my 85 YO FIL and didn't want to miss him. The clerk said "no", but suggested that we ask the conductor who was supervising people boarding the train.

We didn't see a conductor, so we just boarded the train anyway. We sat down in a car and remarked about how comfortable it was. After we departed, the conductor arrived to "punch" our tickets. My wife's French "deteriorated" and she tried to explain to him that we needed to meet her 90 YO father at CDG because he was returning to France for the first time since WWII and he needed help "navigating", and we were worried that our "original" train would arrive too late. He said OK - but he said we could not sit in First Class (this was our first TGV trip) so he seated us in the 2nd class smoking car. We arrived at CDG on time.

Stu Dudley

Stu - thanks for haring that nice story. Its a bright point in ones day when things work out this way, non?