Thanks very much - I did not know that, and this is very useful info.
-
Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Night train from Paris to Barcelona
- Thread starter TheSmiths82
- Start date
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
TheSmiths82
Member
I am hoping to start planning this trip tonight now I know I can have the Thursday off. I was looking at an Interail pass but I don't think it will work out any cheaper and it looks like it might be a lot of hassle in terms of filling in the paper work etc. Am I right in thinking that the only UK Journey I can include on that is London to Europe via the Eurostar? E.g I couldn't use it to get from Manchester to Paris as a one day journey?
Finally if I end up booking a London to Manchester CIV ticket is there a time limit between getting to London and my scheduled Eurostar train? There is a Eurostar train at 5pm which I am tempted to get, but I was thinking of getting to London around 12ish so I can get some dinner and relax a bit before the Eurostar train.
Finally if I end up booking a London to Manchester CIV ticket is there a time limit between getting to London and my scheduled Eurostar train? There is a Eurostar train at 5pm which I am tempted to get, but I was thinking of getting to London around 12ish so I can get some dinner and relax a bit before the Eurostar train.
Provided it is 'Global' (all countries) pass, then you could use it [with the E* reservation and supplement] for the entire Manchester-Paris journey on Day one
You're not right in thinking that. You can use up to 2 days in your country of residence, typically to leave and return. This question is asked multiple times per day in multiple Facebook groups, almost always by UK residents. I wonder why...
You can use any train you like to get to London. Get a free reservation if you feel like it.
TheSmiths82
Member
Thanks I was a bit confused with the wording which said one journey from your country of residence. Also are the reservation prices fixed? I am a bit reluctant to buy a ticket and then find that TGV will cost me £100 for the reservation. I am not sure if I should make a separate post about all my questions or keeping them on this thread?
Mainline421
Member
The one journey can utilise an unlimited number of trains. Reservation prices are generally fixed yes, only Nightjet use dynamic pricing now but that's not relevant for this journey. Uniquely for Eurostar and TGVs there is a limited quota but you'll find plenty of availability in advance.
TheSmiths82
Member
How do I find out if the trains are available? Just the usual Renefe/SNCF/Trainline planners? I would like to know my exact plan before I travel.
Edit I think I have found it
https://www.interrail.eu/en/plan-your-trip/interrail-timetable#/
Last edited:
For a good overview of where to book reservations and check for availability, check this page:
Avoid the Interrail website for reservations. it's more expensive, less reliable, has worse refund/exchange conditions, does not always offer PDF reservations and then adds again extra costs for the pleasure of waiting for it to arrive via snail mail...
InterRail & Eurail reservation fees | How to make reservations with a pass
How much are Eurail & InterRail reservation fees for each country and route, how to make reservations with a Eurail or InterRail pass online. What trains does a pass cover in each country?
www.seat61.com
Avoid the Interrail website for reservations. it's more expensive, less reliable, has worse refund/exchange conditions, does not always offer PDF reservations and then adds again extra costs for the pleasure of waiting for it to arrive via snail mail...
Isn't it the case that on (domestic) TGVs there's a quota of Interrail reservations at 10 Euros, then if they run out you can now get one for 20 Euros so long as there are seats left?
For Eurostar I think the quota is based on availability of something like the third most expensive fare, so fairly generous.
Correct.
Something like that indeed. But Eurostar is in such high demand that prices go up rather sooner than later and consequently pass reservations are then not available anymore.
The only TGVs left with a quota are the ones to Brussels. A fairly limited quota they have.
Correct. Though you'll be lucky to get EUR10 at all on busy routes and days.
Otherwise the supplement/reservation fee isn't variable.
My impression (which may be wrong) is that Eurostar-ex-Thalys and TGV-Lyria have a blanket ban rather than a quota on peak trains (Friday evenings, Monday mornings...).
The Belgian Railways International site referenced by Seat61 is useful as it allows test bookings before you buy your IR.
TGV: https://travel.b-europe.com/Eurail-GE/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish
ES: https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass#TravelWish
TheSmiths82
Member
Thanks, I assume I can mix where get the reservations from? The second link is showing trains for Barcelona but not Manchester to Paris for example. I think I am getting the idea of how it all works now though
. It seems more advance tickets have also gone on sale from Paris to Barcelona so I need to do a spreadsheet and calculate everything.Mainline421
Member
Yep, I think you can even get them for the limited counted places when there's no seats. But I didn't want to over complicate things too much, especially as they were only available from a ticket office/TVM for a while, and I didn't know if that was fixed.
Hope so, but unless it's changed recently the ones to/from Germany do too. Although interestingly on board DB staff are capable of selling Interrail "reservations" for that train after the quota is exceeded (for €35), but of course one could probably be fined if it wasn't sorted before the compulsory reservation section started.
Last edited:
Lyria doesn't have any quota. I'm not sure they ever had.
AFAIK Red Eurostar uses buckets, just like the other Eurostar, with the pass holder fares in one of the buckets, so pass holder fares are available as long as fares from that bucket are available. If you find counter examples, please provide them.
They don't anymore.
There's no pass holder quota anymore. But it seems that DB have a separate quota per train for all of their sales, which still complicates things. And some of the DB staff don't know how to book a pass holder reservation. DB now also sell regular reservations online without any warning that they're only valid with a regular flexible ticket; even some DB ticket office staff have sold them as a pass reservation apparently. The guards are quite annoyed about it. Some have you buy a new reservation for the onboard price of €35. You can probably get that back via e.g. the söp but that takes time and effort.
The latter one is supposed to be able to book all TGVs and Eurostars now. They're great for getting an overview of what's available, but I don't use them to book anymore because of the booking fee. I now book on raileurope.com (no booking fee).
Last edited:
nwales58
Member
FWIW last SP bucket for which IR is availis about gbp 175.
I was going by months-in-advance searches a couple of years ago, so happy to be corrected.
Indeed. At least in the summer, one certainly needs to plan ahead.
The old train-ferry-train combination was a lot slower but it did mean you could just turn up on the day and travel with an Interrail pass. (Though in those days you'd have to pay for the UK part of the journey).