Is there any way to choose which seat you get for a TGV seat reservation? I've bought an Interrail seat reservation from Strasbourg to Paris (InOui, not OuiGo) but I seem to have an aisle seat. I've asked SNCF if I could have it changed to a window seat and they said I'd have to refund my existing reservation and get a new one, but I don't know how to do that without ending up with another aisle seat.
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TGV seat reservations
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RailUK Forums
I don't think you can, except by having a seating plan open (eg as if you were booking an actual ticket) and trying until you get a decent seat. Even then, I'm not sure it will work. Even booking offices don't offer proper seat selection, though tye can manage the basics of top deck and bottom deck
Brooke
Member
I don’t think you can pick a specific seat. But depending which booking engine you use, you can request certain characteristics (upper or lower deck, aisle or window).
Thank you. Do you have to follow your seat reservation? The service I already have a reservation for starts at Strasbourg and has no intermediate stops, so trying to find a free window seat might be an option if that's allowed, but it's also a Saturday mid-evening service in July so I doubt there'd be tonnes of unreserved seats.
Edit: I've gone for the SNCB website option and now have a non-aisle seat; now I just hope that it lines up with a window.
Edit: I've gone for the SNCB website option and now have a non-aisle seat; now I just hope that it lines up with a window.
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nwales58
Member
For a grid of which web site offers what level of seat choice see Seat61:
but seat map is only when booking 1st on sncf-connect or trainline so not possible for an Interrail booking which needs b-europe or RailEurope.
Choices on trainline are 'side-by-side', 4-seater and so on whereas sncf used to use cute terms such as duo and coupe.
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www.seat61.com
but seat map is only when booking 1st on sncf-connect or trainline so not possible for an Interrail booking which needs b-europe or RailEurope.
Choices on trainline are 'side-by-side', 4-seater and so on whereas sncf used to use cute terms such as duo and coupe.
There's no problem (and on-train checks on TGVs seem to be less frequent now platform access is controlled). I've sat in an unreserved seat from Paris, moving a few minutes after departure to allow for late arrivals walking through.
Rail Europe would have saved you €4 and you can also indicate preferences there (no seat map though).
Quite - not available to pass users (nor on most websites for normal fare).
Unfortunately SNCF stopped selling pass reservations online and in their app a few years ago.
danchester
Member
- Joined
- 3 Oct 2018
- Messages
- 5
Yes, the best bet for interrail reservations is using Rail Europe and continually adding to your basket until you get a seat you are happy with (sometimes it obeys your preferences well, sometimes it doesn't...). Unless there is a very specific seat you want that usually suffices.
Reservations with SNCF can be a lottery. Just today I read a story about a family being separated over multiple couchette compartments, which was then fixed after calling SNCF. So there was a free compartment for them after all.
That's my experience too, I asked for a window seat and got plonked in the aisle...with an empty window seat next to me.
Okay, cheers then!
nwales58
Member
Computer shrugs and says 'bof'
Gerald Fiennes
Member
- Joined
- 7 Jan 2009
- Messages
- 869
Yes, the famous SNCF resa system formerly known as Socrates still lives! Renowned for, on occasion, packing the pax in from one end of the car, facing backwards.... No one will check which seat you are sitting in, the on-board staff (if you see them) just look to see you have ticket + resa. But if someone subsequently shows up with the seat reservation, you are expected to move back to your reserved place.
On Duplex trains, the downstairs is pretty claustrophobic as there is no door exit at one end. The upstairs is better.
With Interrail (or for most reservations) there is no way to select a place. Reservations through SNCF's own site and apps will allow seat selection, but (Catch 22 spoiler alert), they won't (as mentioned above) do IR or FIP reservations....
The system's been this way ever since TGV's began, so I guess the French have just got used to it! Something to with 'Egalite, Fraternite', presumably?!!!
On Duplex trains, the downstairs is pretty claustrophobic as there is no door exit at one end. The upstairs is better.
With Interrail (or for most reservations) there is no way to select a place. Reservations through SNCF's own site and apps will allow seat selection, but (Catch 22 spoiler alert), they won't (as mentioned above) do IR or FIP reservations....
The system's been this way ever since TGV's began, so I guess the French have just got used to it! Something to with 'Egalite, Fraternite', presumably?!!!
SNCF did sell Interrail reservations online and in their app until a few years ago. Fortunately, you can now do that on Rail Europe without extra booking fees. My choice (solo seat) was respected in all trains over the past weekend so I was happy.
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