Eurostar query

A snowHead

I want to get the train this year, and I'm looking at the train times right now and there only seem to be 2 trains back from Paris on Saturday 26th Feb. That surely can't be right, can it? Or should I assume that all the other services are fully booked??!?

A snowHead

All their schedules are still running well below normal with no trains stopping at either Ashford or Ebsfleet still.

Will probably come back I would have thought as travel picks up.

Train I was on today was busy, not surprising when you consider there is still very limited flight capacity ex Gatwick to Paris.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

There is something called a pandemic on Smile

, so with much lower demand, Eurostar are only running about 4 or 5 trains a day to/from Paris. Entirely feasible that on a half-term weekend 2 or 3 of those are fully-booked. If demand returns to pre-Covid levels before then I would expect them to add some more services

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I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your query. I would check with Eurostar.

If there are better train options back on Sunday I'd recommend staying Saturday night at Novotel Gare de Lyon. You could then see a sight in Paris on Saturday afternoon.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Eurostar recently added more services per day up to November or December - from 2 to 5 per day I think (still a fraction of normal of course). I'd expect that more will appear nearer the time.

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@Timmycb5, i was tempted to get the train for a solo xmas trip to the 3v's, but although i could book the (albeit limited service) eurostar, the TGV to moutiers was unable to book when i looked last week.

in the end I had to settle on flying, if the train costs were the same as the current timetable, flying and transfer slightly cheaper than the train. i mentioned it on another thread, that if environmentally transport is to be encouraged, it should be made easy to book in advance, with at least similar costs!!!

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Thanks for the responses everyone.

@Weathercam, that makes sense. Hope it picks back up!

@ecureuil, pan-what? Never heard of it.

@PaulO78, hope so. If not I think I will got for @snowymum, recommendations of staying over and getting a Sunday train. My teenage daughters will be delighted to spend an afternoon and evening in Paris.

@terrygasson, couldn’t agree with you more. It’s seems insane to me that air fares are cheaper than train fares.

After all it is free

@terrygasson it seems the TGV are late to open their books. I’m looking for Jan and having to use early December to give an indication of what’s available.

The issue I’ve found is theres no late afternoon return from Paris on a Saturday. So we may need an overnight stay in Paris.

Or we will probably drive as the cost of transfers from Geneva are madness Puzzled

For those travelling down to London from elsewhere, is it better to arrive in London the night before and stay overnight, travelling down to resort via Paris in one day - or take an extra day and do the trip through London to Paris and stop there overnight? An 8am train from ST Pancras would see in in Bourg St Maurice at 18:46, which is a pretty long day - though at least we'd be fairly comfortably seated

Going home is not as critical so I might be tempted to overnight in Paris rather than London

Also, how easy is it to get from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon with bags / boots / skis? I know how to get from Euston to St Pancras, though that's a walk from A to B with all those things...

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answering my own question:

http://youtube.com/v/RSAHTKVBVwg

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@nbt, answering your first question, about whether to overnight in London before catching Eurostar (hereafter E*) - the answer is, it depends…

I’ve started many train trips into Europe from Edinburgh and also Manchester for work and for fun; mostly I’ve not stayed in London. eg, Edin/ Manc to Berlin, Hamburg, Nurnberg, Nimes etc is fine in a day, or Edin-Brussels-Cologne for the sleeper to Innsbruck; caveat these are based pre-covid timetables.

Of course some destinations require an early start from London which makes an overnight there inevitable.

The things you need to decide are (1) what train you want from Paris/ Brussels to your ultimate destination, (2) how much connection time to allow in Paris/ Brussels, (3) what E* you need to be on to allow that connection, and thus (4) what time you need to arrive in London to checkin for that E*.

Starting from Edin I’d aim for c60 mins connection time in London (ie between scheduled arrival into KingsX/ Euston and last checkin for my E* at St Pancras); sometimes up to 90 mins feels a bit more comfortable. Starting from Manc I’d be more relaxed with less than 60 mins.

NB, however I always try to get a CIV-protected ticket for the journey within UK to London (you need to specify London International CIV as your destination, not Euston or Kings X or St Pancras) - CIV means that in the event of a delayed train and missed connection, you’re covered to be put on the next available train or accommodated for the night, an agreement which applies across different train operators and countries. It also often means you can get a cheaper ticket for the UK domestic leg (eg Manc-London) than you’d usually expect. Check out the useful guidance on this here (option 3) - https://www.seat61.com/european-travel-from-uk-regions.htm

Happy travelling Happy

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@inboard, thanks for that. I've used eurostar a lot in the past, but I lived in London then (an itwas at Waterloo!) and was only going to Paris. This (if it comes off) would be a bigger journey

You know it makes sense.

@nbt, sorry - just spotted your earlier detail about 0800 from St Pancras to BSM! I’d think that was a strong contender for overnight in London; is it even possible to get to St Pancras from Manc before 0730? I can recommend the Holiday inn places - I think a Hub and/ or Express - which are just around the side of St Pancras, if you just need somewhere clean, close by, and reasonably priced to rest your head for the night.

@Lucywuk, definitely second your emphasis on the importance of (boozy) train picnics Very Happy

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

A snowHead

Hmm 3 hour lunch in Paris. Didn’t think of that positive!!
There’s a beautiful restaurant at Gare de Lyon that I’ve never had time to try.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

If you fancy stretching your legs for 20 mins, try here Chez Janou

https://maps.app.goo.gl/tgbFtQZTdone45k3A

It's awesome.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Inboard, thanks for that great link. When we lived in or near London we took Eurostar several times (either direct or change in Paris) but not so easy now. However as a couple of relative leisure nowadays we do need to look at either finding a hotel near Kings Cross/St Pancras (and taking in a show) or in Paris (for a meal out). Tough from Yorkshire in a day.

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seems like sncf tickets for xmas period is now available to book, so out of interest i tried going through eurostar website first of all, but was only able to get an outbound (18th dec) fare, strangely i was unable to get an inbound fare for the 26th dec (or 27th) for that matter.

But was able to get fare quotes, trying to book the eurostar and sncf tickets separately.
the total fare with standard eurostar and 2nd class sncf came in at £380 (£210 of that is the eurostar), without transfer (probably about another £50) from moutiers to les menuires.

the cost for flying and the transfer, has come in at £210 in total!!

i am travelling on my own, but if you are going with a family the costs by train obviously shoot up massively, absolutely no incentive to go by train if it is nearly double the cost of flying!!!

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@terrygasson, I've actually just booked tickets this evening as well. A long weekend with a mate late Jan. The tickets from London to Oulx (20 mins from Montgenevre) combined were roughly £200 return. Because of the transfer time, the transfer cost will be negligible, so works for us. I don't actually think we could fly and transfer cheaper, but that is helped by the proximity of the train station to the resort.

I've looked at the family trip to Montgenevre for half term, and whilst I can't book it because the return TGV tickets aren't yet released, the outbound TGV train alone are €200 each! Shocked

Add on £100 each for the Eurostar, plus the return leg of the TGV, and it is potentially hideously expensive. That said, I'm not entirely sure I can get plane and transfer for much cheaper.

After all it is free

@Timmycb5, i assume the half term train prices are similar to flights with "dynamic pricing"?

I am going with my 2 daughters to the 3v at feb half term, we are flying with easyjet, but that is only because of the crazy seat and baggage charges that we have managed to carry over from a couple of years ago.

if it was not for that, we would be returning to driving out, I actually don't mind this method, nor do the kids. but it would have been good to have a reasonable option via train!!

How much time do you “really” need for the transfer from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon?

And linked with that, how often is the Eurostar late into Gare du Nord?

I’m getting nervous that I haven’t left myself quite enough time to get between them (46 mins). I know the RER journey only takes 9 mins and they run every 3-4 mins, so unless the Eurostar is mega late, or I walk like a snail, at I over worrying?

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@Timmycb5,

46 minutes should be OK. The longest time is walking down the platform, getting to the underground and the same at the next station.
The tube takes only a few minutes.

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@stewart woodward, thanks

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My husband panics and thinks anything under an hour is tight. But looking at Seat61 he said his best time was 26 minutes platform to platform.

One top tip I got from him was to buy metro tickets (I get 4 for 2 of us so have them for the way home) from the buffet car on the Eurostar. Saves loads of time faffing with ticket machines at Gare du Nord. Costs about €2 a ticket which is a few cents more. But we’ll worth the pennies.

@Lucywuk, good tip. Means we can just concentrate on heading straight for the RER

You know it makes sense.

I think you can get metro tickets in departures at St Pancras... well I did many years ago

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

+1 for the faff of RER tickets etc

Couple of weeks back I did a day trip to Paris CDG airport to deliver something and finding the RER was not super easy.

Be warned the tickets seem to be very sensitive to mobile phones and mine didn't work on the exit, so had to tuck in behind someone to get out of the gates and then get a new one for the return, so place them well apart.

Also seemed a bit of a mare getting out of the RER back to the mainline Eurostar terminal with quite a few gates to go through, not helped by me binning my ticket, so it was back to going behind someone else!

I too was on a tightish schedule as I was getting the Eurostar back and had to get out to CDG then find the hotel and get back etc

So stress levels went through the roof when all trains to CDG from Gare du Nord were cancelled due to a security scare, so nearly opted for a taxi.

Not a day's excursion I'd like to repeat!

A snowHead

Thanks @holidayloverxx and @Weathercam.

I’d heard about the mobile phone thing affecting them. Will definitely keep them separate.

Not worried about the way back. We have a 3 hour window over lunch, so will treat ourselves to a nice bite to eat.

A snowHead

@Timmycb5, Eurostar trains are about 400m long, so a seat nearer the platform end at Gare-du-Nord helps: try for the higher-number coaches. And at Paris-Gare-du-Lyon there are 2 departure halls, about 300m apart (before up to 200m length of TGV); try to find out which one you need in advance, so that you exit the RER heading for the right hall.

Getting these wrong can easily add 10 minutes, or more with luggage.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Timmycb5, It is possible to cross Paris by RER in that time but you are cutting it a bit fine so definitely make sure you are by the door ready to be first off Eurostar, buy the RER tickets in the buffet and research the letter of the RER line and destination so you can make your way quickly to the correct RER platform. Bear in mind that Gare de Lyon is large and as I have mentioned previously has two departure halls so it can take a few mins to resurface from the RER and orientate oneself.

To anyone who hasn't already booked I'd allow at least an hour to change trains in Paris. Usually if you book a through ticket they will not give you a connection that is less than an hour...or at least that used to be the case.

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RER is line D
And with a pre bought ticket and an easy roller case (makes all the difference in pace you can walk) it is simple. I want to say the ‘hall’ at the Gare de Lyon is 2. But your ticket will tell you. We’ve done it twice and it was deffo less than 30 mins each time. The most it took once on the way back was 40 mins and that was due to issues on the metro.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

That’s everyone. I’m going with a mate for the first trip. We’re both over 6 foot so will be walking swiftly.

This might sound daft, but does the Eurostar go into Gard do Nord front first? Ie it doesn’t do anything weird like some trains at Reading and B’ham New Street and turn around halfway?

If so I’ll position myself as near the front as possible and maybe even walk down through the train 5 mins before it arrives so we’re at the door ready to alight as soon as it’s in the station.

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If you’re not in a hurry on the way back (and it’s not rush hour), I’d take the bus - less steps to schlep up and down with your luggage, and you get to see a bit of Parisian street life (this is from memory from the last year of the couchettes, so might be a bit rose-tinted). I think it was just one bus, and it kills a bit of time as well.

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As someone mentioned book seats in the cars which are nearest the front into Paris. Eg car 16 or 18 depending on the train. Or at least the highest number possible. This will save an up to 400m walk.

I think my transfer is around 52 mins (not that I’ve booked yet!) and I’ll be making sure my seats are as far towards the front of the train as possible.

After all it is free

@Lucywuk, I don’t recall being able to book the seats on the Eurostar. I’ll log back in and have a look!

Just logged in. Changed to coach 13 of a 16 coach train (16 being the forward most), and were right at the front of that near the luggage rack and by the door. That should help. Cheers

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For those of us going on the train, who also happen to have unvaccinated teenagers in tow. How do we solve this particular problem…..

The test to enter France (ie a U.K. LF test) isn’t valid for pass sanitaire purposes, but is enough (presumably) to embark on the Eurostar at St Pancras.

Travel on trains requires the pass sanitaire (I’ve no idea of this causes a problem before we reach Paris…). To get on the TGV at GdL, the unvaccinated teenager will need a French administered test! How the hell do we do this?

Help!!

Eurostar query

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