Collecting French (SNCF) "Ticket On Departure" tickets from outside of France?
For an upcoming trip, I've booked some TGV tickets through Rail Europe. They wanted a surprising amount of money for postage, so I opted instead for the free option of "Ticket On Departure", that is, collecting the ticket from a ticket machine.
Last year I did a similar trip, except then I booked the TGV tickets from Eurostar. For that trip, I was able to collect the TGV tickets from the Eurostar ticket machines at St Pancras before I left. Unfortunately, the Eurostar website wouldn't let me book TGV tickets this year, so I had to go with Rail Europe.
What I'd like to do is to pick up these TGV tickets in advance again, so I don't have to worry about queues in Paris when picking them up (even if I've now got hints on getting the metro tickets and getting across Paris, thanks all!).
Rail Europe provide fairly detailed instructions on using the French ticket machines to pick up Ticket On Departure tickets, but they don't say anything about how you might be able to pick the tickets up from anything other than a SNCF ticket machine in France.
I had a go at picking up the tickets from a SNCB ticket machine in Brussels, but it didn't recognise the booking reference I've got. I also tried the Eurostar machines at St Pancras, but this year they also claimed to not know about the booking reference. This makes me think it may no longer be possible.
So, is it now the case that SNCF ticket on departure tickets can only be collected from ticket machines in France, or is it still possible to get them outside of France?
Best Answer
There used to be a sncf boutique in Brussels. It is now named Rail europe. You can find them at: Rail Europe, Avenue Henri Jaspar 113, 1060 Bruxelles
But can't you print your tickets at home? I haven't been travelling with the sncf for a while, but I used to travel to Paris a lot some years back, where I always downloaded and printed my tickets at home.
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Can I use my train ticket on any route?
Tickets that have been purchased with an \u201cany available route\u201d option can be used with any train company that operates between the stations you wish to travel. Any time tickets are the most flexible and can be used on any train on the chosen day of departure for the journey you have booked.Are TGV tickets transferable?
Please note that you must stick to the exact same route and same train type (e.g. you can't use this type of ticket for a TGV train, even though it has the same destination).Do I have to print my Ouigo ticket?
Ouigo have a phone app, you can avoid the need to print your ticket that way. It might simply be possible just to open up the PDF of the e-ticket on your phone, but it's usually safer to use the app so the barcode is sized correctly and everything for the scanner to read.Do I have to print my TGV ticket?
You can print it out at any time, up until your train's departure. Have a smartphone? No need to print your ticket anymore! Just download the barcode in our app.How to Buy A Paris Metro Ticket (Best Options + 2022 Update)
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Answer 2
I can see this is an old thread but I stumbled across it and wanted to explain why I think you were able to print both tickets before, but not this time.
It sounds as though you previously purchased what's called a "French Connection" fare. These are combined Eurostar+TGV tickets that are bundled together by Eurostar (Eurostar is part-owned by SNCF and consequently permitted to bundle tickets).
French Connection tickets use the same ticket collection reference (and PNR) for both portions of your journey so it is possible to print them all out from a Eurostar machine. French Connection fares are still available for sale from Eurostar among others and sometimes offer a discount on point to point tickets.
However, if you purchase a Eurostar and TGV ticket separately it will only ever be possible to print the Eurostar from one machine, and the TGV from the other. If you have two collection references then this is usually the case. As far as I am aware there are only Ticket on departure (TOD) machines in France. But I have heard that some friendly ticket office staff elsewhere in Europe have printed tickets using the PNR number as reference.
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