Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

It would be really good if there was at least one through train a day from Lille to Switzerland and vice versa so that one could avoid changing trains in Paris.
How about extending train 5402 to Basel or Bern? Or a direct Lille-Dijon-Lausanne service? You really don't make enough use of the potential to run through trains round Paris. Until you do this you will not be able to compete with air travel for the Swiss ski market.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

Thanks for your conments Peter. Unfortunately, as a ticket agent we don't have any influence over the routes that operators choose to run. I have to agree with you though that a direct route into Switzerland from Lille would be popular with skiers.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

I'm not sure if its worth setting the alarm clock. Can you tell me what the best price for a familly of 5 from london to say Boug St Maurice will be?

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

I totally agree with peter Mynors.As a ticket agent you could pass these comments on to the relevant agencies/companies as this would only be beneficial to everyone involved-time to be pro-active!

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

Why are fares from London to Nice & return twice as much as I normally pay ? My husband and I are frequent travellers ,having been 4 times this year! Are there any concessions for frequent senior travellers to join?

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

Hi Matthew - Fares from London to Bourg St Maurice start at £109 on day services, but I can't give you a specific quote as I don't know the dates you want to travel. Also, the fares constantly change as we use a live booking system that is being accessed by users throughout Europe. Fares can only be confirmed at the point of payment as availability is always changing.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

Hi Mrs Honey - Without knowing the exact dates you are searching on I can't comment on the fares that you're seeing. If you are a frequent traveller, you may want to consider an SNCF Carte Senior. These give discounts of up to 50% on trains throughout France. They don't cover Eurostar journeys where you can specify a senior fare at the time of booking. You can find more information on the Carte Senior here - www.raileurope.co.uk/Default.aspx?tabid=2081

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

Hello, will winter trains in Spain be available soon/at all? I require a return from Seville to Malaga in December. Thanks.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October -no the overnight trains booking have not been release yet - why?

Could you please tell us why the overnight trains ticket have not be realesed on 13 October as promise. We were very upset. Woke up at 5 and not tickets online for overnigh train. we are not very happy.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

Hi John - Spanish trains are usually only available 60 days in advance of the date of travel. At present it looks like we can book services up to 10 December. However, when the winter timetable change takes place, it often means that services are sometimes not available to book until a couple of weeks before the scheduled departure. If we get any information in advance on when they will be released. we'll flag it on this site's Service Updates page, and also our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

Hi Veronique - I'm sorry to hear you weren't able to book the trains you wanted yesterday. Can you let me know which particular services you wanted and I can look into it for you. We don't know until the booking horizon opens which services will and won't be available to book and we have found that some overnight services, particularly to the French Alps are being affected by engineering works this winter which means that they have not been made available for sale. If you email us via the Contact Us page of this website, we can fully investigate your question.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

i want to book 2 seniors and 2 adults for london to moutiers on boxing day and return Jan1 and i cannot book the tickets can you please help.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

Hi Sue - I can find a route from London to Paris and then Paris to Moutiers on an overnight train on Boxing Day. The times are: London - Paris 1731 / 2047; Paris - Moutiers 2312 / 0702. For the return journey, you will need to travel back in the day as there are no overnight trains running on 1st January. If you are having trouble booking online, try breaking the journey down into shorter legs and adding each one to the basket before moving onto the next leg. If you continue to have problems, get in touch via the Contact Us page of the website and we'll try to help you out.Alternatively, you can call us on 0844 848 5 848 and one of our agents will be able to make the booking for you.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

I am a disabled traveller and finding it nearly inpossible to book to Lille/Marseille on a train that I can be seated at low level on a duplex. I do not want to travel on the higher part of the train.I also want to sit on a table for 2 with my carer. The price is rising daily, it started at £598 now £798. Assistance has to be arranged by myself, their is no ganentee that assistance will be available, in La Belle France either. I will not be taking my wheelchair, just sticks. It seems that their is no help out their, or travel agents, euro star are unable to view French TGV's layouts. I used to travel to Marseille when I was a young child and young adult, now an oap it is a nightmare. By the time I book the price will have risen to £1.000. No one can answer any questions or give a ganrentee and that is what I require. When it is painfull to walk, you need to know where your seat is, also feel confindant that you can take on such a trip. I want to travel just before Christmas whichI know is unwise, but why should'nt I. I know that I am disabled but I should still be able to travel at the busy time of year and visit familly. I feel very sad and do not have a lot of faith anymore, in TGV's or rail travel.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

Hi Alice - I am sorry to hear that you've been having difficulty booking the seats you require. If you contact our call centre on 0844 848 5 848, or visit our Travel Centre at 1 Regent Street, London, then they will be able to request from the booking system both the lower deck, and the table for two. They can then confirm if this has been allocated before completing the booking.
With regards to requiring assistance, if you let the agent know at time of booking that this is required, we can then contact Eurostar to arrange this - you would then need to go to the Customer Assistance Meeting Point prior to travel for this. They will then pass the message onwards to Lille to arrange assistance when you arrive there, who will in turn forward the message to Marseille.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

Do you know if the trains run on boxing day? I know that you dont know the routes until 13 october but I dont want to book flights and discover that I cant get a train?
I want to travel from Oulx - Lyon airport on boxing day are you able to tell me if that route usually runs on boxing day?

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

Hi Kim - Boxing Day isn't really a holiday in Europe, so most services do run to the normal winter timetable. There is a direct service from Oulx to Lyon airport in the morning that I can see on our booking system on Boxing Day, but we won't be able to confirm for certain until the winter timetables are made available later in October. We'll be confirming the date in the next few days hopefully, so keep an eye on this blog or our Facebook or Twitter pages.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

I am delighted to see that there is now at least one direct train a week from Lille to Brig in winter, on Saturdays. It is a pity that you have to leave London so early to make the connection at Lille (dep 10:02), but at least this is a step in the right direction.
I couldn't locate the service (TGV9797) on the Rail Europe booking website but it can be booked on the sbb.ch website.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

PS to my previous comment - the TGV9797 service now does come up on the Rail Europe booking website.

Re: Winter trains go on sale on 13 October

Hi Peter - I'm glad you were able to find the service you were looking for. It is an early start from London, but at least it gives a decent arrival time into Brig. If you do take the service this winter, please let us know what you think - we're always pleased to get feedback on new routes and services.