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Train strike


JandM
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I'm supposed to be taking the train from London to Bordeaux this coming Monday 6th June.

I've been trying to gauge the strength of the train strikes. It seems that Eurostar to Paris is unaffected, but the freshest news I can find on French internal rail is a Reuters report from yesterday saying that the strike is weakening. But the death of Muhummad Ali seems to have wiped everything else off the agenda today so the news has tried up.

Anyone got any more up to date information on where the strike's going?
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Well I had an intercité booking from Paris this morning. My train was cancelled so I took the one before it, it was very lucky I was there early enough and realised in time that my train was not listed on the trains au départ screen. The train I caught was packed like sardines, those who had seats booked for that train had priority and the rest of us had to squat on the floor or stand for 4 hours, so not amused. Nice little earner for SNCF, run half the trains and cut the running costs in half but still get the same ticket revenue.
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I guess that it would be hard to blame SNCF for the lack of information

They simply won't know until the due time of departure.

Our son is due Barcelona - Nimes tomorrow and simply anything could happen! He'll make it to the border OK, but after that ....... My bet is that it'll be fine.
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I thought a minimum service had to be guaranteed on French trains.

You can board any train after (or before, as shown above) that's running; there may not be any spare sears, but you'd get there.

We met an Australian couple yesterday who had travelled from Paris to Marseille on Friday by train; their train had been cancelled so they had an uncomfortable ride until they managed to get seats when some got off.
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If in doubt and its important, try a bus service. Our son is going Caen/Avranches at the moment to avoid any problems. 3 times out of 4 he has been the only person on the bus. The driver now calls him by his first name. Its also much cheaper, good Wifi and comfortable.
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Well, son made it alright albeit 3 hrs late.

The original tran was cancelled, so a really helpful info clerk at Barcelona put him on a train to Girona, thence a 45 min wait for the later Paris train as far as Nimes. He was later than originally planned, but was able to let us know, so no problems.

Train was packed, given its final destination. For many arriving in the capital at 23.00-ish would have been a problem for onward connections!

It'll be interesting to hear how the OP gets on.

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One of my friends has just returned home from a trip to the UK to support her elderly sister through a cataract op. She was booked to come back via Eurostar last Thursday but didn't manage to travel till yesterday. Her first cancellation on the Thurs was put back till Sunday but this too was cancelled ... at quite literally the very last minute. Having started before 8am yesterday she finally arrived in Brittany at 10pm at night. Bizarrely enough on the same train as another of our friends who had been visiting one of her friends who lives near to Lille and who should have been travelling a couple of days ago.

Chaos is the right word.

Although my friend has nothing but praise for the Eurostar staff who did everything they could to make a bad situation as easy as poss. Her through ticket has 7 cancellations, changes, deferments on it.

The joys of travel during a strike.

Sue

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My son has an interview with the Marines tomorrow, 9am in Brighton.. He left the house yesterday afternoon for Toulouse airport and arrived at 19h00. Flight was supposed to go at 21h55 but was already 3hrs late when he arrived.

They cancelled it at 23h45. By the time he had his luggage and the promise of another flight it was 2:30 am. His flight out tonight at 21h55 is already 1hr late.

Life's a bitch at times. At least when my trains/flights are delayed/cancelled it only costs me a days pay. For him, this could cost him his dreams.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
I hope the Marines were understanding about your son's late arrival, HSD.

Well, here's my London-to-Bordeaux-at-the-height-of-the-strike experience: I made it to Paris from St Pancras with no delays (my companion had bad motion sickness on Eurostar, threw up three times on the train and turned straight back home as soon as we got to Gare du Nord, but that's another story..)

The Monparnasse-Bordeaux/Agen train was packed to the gunnels and late, but it at least it ran and I had a seat, unlike so many of the poor sods from cancelled trains who crammed themselves in. My return train, however, was cancelled, but I managed to get the next one, which itself was late, and found an unreserved seat, although I had to move twice during the journey.

We arrived in Paris 40 minutes late and, because I was already on a later train I only had 45 minutes to make my Eurostar connection (metro journey: 35 minutes. No hope) but I went through the motions of hurrying. But on arriving at Gare du Nord 8 minutes before my train was due to leave, I found that there were scores of others arriving and Eurostar was holding the train, and waiving the requirement to check in 30 minutes in advance. Big relief and thanks to Eurostar for exercising good sense and even better customer relations. Once on the train though there was a group of moaners complaining loudly about the number of people holding up the train . I guess transport companies just can't win.
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I had this email from sncf this morning ;-)

Fin du mouvement de grève SNCF

Cher Eurotrash

Nous sommes conscients que le mouvement de grève des dernières semaines n'a pas été sans conséquences sur votre organisation et nous vous adressons toutes nos excuses pour la gêne occasionnée.

Nous vous remercions de votre patience et nous vous invitons, si vous le souhaitez, à nous adresser vos questions et commentaires en gare, en boutique ou en ligne sur nos sites et applications mobiles.

Nous espérons vous retrouver très vite dans nos gares et nos trains et vous proposer de nouveau un service conforme à nos standards habituels.

Les équipes SNCF

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