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Eurostar to Lyon, Avignon and Aix?


Pickles
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Pickles that sounds great, well done them, for this, no swopping trains in Paris, which I don't like when going to Lyon. I used to like the change at Lille option, but apparently it is too difficult for those poor poor staff to work out at Eurostar, so I flew instead.

I hate businesses that 'can't' and are full of xxxt and that 'I' must understand, when it is all pure unadulterated nonsense and very very bad business.

But they will get their act together with the Lille connection, I shall not hold my breath.

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[quote user="Pickles"]According to Midi Libre, on Saturdays between 4th May and 29th June, a Eurostar train will run from St Pancras to Lyon Part Dieu, Avignon and Aix in 4 hours 43 mins, price 109€ second class. The return will take 6 hours because it has to allow for baggage checks at Lyon.

[/quote]

This is not new.  We travelled this route at least twice to Avignon, before we came to live here permanently.  It does seem to have been extended to Aix, which is no bad thing, and the time used to be taken on the return at Avignon, for the necessary customs checks .... I always liked the idea, especially since we then  lived in walking distance of St P, or a tube from Waterloo, as it was in those days.  It only ever ran in the summer months, which is the thing I found most aggravating. 

As I might have said on this forum before - I never change at Paris, it's so much easier to change at Lille when the summer service, as above, does not run.

Idun, I don't know why you had such trouble, I've never changed at Paris in all the times I've travelled down here and back by train .... the last time admittedly being in 2009 ... as I usually go by car now.

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As Judith says, there's nothing particularly new about this.  Only the extension to Aix from the beginning of May until the usual July-start 'direct' service to Avignon only.

The marketeers at Eurostar / SNCF really do need to get their act together ............. but then I'll be 6' under when that happy day arrives!

A Sats only departure at 07.17 ex St P is hardly likely to suit anybody living anywhere other than peeing distance from Central London. The reality is that it isn't on, unless the train is turned round pdq at it's southern destination. However, they persist with 2hr turnrounds (almost certainly crew-related). 

Visitors to us have used the 'direct' Avignon service just once - in mid July.  It was empty.

Anybody coming down here by train should use the St P - Lille - Avignon / Aix / Marseille routing and ignore the so-called special service. As Judith says, it works just fine once you've booked it. Stoke up with your blood pressure dope well before wrestling with the website though!  

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Judith this is part of my reply from Eurostar:

                                                                      --------------------------------------

I have just checked the availability for this on our system and I can

confirm why you are unable to find this online.

Due to the fact that

these trains from Lille do not connect particularly well with the

Eurostar services it is unlikely they will be selected as an option by

the online system.

                                                                      -------------------------------------

There are three stations which would be convenient for me in the Alpes and are all on the Eurostar web site, but as they say, 'no option' to travel via Lille. I have checked on the TGV web site and they could sort this out, and have this option, they simply do not want to.

And yet years ago I have used this service via Lille several times, and booked on line, as the option was available. As computers get better the rail customer service is worse.

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Hi Folks,

Re the web site, or booking via Eurostar at St P:

I used to find the only way to get the trip you wanted was to either visit the St P booking hall in person (feasible for us, we lived close enough) OR to book the journey online in two separate chunks.  ie from UK to Lille and then Lille to wherever (or vice versa).  Otherwise, it routes via Paris, and does not find the CHEAPEST OPTIONS.  Since I usually wanted to travel 1st class in France, (6 hours) but it wasn't worth paying for the first class (I only did it once or twice from Waterloo before they speeded up the service) it is impossible to book the through journey if you don't stay in the same class.

It takes some bravado - often I  had to book the outward (from the UK) two weeks before I book back (this when I was working so limited  holidays) but if I did that I could get the really cheap TGV seats.  I think they have changed the system now and the cheap seats are not so easy to find.

But Idun, I never got any sense out of the Eurostar customer services other than visiting them in person ... but SNCF is just as bad ....they always route you through Paris, and you have to know how to get the system to work for you to make it otherwise .... chose the timing that suits.  EG from here there is now only one train via Lille  a day.... you just have to choose the right time to do it.

Agree, there will be very few takers for a 7am train ... we could have made it, but even then under protest ... we were always told that they could not run more of this service, as the trains were needed elsewhere, or the lines were not available.  Either which reason I took with the proverbial pinch of salt!

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I was happy when the 'lille' option was on the site, now gone. Also for us it becomes very expensive if we don't book a full journey, I have yet to see one that would be economic to book separately.

Also, if booking separately, they have to get you to your destination, but if one of the trains is late and one misses a separate booking it is hard luck, buy another ticket.

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I tried the website for quite some time without being able to find any of the trains mentioned by the OP, although a pop-up listing them did appear briefly a couple of times.

The site was incredibly slow, and I couldn't go back by using the usual button. Maybe my computer is too old [8-)] - or I am.[:(]

I did find one train listed as "direct", but the journey time was 7 hours 40 minutes or so, and when I clicked on it a station change in Paris was shown.

I would have no confidence at all in any tickets booked via this website, so I'll probably go by car, as usual, next time.

 

 

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Although DB can't sell you a ticket for journeys other than to or within Germany, the best site for checking timetables in Europe is

http://www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml

It will easily find the direct Eurostar Saturday summer service to Aix, but if you optionally specify Lille as a stopover it will find about three extra options for changing there.

If needed you can then book Eurostar direct or use Raileurope's website to book both legs of the journey.

Brian (again)

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