France trains

[Thehairs1970]

Pleased to report all went without a hitch. Bordeaux is a huge station and typically my platform 14 was the furthest away. There was no lift at the platform end which was a pain. Fortunately I met another tourer called Jesus so we were able to help each other out. The train was very crowded due to the French holiday weekend. There was just enough space for our 2 bikes but we had to move some luggage out of the way. There was no ticket inspection and no barriers so could have got away with no ticket.

Thank you Jesus, you certainly were my saviour that day!

I like that Jesus helped raise you to a higher level.

[Angstrom]

Otherwise should be TER which generally doesn’t need a bike reservation.

This statement used to be true, but not anymore.
In Occitanie region, reservations have been compulsory (but free) every day in July and August for 2 years, only week-ends in May, June & September. But I realized a few days ago (no other notice sent to users) that booking has been now made compulsory on week-ends year-round (in Occitanie).
Main take away: the statement of free TER, no reservation for bikes is something of the past; one must always check, when planning a trip, and also during the trip, since changes may occur without notice.

[Jdsk]

Otherwise should be TER which generally doesn’t need a bike reservation.

This statement used to be true, but not anymore.
In Occitanie region, reservations have been compulsory (but free) every day in July and August for 2 years, only week-ends in May, June & September. But I realized a few days ago (no other notice sent to users) that booking has been now made compulsory on week-ends year-round (in Occitanie).
Main take away: the statement of free TER, no reservation for bikes is something of the past; one must always check, when planning a trip, and also during the trip, since changes may occur without notice.

By region:
https://www.sncf-voyageurs.com/en/trave ... -on-board/

Jonathan