France trains

[robing]

Hi, I have never taken the bike on the train in France. I am looking specifically for Bordeaux to La Rochelle. Anyone with any knowhow?

[Jdsk]

There's a lot of great advice in the forum archives.

In addition to that I'd get familiar with:
https://int.bahn.de/en?dbkanal_007=sprachauswahl-en
https://www.seat61.com/France.htm

Jonathan

[al_yrpal]

My experience is that if you go to the booking office to book they will tell you on what trains bikes are permitted.

Al

[robing]

Thanks well I'm in Bordeaux so I'll just head to the station tomorrow. From what I can see bike ticket is mandatory and costs 3E in addition to the rail ticket.

[MrsHJ]

There is an intercity train I think between these two cities. Bike would need to be booked for that one. Otherwise should be TER which generally doesn’t need a bike reservation.

You might need to check the ?Aquitaine rules for bikes in the summer on ter trains but I’m not sure anyone takes all that much notice.

Can all be seen on the SNCF connection website. I have the app on my phone and you can buy tickets and reserve bike spaces using it.

[Will]

If you go to https://naq.ter.veloabord.fr/ then you can see how many bikes spaces are available for each train journey.

Will

[robing]

Thanks all. You do need a bike reservation for the TER on that route so did that first for 3E then downloaded SNCF connect app and bought the passenger ticket. So all done in the comfort of my hotel room on my phone, no need to go to station.

Plus with electronic tickets you don't need to do that validation nonsense

[simonhill]

Glad you've got it sorted.

2 years ago I caught TER from Bayonne (mid way stop) to nearly Bordeaux (rode last 20 Kms).

No booking office only machines. I bought my tickets (twice). It asked if had bike or dog. You then select bike. I don't remember if there was a bike charge (think not) and wasn't sure if this was a bike reservation.

I boarded train with no checks.

If you get a few minutes you could have a look at the ticket machine and see if it can still all be done there.

[st599_uk]

The SNCF app is terrible for searching, but you can use the Deutsche Bahn app to find which trains can take bikes then book and download a ticket on SNCF.

Last time we went to Cherbourg, there was a train in 10 mins and one in 2.5 hours, saw a load of cyclists in the queue, so booked our tickets on the app, straight through the gate and in to the last bike spaces available.

[robing]

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!

[mattheus]

There is an intercity train I think between these two cities. Bike would need to be booked for that one. Otherwise should be TER which generally doesn’t need a bike reservation.

You might need to check the ?Aquitaine rules for bikes in the summer on ter trains but I’m not sure anyone takes all that much notice.

Can all be seen on the SNCF connection website. I have the app on my phone and you can buy tickets and reserve bike spaces using it.

Yeah, seems like most TER now require reservation in the summer months (suspect there is no standard definition of "summer" ?!?). May-Sep inclusive in Nouvelle-Aquitaine:

Le Billet Vélo est obligatoire du 1er mai au 28 septembre 2025 sur les lignes suivantes :

La Rochelle | Rochefort | Saintes | Bordeaux (ligne 15)

[robing]

Booked another one Nantes to Rennes tomorrow. This also required a bike reservation for 1 Euro.

[robing]

Yesterday's trip was quite difficult due to a cancelled train so the one I was on was rammed and then required a change.

[MrsHJ]

Yesterday's trip was quite difficult due to a cancelled train so the one I was on was rammed and then required a change.

Bad luck. I recommend a Paris Brest from the patisserie in this situation.

[robing]

Wet day yesterday so took another train - Rennes to Avranches - best one yet. Not too busy and had 3 dedicated staff to help with bikes.

SNCF is good and easy to use. All 3 trains I used required bike reservations. €3, 1 and 0 cost respectively.