Today is being called “Black Tuesday” here in France, the first day of three months of scheduled train strikes. The strikes, or “grèves”, have already caused chaotic scenes in train stations around the country, as commuters, intercity travelers and tourists grapple with how to get to their destinations.
The train strikes, however, have at least been organized with some transparency for travelers: Two days of strikes (during which SNCF train service is reduced by about 80%) are followed by three days of normal service. This “on again off again” strike schedule allows travelers the opportunity to avoid the strike days when booking, and even re-book their train tickets in advance without penalties.
I’m currently spending the week in Sète, a charming canal-lined city that hugs the Mediterranean in southwestern France. I had planned to travel with my family to Paris by TGV this Sunday, but because of the strikes, re-booked to leave on Saturday instead. (Sunday is a scheduled “strike day”, while Saturday is in the clear.) Fortunately, we hadn’t yet booked our hotel and had some flexibility with our schedule!
So what should you do if you’re wondering how your upcoming trip to France will be impacted by the rail strikes? Read on…
French train strike calendar
This calendar, from the SNCF website, illustrates the strike days in red. Note that the strike is scheduled to run from April 3 through June 28, 2018 (although it may be called off at any time).
If your travel days fall outside these scheduled strike days, you’re fine and don’t need to change your tickets. (You should, however, plan for a full train).
Travelers wait to change their tickets at the Gare de Sète.
What to do if you booked a train on a strike day
If you have already purchased SNCF train tickets on a day marked as a “strike day”, you should change your ticket as soon as possible to a non-strike day, when trains will be running normally. Note that trains on non-strike days are filling up quickly, so you’re encouraged to re-book as soon as possible.
As we mention in more detail below, all train tickets for April travel are currently fully changeable at no cost. However, the SNCF will not automatically change all tickets for May and June travel, and changing tickets may incur extra charges if the fare has increased since you made the original booking. This is because the strike may be called off at any time.
However, that’s hardly reassuring for travelers to France who need to know their itinerary in advance, especially as hotel reservations will need to be made ahead of time. Therefore, we would advise all travelers with tickets that fall on strike days to change them, if possible, to avoid any potential travel disruption. You don’t want to be stuck in the train station wondering where to go for the night.
How to re-book train tickets
If you’re already in France, you can re-book by heading into any train station. Ticketing machines are able to re-book tickets, but you may also head to a ticket counter to re-book with a ticketing agent.
You can also change your ticket online, by heading to the official France national rail service website, oui.sncf. From the railway’s website:
TGV around France and Europe and INTERCITÉS
You can exchange your tickets or request a refund at no extra cost, including non-exchangeable / non-refundable rates.
More info on our OUI.sncf website or app:
- See more on « my bookings » on the website or « my journeys » on the app.
- Enter your booking reference and the name used for the order.
- Proceed to the exchange or cancellation of your ticket
For more information about Eurostar, Lyria, Thalys, and other TGV trains, see this page on the Oui.sncf website.
Note that the above policy refers to train tickets for April. Changing tickets for May or June travel dates may incur an extra charge if the ticket price has increased since the time of booking.
A few more hiccups…
If you have built flexibility into your schedule and have refundable (or changeable) hotel reservations, you should be able to avoid too many travel disruptions by simply bumping train travel dates to non-strike days. That’s the best case scenario.
However, travel issues will arise for the rest of us. For example:
• The SNCF’s website is currently allowing travelers to book trains on strike days without warning them that the trains will likely be cancelled. For example, a strike day is scheduled for June 13, yet a search for Paris-Avignon TGV trips brings up a long list of trains that are currently bookable — but scheduled to be cancelled.
• If you scored a cheap seat on the TGV for May or June and are now forced to change it to avoid a strike day, you’ll likely have to pay the fare difference. So much for early bird savings!
• If you’re forced to rework your travel itinerary because of the strikes but have non-refundable hotel rates, you’ll likely still have to pay for those nights.
• You might consider ditching the train altogether and opting for a rental car instead. That could work, but we forewarned that rental prices will increase because of the strikes, as will traffic. (This morning, for example, traffic into Paris was backed up for four hours…)
Stay up to date
For the latest on the rail strikes, check out this page on Oui.sncf, the official website of the SNCF. Eurostar customers can find more information specific to Eurostar service here.
Share your experience
Have you been impacted by the rail strike or do you have advice for those who might be impacted? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.