Hi all. My husband and I will be traveling from Beaune to Paris on a strike day, 6/28. We fly home from Paris on 6/29 and only have our Airbnb rental in Beaune until the 28th, so we really must travel that day. I purchased our train tickets months ago before the strikes were announced. Would like some opinions on what we should do. Should we hold out hope that our trains are running (Beaune-Dijon-Paris)? Should we cancel them now? I am not sure we'd get our money back because I've read conflicting info on that... some sites say it's a breeze and we'll be refunded, others say it's not as easy as the train website makes it sound. If we do cancel, best way to get from Beaune to Paris? Thanks!
Posted by
Folsom
2734 posts
The 27th and 28th are both strike days. Consider exchanging your tickets and leaving on the 26th. A few extra days in Paris will be your consolation prize.
Posted by
OP
Kalamazoo, MI
18 posts
That isn't really an option, we are only in Beaune 6/25-6/28. We are also spending the first half of our trip in Paris (before Beaune), so extra time in Paris isn't really necessary.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
You still have a few weeks. We had the same fears/trepidations about Avignon-to-Paris on a strike date in May. Our back-up plan was to keep the rental car one extra day and turn it in to a Paris location, but happily our train DID operate that day although the ones an hour before and an hour after were cancelled.
On an April journey, our pre-booked train was cancelled but we were able to exchange for one an hour later with no trouble. (Did the exchange the day before at SNCF boutique near where we were staying, no cost.)
It's hard to sit and do nothing, but know that NOT ALL trains are cancelled on strike dates. SNCF has been giving indications several weeks in advance as to which trains may be running, and they DO email when your train is officially cancelled, with instructions on what you can do.
Posted by
OP
Kalamazoo, MI
18 posts
Okay thanks for the tips. So you wouldn't recommend we make alternate arrangements yet? I'm looking at bus fares right now but I've read that those aren't an ideal way to travel in France. I suppose a rental car is an option too, but I'm just worried that we won't be able to get out of Beaune IF we find out the day before that our train is cancelled and then it's too late to book something else (bus or car).
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
This strike is not like public transit strikes at home where NOTHING runs -- some trains will be cancelled, some will run. You might have to leave Beaune earlier or later, or take slower train(s) or not sit together.
So from my very limited experience, yes, I would advise wait-and-see but DO keep an eye on how the trains are running. And take action immediately after you find out officially which trains will be running and which not.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10634 posts
Your Beaune to Paris trip is nearly a month away. When the rolling strikes first started at the beginning of April there were many fewer trains running than now. However, more and more trains are running on strike days as time goes on. If on June 27th you get an email that your particular train isn't running, then you should look for an alternative train on the same day.
Posted by
3 posts
we were in a similar situation for 18th June from Paris to Beaune, however we learnt that not all trains will be cancelled for that day, some trains will run as per their schedule. the tickets we had purchased earlier for a specific schedule is likely to be cancelled since we noticed that we are unable to purchase tickets any longer for that time slot. so we went ahead and exchanged the ticket for an earlier slot on the same day. hopefully we expect that not all trains for that day will be cancelled.