Please sign in to post.

Booking train Chalon-Sur-Saône to CDG for April 7 2026.

Posted by (New York) on

2 questions:
-Trying to book this last leg of my travels. My TGV from Paris to Arles was booked a while ago, but this route remains "not bookable". Is there a date I should expect it to come online? I've explored and as of today the first bookable journey is March 29. So is 70 days in advance the magic number?

  • This trip will require me to transfer in Lyon Part Dieu. I have 16 minutes to make that transfer. My first train is the 9:28AM TER Train (Operated by SNCF VOYAGEURS), and the second one is a TGV ONOUI. Should I expect to be running up and down stairs or is it an easy across the platform connection? I'm already nervous about this - I'm an older female traveling solo and I still remember my first solo trip in Europe 15 years ago when I missed my train from Venice to Padua because I couldn't figure out the verification. I have built a lot of wiggle room for mistakes into my plans, but I do have to get the last flight home from Paris that day (Air France 8:30 PM). Advice and handholding appreciated :-)
Posted by
23045 posts

I seriously doubt it is a cross-platform connection as you are going from a TER to a TGV. Part Dieu has 12 platforms and it is the busiest station in France outside of Paris. It is always risky to travel long distance on day of airline travel.

PS, looking at the schedule, you could take a TER at 7:25 am, giving you 2 plus hours at Part Dieu, time enough for a leisurely breakfast.

Posted by
15 posts

Thanks Sam. The 8:30 flight is CDG-JFK. I did give this a lot of thought, and thought I left plenty of time for screw ups. This flight is an Airbus 350 which I want to try because of the better cabin pressure (I have GI issues - my gastroenterologist says my GI tract has altitude sickness!) None of the other flights out use that aircraft.

Do you think I should rebook home the next day? There are still comparable mileage premium economy seats on American's one flight and Air France's other flights, so a change is doable but disappointing.

Posted by
2875 posts

IMO it would be better and far less risky and stressful to leave for Paris the day before your flight home. Stay in Paris that night. And you would have time on the 7th to do a little sightseeing before going to the airport.

Posted by
15 posts

Normally I do give myself that extra day, but I thought a night flight home would give me the extra time in case I had trouble with the trains. And like I said, it gets me on a specific plane type. I didn't think to check the earlier trains Sam - I was just going by the options presented on the SNCF website. There is also an 8:26 AM out of Chalon-Sur-Saône that would give me breathing room both when leaving my riverboat and at the Lyon station. If I make this choice, do I have to book 2 separate tickets or is there a way to put the two trains together on the SNCF website?

(Maybe I should repost with an appropriate topic heading since we have veered off from booking the train to the wisdom of my plan to fly home on the day my river cruise ends.)

Posted by
23045 posts

I would take the 8:26 am train. Not sure how it works these days, but with a validated ticket you could ride any TER on that route all day. I would not do separate tickets, as you will be protected if the train is late. There is a later TGV from Part Dieu to CDG that should get you there in time for the flight, if you missed the first one due to late arriving train.

French and Italian rail sites are just not as flexible as German and Swiss ones, where you can specify individual trains on a given route. Maybe someone with more recent experience can comment.

Add Reply

Please do not reply to violations of our Community Guidelines.