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dijon to paris TGV

Help! I've been trying to get a direct TGV train from Dijon Ville to Paris (any station) for October 7, 2023 for some time now. I started looking a couple of months ago (too early) and was advised to wait until closer to our departure date.

It is now just short of just one month away from our departure date, and there literally are just a couple of options around 9:30 am on that day. Am I STILL too early to book? I was assuming that such a common route would have more direct TGV offerings by now. Should I book it? We'd like to leave late morning or early afternoon and obviously prefer not to take the longer 4 - 5 hour trains, which are plentiful (and expensive!)

Posted by
2494 posts

If you go on www.sncf-connect.com and start a booking you get a big banner across the top of the screen explaining that on weekends in September and October there is maintenance going on to the west of Dijon, and as a result no TGVs (and direct trains) from around 11 on Saturday till noon on Sunday.
Hence you only have a few TGV in the morning on that Saturday.

The few expensive longer trips you see in the afternoon actually involve you going south first to Lyon and then take a TGV to Paris from there. A huge detour, and indeed expensive.

Posted by
208 posts

Wow thank you for this information! I usually book through RailEurope or Trainline (SNFC has not been as user-friendly, at least for me), so I have not seen any alerts regarding the limited weekend trains in Sept/Oct.

That explains it. I was just so puzzled. More time in Paris that day-- that's just fine.

Posted by
2494 posts

Apparently the information only appears if you use the French version of the site though.

But this is one reason why, when asking help with train issues, to always mention the date, as you did. That allows those who know their way around the system to find out if something special is going on...

Posted by
208 posts

Many thanks. I'm glad I asked the question--does seem to be "insider" information!