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France Eurail Pass Reservations to Bayeaux

Posted by on

We purchased the France Eurail pass through the Rick Steves' website and have not been successful in booking a reservation through Eurail My planner. When selecting a date and time, the message is "prices unavailable. No price results were found. Pass holder reservations may be sold out for this connection but there are other ways to check for available seats." Other ways suggests purchasing the reservation at the train station.

The specific train we are looking for on the Eurail My Planner is TER 3309 which isn't allowing me to add a reservation for 12 EU. Now when I go to the Rick Steves my rail Europe site, I can see the same train, same time, named Nomad (TNO) #3309 and can purchase a ticket for varying prices.

I am assuming that the Eurail pass allotment for this specific train is sold out and that I need to purchase the NOMAD ticket if I want a direct train. Is this assumption correct?

Posted by
27055 posts

TERs are regional trains. There are no seat reservations possible on regional trains. They never sell out. In the very unlikely event you get on a train and find no empty seats, you would stand until someone gets off.

I can see that train (10:59 AM departure) on the SNCF Website. It is labeled "Nomad" with no reference to "TER", but I assume your information is correct on that score.

I think you're fine without a reservation, but let's see what others say who know more about French trains than I do.

Posted by
10176 posts

Eurail passes don't work on regional trains. You have to buy a ticket. Don't forget to have it stamped in the yellow machine in the station before you get on the train.
Eurail passes don't work well in France. The réservations are expensive and limited. Is there any way you can return the pass and buy point to point tickets?

Posted by
27055 posts

Gosh; I didn't know Eurail passes aren't good on regional trains. I haven't used one of those since the 1970s.

Posted by
10176 posts

SNCF broke up into several different companies. When you buy a ticket for an itinerary, you could be getting tickets from three different companies: SNCF for the high-speed trains, Intercités for older, slower trains on specific routes, and regional trains. Each region runs its own local train company.
The Rail Europe list for France has only the high-speed SNCF, Renfe, Thalys, etc. I don't see any regional or Intercités trains. For example, Marseille to Bordeaux is an Intercités.
The OP should call Rail Europe and enquirer.

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