Is OUIGO (rail) as bad as I hear?

Just have to ask-you have two non-refundable tickets. Are you going to throw them away based on how someone replies to your post?

What are these concerns?

I took them Bordeaux to Paris last January 2018 . OUIGO is just high speed rail without a dining car and the high price of the TGV it seemed. You bought tickets and then started reading reviews; what concerns do you have?

Here is a fairly positive view:

https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2018/01/16/op-ed-frances-low-cost-tgv-ouigo-impresses-on-price-and-service/

Just be sure you check in on time, pay for bags if larger than a carry-on, and bring your own food and beverage.

No, I'm not throwing out our tickets or basing my reality on somebody's review.

I was searching to find out if I needed to pay extra if my bag was a smidge over size (I do), and that's where I found several examples of fairly bad, crowded experiences with long waits queuing up to get on the train.

SInce I'll be really tired from an international flight, I just wanted to get a picture of what I'm in for.

But there is currently a rail strike going on in France. All train service Ouigo SNCF and TGV are owned by the same company the SNCF are affected by this. When you buy your ticket online with Ouigo there rules say that it is 5 euros if the bag is over their size limit. Otherwise it is 20 euros if they discover this when you show up for your train and did not pay the 5 euros intially.

The woman just asked a question. Yeesh. Can travelers post a question without the question being critiqued? I am seeing too much snobbery from folks on the forums lately.

OUIGO is a budget train service. Lower ticket prices, just like with OUIGO’s model which are the budget airlines, come with some compromises. Those compromises are more seats packed into the train, fewer customer sevice reps, online only ticketing and customer service, and paying for luggage. I suggest paying the 5€ up front if you know your bag is oversized. Maybe no one would have called you on it but if they do, you will pay more at the station and wait longer. I’ve used OUIGO without a problem but I tend to read T&Cs closely and follow them. Many bad reviews that I have seen for OUIGO read to me like reviews from people who do not realize that it is a lower-priced, lower service level alternative to regular TGVs. The boarding process is a little less smooth than it is for the TGVs but it is not horrible. Depending on the amount of savings, it could be worth it, but if you are arriving on a long flight that goes into CDG and the budget and timing permit, I think the ease of taking a TGV from CDG to Bordeaux might be worth consideration.

Huh. I had no idea OUIGO had a reputation of being bad! I used it countless times last year and other than having to do electronic tickets, never noticed a difference between those and the regular TGVs. Yes, there was a queue while they check your ticket before you can access the train platform, but this didn't bother me at all and added like maybe 90 secs to the whole process--I actually thought that was just a new procedure for all SNCF trains until I realized it was just ouigo. Wondering where you've read the bad reviews--betting they are either tourists confused by the procedures, or French irritated by changes to their habits :) Either way, I didn't have a single bad experience using it in a year of bebopping around France!

Ticket checks before boarding are coming to more TGVs, not just Ouigo. But as far as I've read, that process will be done by automated ticket gates that are only (so far) installed in a few major city stations.

Ouigo may use a different procedure, such as checks done by staff on the platform, if that's cheaper for them than sending staff on the whole train ride. They do clearly state deadlines for you to be on the platform. All the multiple service differences on this budget-high-speed option are designed to help the railway cut costs.