The Train Strike and How I Dealt With It.

Thank you for the excellent advice, Arthur (I guess that's your name).

For those of us who are jet lagged and perhaps confused using a ticket machine, is the ticket office the way to go? I'm guessing they are not at every metro stop.

Don't confuse the train system with the metro system. Metros are not on strike and they don't deal with long haul trains. Go to an SNCF office or an office at a train station. And the OP is giving great advice here; when in a bind like this see a real person who has the power to fix the problem or at least give you a straight answer.

Metros have service windows; these folks may nor may not speak English, usually not much. They can deal with problems you have with ticket machines and in a pinch load a Navigo Decouverte with a credit card. They do not sell tickets or handle money for the most part. A metro person if s/he speaks English might be able to help you with RER commuter trains that are on strike; even on strike though, they are running,just not as often.

The metro machines have an English option and are pretty easy to use so try that first for local travel.

Never mind. We can simply get two tickets and use the second for the return trip.

Just show up on strike day with your ticket and get on any train going to your destination with room for you. Strikes are strikes and nothing operates in a normal fashion. Same thing in Italy. I can't count the number of times I've showed up to board my train and my particular carriage number isn't even on the train. I've learned to just get on, take an empty seat and show my ticket when asked. Never a problem.

aarthur,
I was in Paris in the last two weeks. We had tickets on the Thalys train from Paris to Amsterdam on 4/23, a strike day. On the Sat. before that day, we walked to the local SNCF store, took a number, waited and received good news that our train was going to run as scheduled. It gave us a different feeling for Paris, more like a local. Interesting! Mission accomplished! I agree with you, go to he source and get the information you need.

Tim, while your way MAY work it would not have at Gare D’ Lyon where the ticket for your cancelled train would NOT work in the ticket validation machine that must be cleared to access the train platform. I know this because my friend Mary tried with the wrong ticket. The gate would not open. This would leave you discussing the matter with officials as your train departed.

Now I agree with you they may let you through but it was my experience here that there was a concerted effort being made to divert as may people as possible to non strike days.

I any case it is my belief that if you have a valid ticket in your hands for a train that is actually leaving you have far less to worry about.

Not sure I agree that there was a "concerted effort" to move people to non-strike days -- seemed more like many tourists panicked when they found they had tickets on a strike day and rushed to change dates to avoid any chance of stoppage. SNCF sent me an email when my specific train was indeed cancelled, I went to the nearby SNCF Boutique and got tickets for an alternative train on the same day (with seat reservations) and all went on as re-scheduled. We have reservations on another strike date in about a week -- will keep an eye on SNCF and see what needs to be done. But I DO agree that it's much easier to have tickets in hand for a train that's running than to have to negotiate at the platform.

Whatever you do - do not insult the agent. Be nice.

Just to clarify something that maybe wasn’t clear in my OP, when I referred to the SNCF exerting a concerted effort to divert people to non strike days I was referring to what was happening at the doorway to the ticket office at Gare D’ Lyon. They were positioned at the doorways to take questions and turning many away from getting a number to deal with an agent.

Listening to many of the conversations taking place in English it was apparent that many were getting the same answer I got the first time around. And most people just accepted that answer and walked off.

My experience the day my train left showed me that the answer they were giving just was not workable and made me glad I didnt just accept it.

[I] talked to a customer service person who told me to just show up the next day and talk to the manager at the gate.

On a strike day, your existing ticket would be valid on the alternate train (which could be earlier or later), but with no guarantee of an actual seat.

Not trusting this advice I went back two hours later got back in line and started over. I was told again that my train had been cancelled and that the only train going to Torino was in the afternoon at 14:41, and that there was probably no space on that train, that I should just rebook another day.

*Probably" means that they had not yet looked up seat availability and were making an educated guess about a route with limited service. Once they looked for seat availability, they luckily found some. By going through this extra step, you actually secured a seat assignment (for a 5.5-hour ride). For a shorter train ride, or a route with more departures operating, or for travelers willing to accept the risk of standing up on the train, some people would not bother with this step.

The gate [at Gare de Lyon] would not open [without a timed ticket]. This would leave you discussing the matter with officials as your train departed.

A strike day is definitely the wrong time to be running for a train at the last minute. Plan for possible crowds, delays, or needing assistance. These automated ticket gates are a relatively new thing, but are now an extra step for reaching your long-distance trains in some major city stations in France.

Laura-When did the ticketed gates get installed? I was there a year ago and no gates, must be relatively new?