Help! I have booked 2 non refundable Thalys tickets on April 17 from Brussels to Paris. I am having difficulty sorting out all of the information about the transportation strike and cannot figure out If we are going to be able to use these tickets? My husband and I are traveling independently and if at all possible, we want to avoid a last minute problem. What other options are available to make this trip? I will greatly appreciate the expertise and recommendations of fellow travelers.
Posted by
Chicago
7827 posts
It is not a fact that a strike is happening on that day 3 months from now.
No one can say that the train scheduled 3 months from now is going to be cancelled because of a strike.I
Thalys will contact you days before April 17th of your tickets are cancelled.
You can fly from Brussels to Paris or take a bus rent a car but 3 months from now those could be cancelled at the last-minute also. I
I just traveled through France during the strike. The French National rail company informed me 2 to 4 nights in advance via email when my reservation was cancelled due to the strike
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
You are worried about something three months from now ? lol
Posted by
Paris
9562 posts
Hopefully this will not be an issue in April, but none of us has any way of knowing right now.
Alternate options would be as others have said a bus (such as Flixbus), a car service (or renting a car buy high drop off fee for dropping a car in Belgium if it has been rented in France), or, heaven forfend, a flight.
Hopefully none of this will be necessary as just thinking of all these makes it so clear how much by far the better option the train is!!
Posted by
97 posts
HI how do you know that there will be a strike? Thalys normally let you know if there is a change. I would not worry yet,,, still far away.
Posted by
the Middle Coast
292 posts
Echoing all the others - stay calm and don't worry too much, there are workarounds if there were to be a strike.
It might be comforting to check out a site like busbud.com (kind of like Travelocity or Expedia for buses) so you can see that there are lots of buses that you could take even if a train ended up not being an option. You should know enough in advance to make a backup plan. I hope you'll have an excellent trip!
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
Don't worry. First, there may or may not be a strike - so it could be no problem at all. Second, when there is a strike, a percentage of the trains run anyway - so it could be no problem at all. Third, worst case, your train will be taken off the schedule due to a strike. If that happens, you will have to go to customer service in the train station and have them book a train that will run. It's a hassle because customer service will be filled with travelers in the same predicament. Otherwise, you will still get there and not lose the value of your ticket.
Don't worry. Roll with it and consider it a travel experience.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
13927 posts
I think you are cautious to ask this question now especially if you are new to travel in France.
The only thing I would do is not try to have some kind of other plan for that day - either a flight back home or an onward train journey. I have not traveled during the last strike but they happen frequently enough that I give myself some flex time around my train travel days and try not to load other non-negotiable plans right before or after in case I wind up being put on an earlier or later train.