We are joining the RS Loire Valley tour on April 20th. Currently trying to get ideas as to ticket availability on SNCF. There are no direct trains showing on the schedule for April 20th, although the Sunday before(April 13th) shows many hourly options for direct travel. Can a seasoned traveler shed some light? We know that Montparnasse is the station to depart from and that we need to allow enough time to navigate the station with luggage, etc. Will the ticket options open 30 days prior to travel dates or some such parameter? Merci beaucoup!
Posted by
Green Bay
21892 posts
You can wait a bit. There are no trains showing from Sat April 19 through Mon April 21. Could be a construction project and replacement buses are not yet scheduled, or the project could get cancelled.
The RS people can also advise as you get closer, since everyone on the tour will be having the same issue.
Posted by
399 posts
I ran into the opposite sort of problem in Easter 2023. I wanted to make arrangements to go to Giverny for Monet's Garden, checked the train times, booked my Garden tickets and checked about 2 weeks before and all was good for the train. Doublechecked on Thursday before Easter Sunday and there was a train to Giverny but none back to Paris. I called, went to the station and lo and behold there was no train back. Happy ending as I was going to be in Paris again November 2023 and the Garden allowed me to use my ticket then. So yes, there may not be a train.
Posted by
Michigan
12 posts
I had the same situation. I am joining the MyWay Tour in Paris on 22 April. I will be coming from Belgium and there were no Eurorail tickets on Saturday or Sunday. Changed my plans to arrive on Good Friday. There were notes about limited trains due to construction in April but never expected no service on the weekend.
Posted by
Green Bay
21892 posts
Weekends are when they do track maintenance projects so as not to inconvenience commuters.
Posted by
Lake District, England
9078 posts
There are bookable trains showing connecting at Le Mans, and also bookable trains starting from Versailles Chantiers. That is on RER Line C and Transilien Line N from Montparnasse. There is a timetable note that the Transilien service will be confirmed 30 days out.
The RER currently has no scheduled.engineering work that day.
Posted by
France Southwest
2686 posts
There will be work on part of the railway between Paris Montparnasse and Chartres as indicated in the SNCF work notice below:
https://ter-fiches-horaires.sncf.fr/publish/L23%20-%20Tx%20du%2017-02%20au%2025-04.pdf
However on April 20 there are 4 direct trains to Chartres leaving from Austerlitz station in Paris.
Posted by
Green Bay
21892 posts
There are also hourly TER trains from Versailles Chantiers, connections from Paris on the RER C.
Posted by
OP
22 posts
I see the option from Montparnasse to Chartres which travels to Le Mans then back tracks to Chartres for 3 hours and 45 minutes. I had hoped to find a "direct" train to Chartres. It does look like an option listed on SCNF from Austerlitz to Chartres but says non bookable. Wondering if that means No train that day or does it mean Not available to book yet? We really have no other options as one of our group members doesn't arrive in Paris until Saturday. Thanks for all the above information and recommendations!
Posted by
Green Bay
21892 posts
The trains from Austerlitz to Chartres are OUIGO Classique trains. Booking open up 45 days before departure, so your train should be bookable around March 6 or 7.