Trains on May 1

There are a lot of trains making the Avignon to Lyon trip on May 1. SNCF has not yet opened ticket sales for many of the trains showing as “not bookable yet.” However, if you take a look at www.TheTrainline.com you’ll see there’s a TGV train departing at 8:06am from Avignon and arriving into Lyon at 9:20 that has tickets currently for sale on Trainline for $63. The TER trains take twice as long and cost $10 less on Trainline— a company SNCF contracts with to sell its tix. I usually look at Trainline’s website to see what is available and then check the price with SNCF.before buying them.

Thanks Kenko. I was (am) concerned primarily due to the May 1 holiday. I know trains/busses can have a very limited schedule on that day, so was not clearif "not available yet" could also mean that they might not be available at all. If the schedule states not yet, can I assume that they will eventually be posted? I did sign up for email notification.

It was my understanding that TER trains could also be purchased closer to travel dates, without much increase in price (unlike high-speed trains with confirmed seats). Again, given May 1 holiday, I did not know if that day was a heavy travel date, or very light with most travelers trying to get to their destination before the actual holiday and weekend, as they would in the US. (Typically Christmas day or Thanksgiving day are much lighter travel than before/after).

The trains posted as tickets being “not bookable yet” will have tickets put on sale very soon. I wouldn’t be too concerned about not being able to get train tix since there are so many trains that soon will have their tickets put on sale.

I was on a train a few years ago on May Day ( May 1) and the train was quite full. Not completely sold out— but heavily booked . But that was a train going into Paris which becomes party central on national holidays . Trains traveling from Avignon to Lyon will not be as heavily booked as those going into Paris.

Hi Kj,

The tickets should go on sale this Wednesday:

SNCF Spring ticket sales

-- Mike Beebe

Follow up: I see that the TGV trains are now available to purchase for May 1. However, the cost is no great benefit over the TER trains. Yes, they are faster, but only by 1 hour, which we do not need.

Is my assumption correct that we can simply decide which TER train to take on May 1 rather than purchase a non-refundable TGV ticket in advance? I understand TER trains may be more crowded, and a specific seat is not assigned on TER trains. However, we would far prefer to have the flexibility of choosing which train time on that date, rather than purchase now, and forfeit if the timing does not work for us.

Can the TER trains sell out ahead of time, or could we be "stuck"? Is the assumption also correct that the TGV train cost will likely rise, but the TER train cost should remain consistent even up until the actual travel date?

Thanks to all!

Except for a few TER routes in Normandie and Alsace, there is no reservation system or any kind of counting system on TER trains. Therefore, tickets cannot be sold out. There are sometimes limited-time special offers, but the standard price never changes.