rail travel in Fance

The French state railways SNCF are prepared for many travellers with suitcases on their trains, thus each train car, at least the TGV, has shelves and storage space onboard (not ample though), right in front of the entrance door to the seating areas. I agree, arrive early at the train station in Paris, and wait for your train to be called ready for boarding, then walk out to your designated train car at a brisk pace if possible and get the suitcase onboard! I say "brisk pace" because you will be followed by all other travellers to the train who have been patiently waiting for the boarding call to the train......

To answer your last question there is no way to check in luggage ahead of time as with an airline. You have to be responsible for handling your own luggage. Which is one reason so many of us preach that you need to reduce the amount of luggage you have. Our experience is that there is always adequate luggage space available especially on the high speeds. Some one posted that trains are always there for 30 minutes. That is absolutely not true. IF the train is originating from that station - which is generally the case in Paris, but not always - the train may be there for 30 minutes or longer. However, at Nice the train will be there five minutes as it is passing through - just long enough to load and unload so you do have to be quick.

To pick up on what Frank says - it has been my experience that, in Nice, the platform for trains which do not originate in Nice can often change from what has been announced resulting in a dash down the stairs, through the tunnel, and up the other stairs. Yes, if you are traveling on trains anywhere in Europe, and quite definitely in France, packing light has major advantages. Ross, as you have needs due to your age, as you say, , it would be worth investigating the assistance that the SNCF/TGV can provide. British railways, and I would be quite surprised if the French don't as well, provide assistance to passengers who have needs. You don't have to be in a wheelchair, you just have to need assistance. If you were traveling in England I could help, sorry I can't in France. If you don't hear from others here who live in France or get anywhere with the websites, can I suggest that you go to one of the round information centres in the Gare de Lyon? There are multi-lingual staff in them who are more than happy to provide good information and I expect they would be able to find somebody to help you board. I hope you are successful - especially if you can leave anything at home... Best regards...

We can't do anything about our age (I'm 67), but we can do something about the weight of our bag(s). If you pack intelligently, keeping the weight (1 bag only) under 20# should not be difficult.

Lee, stop bragging about being so damn young!!

Hi Ross,
When you enter the car, drop your bags in the large luggage storage area (no overhead required) and find a seat. If you're nervous about being out of range of your luggage, try to find a seat close to the storage. It's that simple! Have a great trip!

You could buy cable locks to secure your bags to the shelves at the end of the car. You also could buy small locks to secure the zippers on your bags.

Once you get the luggage up into the car, there will be a storage area at the door. No need to lift to an over head bin. I can do it at 69!!

TGV (and for that matter, Eurostar) require that all luggage has a name tag on it. If the luggage has lost its tag there are replacement ones at ticket counters and in the cafe car.

Ross, I share your pain! I can't pack light and should not lift. That said, I used the baggage racks inside the doors. I did keep an eye at them at each stop, just to be safe. Only once I did have a storage problem. Be sure if you are going TGV that you make reservations. There are people at the stations that will help you....look for them before you board.