Finding TGV Timetables for Angouleme July 2018

[Red Dragon]

I wondered if the International section of the forum could help me please?

I’ll be travelling from Yorkshire to Angouleme and return in early July.

I'll travel after the 2nd July when the Atlantique TGV line goes live from Tours to Bordeaux.
Travel will be via Leeds and St Pancras International to Angouleme.

I believe I’m correct with the advance ticket release dates: -
East Coast 12 weeks (booking to London Int CIV through Loco2 ?)
Eurostar 180 days
TGV 92 days

Bookings for Eurostar will open in a few days for early July travel, but where can I find the TGV timetables for July 2018 so I can decide whether to book Eurostar to Lille or Paris ?
I’ve done both in the past.

I’m looking for the Paris to Angouleme, and Lille to Angouleme timetables for mid July, so I can book the Eurostar tickets with some confidence.

I also thought I’d read of direct Eurostars from St Pancras International to Bordeaux, am I mistaken?

Thanks

 

[Peter Mugridge]

It was July 2017 when the extension went live, so the new timetable has already been in force for some months.

I'll see if I can find anything timetable-wise and post them here shortly.


Ah... you're right, it's too early to book for July yet but this may help:

https://uk.voyages-sncf.com/en/tgv/route/paris/angouleme#/

 

[Red Dragon]

Thanks
I've worked out my booking dates for each leg, and I've checked the train times on the DB website, but I thought the DB site was still giving the unimproved times after Tours.
I'll check the Seat 61 website again.

 

[Red Dragon]

I just found this on http://frenchrailwayssociety.org/index.php?p=1_11
so I think I can work it out. I was obviously wrong re the 2nd July by a year!.

TGV's from Paris to Bordeaux with multiple stops
Seven TGV's to Bordeaux will each stop 3 times among St-Pierre-des-Corps, Poitiers, Angoulême, Libourne (06:10 (all 4 stations), 08:27, 10:24, 12:27, 14:01, 16:01, 20;54).
The journey time to Bordeaux with 3 stops will be 2h51m
One TGV at 18:19 will stop only at Angoulême.
Other TGV's using L'Océane
There will be seven TGV's from Paris-Montparnasse to La Rochelle. They will depart at 07:27, 08:27, 09:12, 12:27, 15:27, 18:27, 19:27. All but the 09:12 will be non stop to Poitiers. Then, they will stop at Niort and several other stations. The journey time to La Rochelle: 2h43m / 2h49m.
Four cross country TGV's connect Lille with Bordeaux-St-Jean and three from Strasbourg. They use the interconnexion line around Ile-de-France (CDG airport, Marne-la-Vallée TGV, Massy TGV) These trains have been accelerated approximately 40 minutes.
The 06:05 from Lille-Europe leaves Massy TGV at 08:08 and reaches Bordeaux at 10:52.
The 10:58 from Lille Flandres and the 10:06 from Strasbourg Ville join at Massy TGV, departing at 13:04 and reaching Bordeaux at 15:52
The 14:49 from Lille Flandres and the 14:31 from Strasbourg join at Massy TGV and depart at 17:04 reaching Bordeaux at 19:52.
The 16:59 from Lille Flandres and the 16:31 from Strasbourg join at Massy TGV and depart at 19:04. They arrive at Bordeaux at 21:52.
These cross country TGV's are little known because not well advertised and some observers believe that SNCF would like to withdraw them. They stop at the majority of TGV stations along their routes ( 7 or 8 stops).
Ouigo low cost TGV services will start to operate between CDG airport, Massy TGV and Bordeaux. A Ouigo departing 07:38 from Massy TGV will stop at Angoulême and reach Bordeaux at 09:52. A Ouigo will depart CDG airport TGV at 15:16, Massy TGV 16:13 and non stop to Bordeaux 18:15. These workings are balanced by a Ouigo Bordeaux - CDG TGV departing in the morning and a service back to Massy TGV in the evening from Bordeaux.

 

[30907]

The SNCF website used to offer booking alerts, whether the English version now does I don't know. Tickets for the most popular holiday routes go on sale around February, but that may only be Cote d'Azur from past experience. The current timetable should be a good guide.

 

[Red Dragon]

Another useful website I came across is Calculator Soup which allows you to put in the date of travel and the number of days from a travel date to a booking date (92 for SNCF or 180 for Eurostar).
https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/time/date-calendar.php
It produces the date on which bookings open, then set an alarm on your phone calendar as a reminder to book.