French Rail Tickets

[Greenback]

Hi, we are thinking of a little trip to France in a few months. If we bought SNCF ordinary tickets, are they valid for break for journey?

For example, if we bought a return ticket from St Malo to Paris, could we get off somewhere and have a look around on the way or way back?

I don't really know where to start looking. Seat 61 is more geared towards getting there in the first place, and I can't make much sense of the SNCF website!

 

[evil_hippo]

Yes, you can break your journey. I have done so myself a few times. I am not, however, sure if you can do so overnight.

 

[Greenback]

That's OK, with an overnight ferry back, we were thinking of an early train and stopping off for a few hours to kill some time, rather than hanging around Paris waiting!

 

[stut]

Assuming it's not a Prem's ticket, and you're not booked on any reservation-compulsory trains, then yes, it's valid for the whole day of the compostage (and don't forget to stamp the ticket before boarding - if you forget, then seek out the conductor immediately) and you can break as much as you like along the specified route.

However... Beware the période bleue and période blanche, which apply to both TER and Corail services. If you're booked to travel during a période bleue, then your ticket will have a 25% discount built in, but this means that période blanche trains will be blocked from you (although you can buy a supplement).

On a standard week, the période blanche is from 06:30-08:00 and 17:00-18:30 weekdays (plus 14:00-20:00 Fridays), and from 15:00-20:00 on Sundays. There are additional restrictions on peak days - the full calendar is here.

Hope that's clear! Enjoy your trip - I love Normandy.

 

[Greenback]

Thanks, I will have to remember about the blanche - but I suppose it willd epend on where we stop off and the time of the ferry back to Plymouth as to whether it might be relevant. At any rate, I will look forward to using my schoolboy French to try and find out when there!