Train strike: what should we do?

Hi everyone,

We intend to book our trip accommodation and our TGV tickets to Lourdes,then will be in Paris for 1 week. What should we do if we prepaid our train tickets (PREMM) and there will be a strike. Do TGV have strikes very often? Also if this happened? will SCNF return our fare or just reschedule our tickets for us? It will be very hard for us if this happen because our itinerary is very tight .

Many thanks

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Have you been told a strike is likely or are you worrying about the possibility?

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I am just worriyng about it.If it often happen, then we%26#39;ll consider flying into Lourdes, I don%26#39;t like to fly to Lourdes after such an already long flight from Sydney.

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Strikes do happen in France from time to time but are less likely in June/July/August than at other times. Even when there is a railway strike, there is often a reduced service still running, especially of TGVs.

You can%26#39;t plan for every possible thing that could interfere with your plans, so it%26#39;s best not to worry unduly. I don%26#39;t know what SNCF policy on refunds is, but you could cover yourself financially with a good travel insurance policy.

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Yeah: I think you need to relax see what happens.

We used the TGV service to get from Paris to Bordeaux and then to Provence in September/October last year and had no problems at all. I didn%26#39;t even think about the possibility of a strike!

As the previous poster advised, make sure you have good travel insurance - and maybe contact SCNF to find out what happens if there is a strike or some other reason for a service being delayed.

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I ask this question because we are afraid that in case a train strike happen, we will find ourself sleep on the street :). Being a middle-aged couple, and my hubby is sick, I want to arranged things ahead and make sure there will not any hiccup (Do we know a strike about to be happen few months/weeks ahead?) In case such a strike, is it easy to get a hotel room at last minutes?

Thank you for your help.

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Contrary to popular belief, strikes and social acions are not frequent occurences. But on the occasions when they MAY occur, there tend to be %26#39;..seasons..%26#39; for them--late-spring and early-fall. It may also be coincidental that these periods tend to fall around the end and beginning of university terms. Winter to too cold and damp and summer is too hot and interfere with everyone%26#39;s vacation schedules.

If you feel compelled to worry about something...then worry about your health failing...worry that high oil prices and global economics forcing your airline into bankruptcy...worry that the Seine will overflow its banks after heavy winter snow melt and spring rains...worry that the sky will fall...worr about something else

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Strikes do happen from time to time, but there can also by be strikes on Air France or by air traffic controllers. A train or a plane could have technical problems. Just book your trip and hope the improbable doesn%26#39;t happen %26amp; make sure you%26#39;re insured for missed connections.

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I guess that I must sleep well while my fingers crossed :)

Thank you for your input, but before you laft me, please tell me IF it happen, is it easy to get a hotel room in Paris at the very last minutes?

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I wouldn%26#39;t worry so much about train strikes in France. Even if there is one, the TGV continue running although they may have short delays.

It%26#39;s the unions in Italy that schedule transport strikes every few weeks, but even there, there are always trains that continue to run through the strike period.

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Re hotels -

You don%26#39;t say when you%26#39;re traveling - September and October are the months of the big trade shows, so some days are busier than others. There is a room finder service at Gare du Nord, and also, I think at CDG airport. They can help you find something.

Additionally, you can go to www.ratestogo.com a service that specializes in last minute accommodation. It isn%26#39;t necessary to pay in advance for your hotel on this site, but you should register with them before you travel to make it quick and easy to take advantage of their listings if you should need them.

I have used this service for years for hotels in many cities on three continents and have never had a problem. Rooms and hotels were always as presented.