Have you ever taken the TGV train in France?
This high speed train travels from the North to the southern tips of the country in record breaking time….hence the name train a grande vitesse.
It is a sleek machine that snakes it’s way through the countryside, reaching average start to stop speeds of approximately 280km/h or 174mph for those who don’t do metric. That is fast. So fast, that when the train corners I immediately think, ‘bobsled’ and the-lean-over-and-hug-the-sides-as-you-come-in-for-the-turn kind of feeling. Not that I have ever bobsledded (is that a word) or know anything about that strange recreational pastime… I won’t let that get in the way of a good description. The truth is that my little imaginary train scenario will be the closest I will ever come to catapulting down an ice chute at killer speed in a colourful catsuit.
There are some facts to know about travelling on the TGV and these are not things that anyone will readily tell you.
Once you arrive at the station in France it is all too late as very often there are no officials to help you either. Travelling on this train can be a trap for young players. There is a first time for everything and the first time on the TGV can be a disaster if you don’t know the quirks of the French railway system.
The TGV waits for no man.
It stops for three minutes at the station and that’s that. Passengers get off and passengers get on, with or without bags in that time.
There is very little space on the train for luggage so poor unsuspecting travellers who have their worldly possessions (aka too many suitcases) are going to find this a challenge.
I have. In the three minutes before the whistle blows and the doors close you have to fight your way on, identify your seat and find somewhere to stow your luggage….one big stress.
The answer is simple; to travel TGV travel light.
That brings me to the other little confusion with the TGV.
How to find your carriage in a train that appears to be a mile long with no visible assistance? Not a given and so very easy to go wrong.
Here is how.
On Sunday I had visitors arriving by TGV in Avignon. I waited for them at the station at the correct track and in the approximate spot that they should have alighted – I had their carriage and seat numbers already as I have come to understand the intricacies of French train travel.
I was there ready to help them off with their bags in our three minute window. The train pulls in. The doors open, many passengers struggle out of the doors with all their gear and I recognise not a soul.
I wait, the doors close, the train leaves the station and I check their itinerary to see that I haven’t made a mistake with the time or their carriage number.
The train is the correct one, the time of arrival is exact ( French trains when they run, they run to the minute…I say that with mirth because the national railway system is prone to a strike) but as far as I can see they are not on the train and by now everybody has left.
I start to walk down the length of the platform, digging for my mobile phone to call and see what has happened, when way in the distance I see four little figures walking towards me with their bags in tow.
We meet and greet and I apologise for not being on hand to help them with their gear, explaining somehow I had the wrong carriage and seat numbers. They smiled wearily, shook their heads and told me of their TGV adventure.
They arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport later than they had hoped, navigated their way to the train station with only minutes to spare.
They found their train which stopped in Avignon but was destined for Marseille….another little hurdle, the interim stops are not always marked.
They had bought 4 tickets in Carriage 3, all together, all comfortable. They jumped on the train with moments to spare. Unknowingly, they had failed to see the carriage map that is at the entrance to the TGV platforms which shows in diagram form the position of each carriage in relation to the length of the train.
In their hurry to board they had jumped into a carriage that they thought was 3. The markings painted on the outside of the train do not relate to the carriage numbers. As they negotiated the baggage and looked for the seats, they saw that they were occupied.
Not speaking or understanding a word of French they were hesitant to try and approach the other passengers. They finally found an official who explained to them (in French) that they were in the wrong carriage and that carriage 3 and their seats were at the other end of the train.
He suggested with that old international back stop – sign language – that they get off at the next stop, make a run for it down the platform and try and jump into the correct carriage. All in three minutes….They didn’t make it, they only managed to move down two carriages before the whistle blew and they were on the move again.
At the next stop they asked for more assistance and this time they were waved in the opposite direction.
They hopped off the train again, scurried along the platform to another carriage and jumped back in, nowhere near their reserved seats.
They never found their seats….The moral of the story is that the numeric markings on the train are not the carriage numbers.
The carriages, the number of the train and the final destination are marked in a small glass window near the train’s doorways.
If you don’t manage to board the train at the correct door it is impossible to change carriages as they are not connected and you will be most likely be left standing for the duration of the journey.
As their stress levels dropped and they recounted their tale we could do nothing but laugh.
Imagine these four figures running up and down the platforms with their suitcases rolling behind them. What must the passengers sitting comfortably on the train have thought about these mad Australians who jumped on and off the train with their luggage at every stop.
Happy travelling, however it happens… xv
TGV Tips And Tricks
la voiture means carriage
la voie means platform
le siege is seat
Travel light, there is only three minutes to hop on and off.
Look for the train diagram to make sure of your correct place before you board.
Don’t be confused by the large numbers painted on each carriage of the train.
