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Post by kiwigrandma on Apr 8, 2015 6:58:27 GMT
Oz-T thanks for offering to help with regards to gare du nord. Thanks to anyone else who answers as well. We have to get train to ypres early on sat 16th. As we arrive in paris on 30th april at 7 in morning thought we would go and buy tickets then. I've been reading reviews on trip advisor which make me feel a bit anxious. I know it's really big station. Can we buy tickets off person rather than machine. Is information easy to see and in English as well. If we catching tgv train will it be easy to see. When we catch train do we keep luggage with us or does it need to go somewhere else. we will have a suitcase each and a small backpack as we will be away for six weeks. Thanks for help anyone and specially Oz-T. Sorry if they seem silly questions. I've done new thread as thought I'd better get off your travel tale which has been amazing.  |
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Post by Oz-T on Apr 8, 2015 12:33:27 GMT
None of these are silly questions, Kiwigrandma. We all had similar questions the first time. Yes, you can deal with a person at a ticket office instead of a machine and I recommend you do so. Vending machines do have a Union Jack button so you get the display in English but the officer at the ticket office will answer questions. Luggage goes into a designated area in each carriage so you can see it at all times, but you can't keep bulky items at your seat. It's all ok. Train information at the station is in clear signage and easy to follow. However, PA announcements in the carriage are sometimes hard to hear because the locals start talking loudly again after they've heard the information in their language. It's usually just frustrating rather than a real problem. I'll check the train schedules for some more information that I think will help you. Hopefully I can add more tomorrow. |
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Post by Oz-T on Apr 9, 2015 4:14:02 GMT
Ok, I've now found a moment to check this out.... * You arrive at 7am and the next train to Ieper actually leaves at 7:25. This would be cutting it a bit fine if you don't already have tickets and need to queue at a counter. It's also problematic if your incoming transport is running late. On the other hand, an incoming train will probably not be far away from the departing train to Ieper. The 7:25 train is actually the best one if you wish to do the journey with only one change of train (at Antwerp). However, the entire journey will take 4.25 hours). The next couple of trains might be a better idea because you have more time and the duration is 3 hours. The TGV service departs Du Nord at 7:43am and 8:43am respectively. They get you to Lille and you'll have to walk to a different platform to change trains (you have about 20 minutes before the connecting train departs). You then transfer to an intercity service to Kortrijk where you wait 22 minutes for the next train to Ieper. This last leg will be about half an hour. These train services also depart at 9:43, 10:43, 11:43 etc so this tells you that they're so frequent you probably don't need to buy tickets until you get to Paris. Just in case, you may wish to try buying them earlier and there are ways where this should be possible. Go to the following website as they may be able to help.... www.railplus.co.nz They're the agent for Eurail tickets. You're probably looking at $126 for the fare. Don't buy 1st Class because you get almost nothing for the extra $40 per ticket; 2nd class is just fine, and very comfortable. Part or all of your trip will be in a reserved, numbered seat. Sometimes they have restrictions on being able to reserve tickets for particular train services so you might need to abandon this idea and just buy the tickets when you arrive at Gare du Nord. As I said earlier, Gare du Nord is a very large station, but the regional services are all in one area, away from the Metro and RER lines that are lower down. Any signs pointing to SNCF will get you there, but just ask an official if you're unsure (they'll speak enough English to help). * This info is to the best of my researching, but please check it out yourself. I've found that Railplus (Australia) has been good for me in the past, but you could also ask your travel agent (who will probably use Railplus themselves). |
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Post by kiwigrandma on Apr 9, 2015 5:50:56 GMT
Thanks so much Oz-T. Your info is very helpful. I think we will get the tgv train that leaves at 8.43 and we will go and buy tickets on our couple free days in paris. Just didn't want to spend too much time in railway station when I can be looking around paris but we can walk to train station and sightsee on way. I did try rail plus but couldn't pick up tickets in paris and they didn't email them. Also tried travel agent and she thought she could do it but $65 booking fee. Didn't want to spend that much on booking fee. Thanks again for all your help Oz-T much appreciated.
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Post by Oz-T on Apr 9, 2015 5:58:30 GMT
Glad it's of some help, Kiwigrandma. If you're arriving in Paris earlier I would definitely go out of my way to drop into the ticket office at Gare du Nord to buy the tickets early. You'll be more comfortable discussing your options with a person and understanding what train service you're on. |
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Post by fruitloop on Apr 9, 2015 23:50:29 GMT
Hi Kiwigrandma
We caught the train to Ypres last December and as Oz-T said, you have to change trains at Kortrijk.
We didn't realise it but the train splits in two here with the front half going to Poperinge (the end of the line for the Ypres train) and the back half back to Lille. The TV screens on the platform didn't show this information in English and there were no English announcements over the PA system either.
It was only when we were heading back to Lille for the second time that we asked the conductor what we were doing wrong. Fortunately for us his English was really good and we were able to get it right on the third try!
Have a great trip |
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Post by kiwigrandma on Apr 10, 2015 5:04:45 GMT
Thanks for this info. Does it mean we have to get on front of train in Lille. I thought we would get tgv train that goes to Lille where we change trains and then get off in kortrijk and get train to ypres. Is the station at ypres called poperinge. Sounds very confusing to me. Did you enjoy ypres. Did you take luggage on train to ypres. Thanks.
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Post by fruitloop on Apr 10, 2015 14:11:30 GMT
When you get on the train in Lille it doesn't matter which carriage you get on because they all go to Kortrijk.
When you get to Kortrijk you have to change to a new train that is going to Poperinge. It is on this train that goes to Poperinge that you have to make sure you are in one of the carriages in the front half. This may have changed by the time you go so it will be worth asking someone at Kortrijk before you get on the train.
The train station at Ypres is called Ypres. Poperinge is the name of the station at the end of the line.
We took our luggage on the train but we only travel with carry on size cases so we put them in the overhead luggage racks. I can't recall whether there were any racks for larger cases.
We really enjoyed Ypres and are sure you will too. |
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