There have been a few queries about the Alps train so I thought I’d post this.
– the company that runs it is called Lunea, if you want to research it.
– try not to use Rail Europe’s website. They’re crap and charge you more. Use TGV Europe.
– this summer the night train leaves Austerlitz at 2302 on Saturdays. The return journey varies but for St Gervais it leaves at 2053 on Saturdays (possibly Mondays, too) and gets in at about 0610.
– do not bother getting a taxi from Nord to Austerlitz and vice versa – you’re looking at 20 euros when the metro is easy, no changes, and costs about 1.
– key piece of advice – do not pick up your ticket at the station, particularly if booking on Rail Europe. If you must pick up your ticket at the station (as I do), be prepared for the machine not recognising your credit card or your reference number. I don’t know why, but there are serious flaws in Rail Europe/SNCF’s systems in this regard. Bring a printout of your booking confirmation, make sure you know your couchette number, and bring an online banking printout showing you were debited – be ready to argue/cajole/plead your way onto the train!
– if you book 60 days in advance, the return trip from Paris is £60 for chairs, prices go up dramatically thereafter. No need to box your bike on Lunea trains (but I did).
– chairs are cheap, comfortable-ish but you feel like death when you arrive. And it gets bloody cold – dress warm! The main disadvantage to the seats is that there are a lot of marginal types, people farting, fights threatening to break out, thieves getting kicked off, etc. – if you can afford it, get a couchette.
– soft bike bags e.g. the Cinelli one on Chainreaction disintegrate and scatter your nice bolts all over Paris. Use a box or reinforce the soft bags with duct tape, and put any crucial bolts somewhere else.
– I had no problems with security whatsoever but there were a lot of people who boarded the train with no luggage and were kicked off at the next station, and a lot of drunks on the return trip to Paris (to be distinguished from people who were drunk, which is fine – everyone was getting pissed on the train down, great fun)
Despite all the above I much prefer it to flying, and I think it’s cheaper when excess charges and transfers are taken into account, especially if you’re coming from elsewhere in continental Europe.
