On se demande vraiment ce qui se passe dans leurs têtes. En tout cas chez la SNCF il manque tout sens pragmatique, toute capacité de se mettre à la place du client, comme on peut le témoigner à chaque fois que l'on utilise les services de la SNCF.
Quelques exemples:Sur le site voyages-sncf, les trains sont proposés avec leur heure de départ, mais sans préciser l'heure d'arrivée. On peut bien sûr faire ses propres calculs basés sur la durée du trajet. Mais pourquoi laisser les clients calculer par exemple départ 13h47 plus durée de trajet 3h34 au lieu de juste écrire l'heure d'arrivée? (voilà, absence se sens pragmatique)Impossible de choisir ses places à partir d'un plan de cabine (comme c'est le cas avec Eurostar ou les compagnies aériennes) - pourquoi?Le plus absurde: en demandant quatre places dans en "Carré 4" en 1er classe dans un TGV on peut se voir attribuer deux places isolées et deux places couloir juste à coté. Bien, peut-être plus de carré disponible. Mais il suffit de faire une résa supplémentaire pour deux personnes, qui eux vont se voir attribuer les deux fenêtres à coté des deux couloirs de la résa précédente. Et mieux encore, en faisant une autre résa pour quatre personnes, on obtient un carré! Pourquoi ne pas l'attribuer à la première réservation? L'attribution des places est complètement aléatoire et les groupes/familles sont éclatés alors qu'ils restent des places ensemble. N'importe quoi...Les profils des clients enregistrés sont reconnus par le site voyages-sncf et on n'a pas besoin de ré-entrer son mot de passe. Mais pourquoi quand on cherche une liaison à partir de la page d'accueil le profil n'est pas reconnu et on doit ré-préciser nom, classe préferée, age, etc. - mais quand on cherche sa liaison sous "train/réserver un billet" les données utilisateurs sont pré-remplies? Pourquoi ne pas mettre en place cette simplification dès la page d'accueil?Pourquoi la SNCF ignorent-elles les cartes de réduction que les clients peuvent avoir à l'étranger? Pour un parcours Berne-Paris via Lausanne le site des CFF reconnaît les cartes de réduction suisses et françaises et calcule le prix en fonction. Dans l'autre sens, sur le site de la SNCF, impossible de faire reconnaître la carte de réduction étrangère. Pourquoi?Certaines informations sont extrêmement bien cachées. Par exemple, il y a plusieurs pages web qui expliquent les bénéfices du programme Grand Voyageur (pourquoi pas une seule?), mais impossible de trouver le nombre de voyages nécessaires pour monter au prochain niveau de statut. Pourquoi?Pourquoi plusieurs applications mobiles pour réserver les billets (voyages-sncf) et pour se renseigner sur les départs et les arrivées (SNCF Direct)? Dans d'autres pays tout se trouve dans une applicationPourquoi devoir "importer" les voyages d'une application (voyages) dans l'autre au lieu de juste utiliser l'identifiant client?Etc, au moins une douzaine d'autres exemples de ce genrePourquoi à la SNCF ils ne conçoivent pas un site web intuitif, simple à utiliser, avec un design clair à la place de cette explosion surchargée de contenu, avec des informations cohérentes et des méchanismes de résa et d'attribution de places transparentes et logiques, et une bonne dose de bon sens pour le tout? Il suffit de regarder le site de la Deutsche Bahn pour voir comment les choses pourraient se faire si seulement la compagnie nationale attachait une importance aux intérêts de ses clients. Mais comme les clients ne sont que des "usagers" qui de toute manière n'ont pas le choix autre que de prendre ou de laisser ce que l'on propose....
Il est grand temps que le monopole tombe pour que la pression de la concurrence force la SNCF de proposer de meilleurs produits et prestations et pense à ses clients au lieu de leur imposer sa propre lourdeur et sa bureaucratie.
Bizarre, tes remarques. D'accord, le site Scnf est loin d'être parfait, mais quand-même, il ne m'a jamais semblé être gêné à ce point. Tiens, en lisant ton premier paragraphe, je me suis dit que ça n'était pas possible, alors je fais un essai, je demande de chez moi (Voiron) à Lyon (grande ville pas très loin), pour demain, à partir de 9 H, et hop, j'ai une liste de trains avec les heures de départ et d'arrivée, et aussi le temps de trajet, donc toutes les comparaisons sont faciles pour choisir (et encore, sur le site, la mise en page est meilleure qu'en faisant un copier/coller ici, donc c'est encore plus facile à lire) :
Dimanche 25/01
Durée01h04
Dimanche 25/01
Départ à :
08h40
De la gare de :
VOIRON
Transporteur :TER
Numéro du train :
17612
Période
Arrivée à :
09h44
A la gare de :
LYON PART DIEU
Durée01h04
Dimanche 25/01
Durée01h05
Dimanche 25/01
Merci, cela prouve exactement à quel point le site SNCF est absurde.
Au lieu d'avoir une seule manière de présenter les horaires avec ou sans prix, il y a deux formes de présenter des résultats. La première, juste les horaires - c'est l'exemple que tu as montré - mais sans possibilité de réservation ni de prix; et il y a une manière complètement différent de montrer les horaires quand on fait une réservation, qui ne montre pas l'heure d'arrivée.
Voici une prise d'écran d'une demande de réservation, qui montre bien la durée de chaque trajet, laissant au client le travail du calcul mental pour savoir à quel heure il arrive. En plus d'un layout confus, de la pub pas pertinente, une barre de raccourcis incompréhensible...
Et par comparaison une prise d'écran du site de la Deutsche Bahn. Là, les choses sont beaucoup plus nettes, l'information mieux structurée, on voit à la fois les horaires de départ et d'arrivée, la durée du trajet, les prix proposés, et en cliquant sur les flèches à cote de chaque train on voit tous les détails: numéro de train, prestations offertes, temps de correspondance - et même la voie de laquelle part le train (un secret d'état chez les cheminots français qui n'annonce le quai de départ que 20 minutes avant. Pourquoi?)
Donc la question se pose: si des exemples de sites bien faites existent chez nos voisins, pourquoi chez nous on a droit à cette oeuvre tellement mal faite que n'importe quel cours d'informatique de CM2 pourrait mieux faire?
A la base Voyages-SNCF n'est qu'une agence en ligne qui vend toutes sortes de voyages. Ce qui la distingue des autres OTA, c'est qu'elle a un accord avec la SNCF pour commercialiser des billets de train. Mais Voyages-SNCF n'est pas un site de la SNCF : le nom est trompeur.
Et c'est la source du problème : la SNCF n'a pas de site de vente en ligne qui lui est propre, comme la Deustche Bahn ou Amtrak par exemple.
Depuis quelque temps, une deuxième agence en ligne est autorisée à vendre des billets SNCF, sur un site qui lui ne vend que des billets de trains. Ce site est ainsi beaucoup moins fouillis est plus intuitif que Voyages-SNCF. Je ne le cite pas ici car voyage-forum n'autorise pas la promotion d'offres de services, mais on sait tous de quel site je parle.
Malheureusement, dans tous les cas Voyages-SNCF et l'autre site de vente en ligne sont contraints d'utiliser les outils de recherche fournis par SNCF, notoirement connus pour ne pas proposer toutes les possibilités de voyage, et aussi pour assigner n'importe quoi en préférence de placement. On peut ainsi passer à coté d'horaires plus pratiques, de trajets alternatifs, ou de prix plus intéressants, disponibles aux guichets ou au téléphone, mais pas en ligne.
Maybe you should be a little more afraid of me than you are right now.
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I’m planning a trip around Italy using only trains or public transport in October (hoping the weather stays nice!).
I’d obviously like to see some tourist destinations, but I also want to get off the beaten path a bit, and I’m hoping to find some help here? I don’t plan to linger too long in the cities.
Starting in the north, I’d like to visit Lake Como or Lake Orta, pass through the Cinque Terre for some hiking, spend a few days in Naples and Rome, then head down to Sicily.
Hi there,
I’ll be traveling to Japan this coming August. We’ve finalized our itinerary and booked our flight tickets. Now I’m at the stage of buying train tickets for the few segments we’ll need to cover:
Tokyo - Hakone
Hakone - Kyoto
Kyoto - Osaka
Osaka - Tokyo
Here are my questions:
a) Is it possible to buy train tickets for these segments from Canada?
b) If so, which website should I use to do this?
c) And if it is possible, will we be able to print our tickets from Canada?
d) If it’s not possible, where in Tokyo should I go to buy these tickets when I arrive?
Hi everyone, I wanted to take the Paris-Berlin overnight train with a sleeper berth, the new service operated by European Sleepers.
24/05/2026 17:45 Paris-Nord (actually 16:00 from Paris Bercy Seine) -> 25/05/2026 9:59 (actually 7:30 in Berlin)
05/06/2026 18:31 Berlin (actually 20:00) -> 06/06/2026 10:00 Paris Nord (actually 12:30)
Part of the journey was operated by bus instead of the promised overnight train.
For 2 people: 340 € round trip
A total disaster. Never again. I was really looking forward to taking the overnight train, but we faced last-minute changes and truly unpleasant travel conditions. Here are the details:
1) 2 days before departure: email announcing a change of departure station for the outbound trip—Bercy Seine bus station instead of Gare du Nord.
2) Change of schedule: 4:00 PM from Bercy instead of 5:45 PM from Gare du Nord.
3) Change of transport mode!! A bus from Paris to Brussels, then an overnight train from Brussels to Berlin. No functional toilets on the bus. No children under 4 allowed on the bus.
4) On the sleeper train at 9:30 PM: no functional toilets in our carriage, so we had to go to other carriages, even in the middle of the night, to find working ones.
5) The onboard staff, though very friendly, were as lost as we were. In particular, they didn’t know how to handle the lower berths, so people using them had less space (armrests and backrests). Berth numbers weren’t respected, so some passengers had to move. The staff also didn’t know who was supposed to join the compartment during the journey.
6) Arrival at 7:30 AM in Berlin instead of 10:00 AM. No arrival announcement. Passengers had to search for staff to get breakfast and ended up with just a coffee (breakfast = 15 €, not bad for just a coffee).
7) Return trip: drastic schedule change announced by email on 26/05/2026—departure at 7:30 PM instead of 6:30 PM, with arrival between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM in Paris instead of 10:00 AM. No change in transport mode announced.
8) Change in transport mode announced by email on the same day (05/06/2026)!! Overnight train from Brussels to Berlin, then a bus from Paris to Brussels. No functional toilets on the bus. Children under 4 banned from the bus, and families in this situation were asked to find another way—after being notified the same day.
9) The overnight train arrived at Berlin station with a 30-minute delay on top of its initial delay (scheduled for 6:31 PM, then 7:30 PM, finally arriving at 8:00 PM). The heating was blasting in the compartment with no way to turn it off. No functional toilets in the carriage. From that point on, customer service stopped responding to my messages.
10) Woken up at 5:00 AM with an announcement in all carriages about arrival in Liège.
11) Woken up again at 6:00 AM to be told we’d arrive in Brussels at 7:00 AM.
12) Arrival in Brussels at 7:00 AM and a one-hour wait for the bus to Paris. No functional toilets on the bus.
13) Arrival at Paris Nord at 12:30 PM, so 2.5 hours late compared to the originally scheduled time.
14) The overnight trains used are very old—I recognized the carriages from 20 years ago!! No functional power outlets, no Wi-Fi, no air conditioning. Five people per compartment is a bit cramped, but I consider these conditions expected (especially the air conditioning), so I’m not complaining about that. There’s already plenty to gripe about with the travel conditions.
I have little hope of getting even a partial refund. Customer service emails acknowledge the discomfort but only offer to reimburse the cost of a coffee on board if we send them the receipt... a bit weak.
I’m sharing this experience in the hope it might help others.
Hi there,
I’d like to take the Train of the Clouds from Lima to Huancayo.
I’ve heard it only runs during certain periods.
Does anyone have info on this?
Thanks!
HuancayoHuancayo
As part of my professional thesis, I’m conducting a study on the evolution of long-distance rail transport in France, particularly since it opened up to competition.
I’ve put together a very quick (about 5-minute) and completely anonymous questionnaire. Your answers will help me better understand users' expectations regarding pricing, frequency, and environmental impact.
We’re planning a 15-day trip to Uzbekistan in March—classic independent itinerary: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva. We’d like to take the train between each city, but I don’t want to lock down the whole trip before we leave.
So, my question is: is it absolutely necessary to book train tickets before departure, whether for the high-speed trains or the regional ones? Is booking really essential for the regional trains?
Hello,
We’re traveling as a family with two boys aged 10 and 12 to Cairo in February. During our trip, we’re planning to take an overnight train (with or without a sleeper) for the Cairo-Aswan route.
Do you know how I can book this remotely?
Also, I’m looking for:
- A local contact to sail the Nile by felucca for 3 days from Aswan
- A contact to guide us in Cairo
Looking forward to your tips, and thanks in advance!
Marie
Hi everyone,
I first traveled solo to Japan in 2019, exploring the Kyushu region (28 days), and I’m planning to return with my daughter (she’s an adult and it’ll be her first time in Asia) from April 25 to May 9.
I’m reaching out on this forum to ask for route ideas—this time north of Tokyo, but without heading to the Sapporo island (I’m saving that for a future trip).
I’d love to take advantage of the cherry blossom season and its festivities.
I’m looking to create a route that’s a little off the beaten path while staying within 5-6 hours by train from Tokyo to avoid spending too much time on transfers.
Thanks in advance for sharing your suggestions and experiences!
Michael
I'm heading to MEXICO IN NOVEMBER 2025. Since private guides and drivers are really expensive—over 300 € per day—I'm thinking of exploring the Yucatán by train. CAN YOU SHARE ANY INFO ON THIS? Thanks
Hi there!
We’re planning to visit Serbia (1 week) and then Montenegro (2nd week) with our kids from April 18 to May 4. We’d prefer to travel by train (overnight if possible), but we’re not sure which platform to book on or when to do it (is it too early?). If anyone has any tips, I’m all ears!!
I wanted to know if it’s possible to go from Tashkent to Almaty by train without passing through Kyrgyzstan. I’ve heard the border is often closed 😕 between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Thanks in advance!
Olivier
Hi there!
We’re planning to head back to Istanbul next year—obviously by plane—and then take the train from Istanbul to Antalya. Has anyone here already made this trip by train with TCDD?
I’d love any tips or info that could be useful for us!
I'd like to go to Montserrat on my own from Barcelona. Share your suggestions with me.
Which train should I take, where to get off, what to see once I arrive, etc.
I need to take a sleeper train from Bangkok to Vientiane in January.
I found some ticket options on 12Go Asia, but booking doesn’t seem possible at the moment. I’ve tried simulations for several dates, but no luck.
I’m wondering if it’s already fully booked, if they’ve stopped selling tickets… yet 12Go still features it every day 😕
Has anyone else run into this issue?
Can I find tickets on another site? (I tried Baolau, but no sleepers left for January 8th.)
Hi there,
I’m a bit late to be worrying about this, but hopefully someone can help me before I leave.
Tomorrow afternoon, I arrive at Lyon Part-Dieu on the TGV at 5:50 PM and take the TER to Mâcon at 6:16 PM. Is a 26-minute transfer doable? Are the TGV and TER on the same departure board? And are they on the same platforms too?
I’ve been to Lyon before but never had to make a connection after arriving.
Thanks
I can’t seem to complete the payment for my trip on the IRCTC (Indian Railways) site. No matter which payment method I choose, my Visa card isn’t accepted.
Has anyone here managed to do it, and if so, could you share the method you used?
Thanks in advance!
Charlie
Starting November 15th, I’ll be arriving in Thailand, and during my stay, I plan to visit the north, around the Chiang Mai area, then head south to the Krabi region.
After Krabi, I’m planning to take an overnight train to Bangkok. I was wondering if there’s a train that leaves from Krabi or Trang, or if I absolutely have to go to Surat Thani?
Also, which official website can I use to book my ticket?
Next, since I’ll be arriving at dawn in Bangkok, I’ve planned to spend 2 days in Kanchanaburi. What’s the most convenient way to get there—bus or train? And if you know any companies or websites, that’d be great.
Hi there,
Does anyone know if there’s a bus from Luang Namtha to Boten to catch the train coming from China to Vientiane? If so, what’s the name of the company? Also, how long does the bus take to cover that distance? What’s the condition of the road like?
Thanks for your help!
Tom
I just realized there’s only one payment method accepted for booking the Mombasa-Nairobi express train ticket online: M-Pesa, a mobile money transfer service used in Africa. Would it be impossible to book as a European?
I’d love to know if any of you have recently eaten on the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
We’ve always ordered food on the train, and it was really good (and super convenient).
But in 2022, we ended up feeling like total idiots (with our 4-year-old daughter...) when we boarded the train only to find out that this service was no longer available... (It was the first time we’d traveled right after COVID.)
That’s also when we saw once again how kind Thai people are—they all offered to share their food with us, even though we were mortified. In the end, we managed to buy some instant noodles, which was better than nothing. Anyway, that’s the little story behind it.
In the following years, we’ve always brought our own meals.
I’ve read online that meal trays are back in service (could you confirm this, please?), but that the quality is really poor. I’ve also seen multiple reports that, even though you can eat well everywhere in Thailand, the train meal was the worst food travelers had during their trip...
Could you give me a recent opinion on this?
We’ll be departing from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Station—do you know if there’s anywhere to buy a meal there before boarding the train?
Thanks so much for your help,
and have a great Sunday!
We’re heading to Thailand in February 2026 and we’d like to take the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Can we book two first-class tickets? I’m only seeing second-class options.
Hi everyone,
For traveling in Rajasthan by train and bus, could you give me some info: where to buy tickets, cost, purchase locations, websites, etc.?
Any tips you have would be super helpful.
Thanks
We’re traveling to Java on October 23, just the two of us.
I’ve read that it’s best to book train tickets in advance on tiket.com.
Is that true, and how far ahead do you recommend?
Are the tickets changeable?
Hi everyone,
I’m planning to travel from Ulaanbaatar to Irkutsk by train this summer but I’m a bit worried about crossing the borders. How does it work? Could anyone share their experience? (I’ve found quite a few accounts of people going *from* Russia *to* Mongolia, but entering a country is never the same as leaving it—especially in this context!)
Can anyone tell me how to book train tickets online? We're planning to travel from HANOI to HO CHI MINH CITY by train, making several stops along the way. I'd also like to find the schedules and the stations where the trains stop.
There are four of us, and we've already planned stops in HANOI / DONG HOI / HUE.
I’m heading to Japan for the second time with my 20-year-old son. During our first trip, we spent two weeks in Tokyo and Kyoto (plus the surrounding areas).
This time, we’re planning to stay in Tokyo for at least 4-5 days and then head to the island of Naoshima.
I’m looking for suggestions and advice:
Is getting to Naoshima from Tokyo complicated? If so, do you have any recommendations for a stopover somewhere? Given that we’d prefer not to move every day, we’d rather settle in one place and then explore on day trips...
Do you think it’s possible to do something like this:
5 nights in Tokyo (Shinjuku)
3 nights in Kyoto
2 nights in Naoshima (or is one night enough??) and if one night is enough, where could I spend a second night on the way back to Tokyo?
2 nights in Tokyo (I’d love your advice on staying in a different neighborhood—last time we stayed near Ueno Park)—keeping in mind we’re flying out of Narita.
I’m considering maybe skipping Kyoto, which I love but has apparently become *very* touristy...
Not really keen on Osaka... since we’ll already have done Tokyo as our "big city." I’d prefer towns where nature is present... (a bit like Kyoto, which offers all that...)
For info, we’ll be traveling by train.
Thanks in advance for all your suggestions and help!
I have one last little question:
Is cash still widely used in Japan, or not at all anymore?
We’re planning this *very* last-minute—I know! But we’d love to spend 4 days soon (within the next 10–12 days) on a city getaway with our young adult kids. Ideally by train, and for this short trip, we’d prefer not to spend more than 4–6 hours in transit, leaving from Lausanne (Switzerland). We’ve been considering Milan, Strasbourg, or Freiburg im Breisgau, but I’ll admit I’m feeling a bit lost...
Venice was our original plan, but the connection changes in Domodossola or Milan are making the travel time longer this year.
It’s peak summer, so there’ll be tourists and it’ll likely be hot, but oh well...
Any suggestions? We love wandering around, taking photos, exploring cities on foot, trying out restaurants, and keeping things low-key.
