Auto train from Paris to Briancon

Boxerfan

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I've just returned from a 4 day trip riding the Alps, absolutely spectacular, a little bit of the RDGA and many Col's,every single bend brought a new breathtaking vista and the roads were fantastic.
All of this was made possible in such a short time by the auto train from Paris, Port de Bercy to Briancon, I cannot recommend it enough, we boarded the train on a grey wet afternoon in Paris and got off the following morning, fully rested, to beautiful blue sky's and the Alps on our doorstep.
I know some may baulk at using a train instead of riding down, but if your time is limited this makes the Alps a very pleasant 1 day relaxing journey away. :thumb
 
It can be a good idea.

Met a bunch of lads on sportsbikes at Portsmouth ferry a couple of years ago, who were headed for Nice/Cannes. I ventured that they would have nicely squared off tyres by the time they arrived.............

Apparently, they just had to get to Paris by lunchtime (north stn) and the bikes would be loaded onto the train, and they would be in Nice by 18:00 that evening!

Reckoned that it cost less than riding there, once they factored in tolls, fuel, tyres etc.

Al
 
Been there and done that - and agree it's good. However, if you have problems sleeping on trains beware!:eek:

In our case we weren't on the same train as the bikes. This wasn't explained beforehand and if we'd known we'd have got a TGV down south and then stayed in a hotel and collected the bikes the next morning.:thumb2
 
Been there and done that - and agree it's good. However, if you have problems sleeping on trains beware!:eek:

In our case we weren't on the same train as the bikes. This wasn't explained beforehand and if we'd known we'd have got a TGV down south and then stayed in a hotel and collected the bikes the next morning.:thumb2
We all found sleeping on the train was fantastic, just got rocked to sleep. We put our bikes on a different train in Paris, but during the night the two trains must of met up and swapped carriages because when we arrived in Briancon our bikes were on the same train!! Not for everyone I'm sure but it does make travelling further afield in a limited time period possible.
We're already planning next years trip.
 
its a great way to get to the south of France, we have done gar de bercey to Avignon for the bike, and TGV from gar de lyon to Avignon as foot passengers,. the Bike goes overnight and we went mid afternoon, it took two and three quarter hours for us and then we picked the bike up the next morning.
 
I used the French motorail service quite a lot of times in the late 90's and early 00's , Calais to avignon, great service and it used to only cost about 240 quid for 2 of us with a couchette cabin, leave at about 6pm and arrive at about 7.30am .
Prices started to go up and I remember it going over 400 quid before the service was stopped which was a shame.
Thanks for the info on this one, being able to get down directly into the alps sounds like a great idea if I would only have a week instead of 2.
 
We looked at it and also at bikeflybike to Nice, but we thought the costs didn't quite stack up and now we are going via friends nr Bordeaux and them the Millau Viaduct.

Will definitely be going on it soon as long as it keeps running.
 
We looked at it....but we thought the costs didn't quite stack up and now we are going via friends nr Bordeaux and them the Millau Viaduct.

Will definitely be going on it soon as long as it keeps running.

It's longevity will probably be helped if bods use it.... :D :beerjug:
 
Could do with something like Calais to Nice.

It seems most of these services have closed in recent years, I was surprised to see this topic, already booked for this year with 2 days of riding before we hit the good roads, but if this could save me a full days riding and a night in a Hotel I would consider it next time.

For me the day it saves makes the difference as I am self employed, add up the £100 or so cost for a 400 mile days riding (Tyres / Fuel / Servicing) Hotel for the night at £50 and I am sure it does not stack up, but factor in losing a days pay and the Mrs gets a crap holiday allowance and it might be worth it.

Assuming you can get across to France, I see the Tunnel is closed or running a reduced service most days now :( Considering scrapping my Tunnel ticket and getting a Ferry to Holland as the risk for anyone planning to go to Calais by tunnel is a week in Folkestone - maybe they should set up a camp for stranded tourists.
 
it would be as someone said good if it went from Calais... Or even from my home, I hate the ride to the tunnel...
 
...it would be great as well if it went exactly to where I wanted to go, at a time (and price) that suited me. Sometimes, life's just not fair.
 
http://autotrain.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/autotrain-webapp/homeControl.action. here is a link to the french booking site that i always use. just fill the right hand side,

Aller simple one way
Aller-retour return

Votre gare de départ where you want to go from
Votre gare d'arrivée where you want to arrive at

Aller le * outward date
Retour le return date

MOTO / SCOOTER

Je certifie que ma moto ou mon scooter respecte ces dimensions. tick this box to certify your bike is no taller than 1.55 m.

then click Rechercher to search prices.

this will give you the prices for the service. you can then book from there, and they send the tickets to you either by post or email all very easy.

Some more tips. I always leave my panniers and top box with all gear in and just remove tank bag to take on passenger train, in the four or five times i have used the service never had any damage or stuff go missing, you can get extra insurance when you arrive at bercy to load the bike, just go into the office, as i recall last time it was 20 euro for 3000 euro cover.

if you go to Avignon via bercy there is a cheap F1 hotel in walking distance from TGV avignon, we stay there the night and get them to book us a taxi for the morning to go and collect the bike from the autotrain station thats about 7k from the hotel, taxi was about 10 euro.

It all may seem a little daunting but do it and you will find its easy. Bercy is a 10 minute walk from Gar De Lyon.
they also do a train to Biaritz that will get you very close to the pyraneese and spain, we will probably use this on next years trip.
 
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I've just returned from a 4 day trip riding the Alps, absolutely spectacular, a little bit of the RDGA and many Col's,every single bend brought a new breathtaking vista and the roads were fantastic.
All of this was made possible in such a short time by the auto train from Paris, Port de Bercy to Briancon, I cannot recommend it enough, we boarded the train on a grey wet afternoon in Paris and got off the following morning, fully rested, to beautiful blue sky's and the Alps on our doorstep.
I know some may baulk at using a train instead of riding down, but if your time is limited this makes the Alps a very pleasant 1 day relaxing journey away. :thumb

Did you ride from Thame to Port De Bercy for the afternoon train that morning?
 
http://autotrain.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/autotrain-webapp/homeControl.action. ...here is a link to the french booking site that i always use.......this will give you the prices for the service. you can then book from there, and they send the tickets to you either by post or email all very easy......Some more tips.....It all may seem a little daunting but do it and you will find its easy. Bercy is a 10 minute walk from Gar De Lyon......they also do a train to Biaritz that will get you very close to the pyraneese and spain.....

Good post and excellent advice for anyone looking to use the train service.
 
2015 price guide... And more guff..... Page 12 'How to buy' etc.

http://autotrain.voyages-sncf.com/autotrain-webapp/pdf/common/Guide_Auto_Train_2015_en.pdf



Google: auto train 2015 prices sncf
Thanks for the link, missed that one.
Could do with something like Calais to Nice.

It seems most of these services have closed in recent years, I was surprised to see this topic, already booked for this year with 2 days of riding before we hit the good roads, but if this could save me a full days riding and a night in a Hotel I would consider it next time.

For me the day it saves makes the difference as I am self employed, add up the £100 or so cost for a 400 mile days riding (Tyres / Fuel / Servicing) Hotel for the night at £50 and I am sure it does not stack up, but factor in losing a days pay and the Mrs gets a crap holiday allowance and it might be worth it.

Assuming you can get across to France, I see the Tunnel is closed or running a reduced service most days now :( Considering scrapping my Tunnel ticket and getting a Ferry to Holland as the risk for anyone planning to go to Calais by tunnel is a week in Folkestone - maybe they should set up a camp for stranded tourists.

The Calais to avignon was my favourite, the couple of hours ride to the coast in the morning was always a good start to my holiday,

So it looks easy enough to book the auto train for your bike, I'm still wondering how to go about booking the other train to get yourself down to the right place to be there to get your bike back, and it also seems like you will have to carry any luggage that is not in fixed hard panniers or top box, not so bad on the old service when everything was on the same train and a shuttle bus took you to get your vehicle as part of the service, I might consider using this for my week off at the beginning of October.
Already booked my tunnel crossings for next Friday and returning 17 days later.
 
Did you ride from Thame to Port De Bercy for the afternoon train that morning?
Yes, we met up in Maidenhead at 06.00,leisurely ride down to eurotunnel, not made any easier by operation Stack! Coast road down to Boulogne and Le Touquet for coffee, then on to Paris to drop the bikes off with loads of time to spare. We also had a couple of hours between the bikes leaving on there journey and our train departing so took in a lovely bar next to The Seine. I'm going to book it next year but go west and do Millau and the Gorges du Tarn in a long weekend. Perfect.
 
Yes, we met up in Maidenhead at 06.00,leisurely ride down to eurotunnel, not made any easier by operation Stack! Coast road down to Boulogne and Le Touquet for coffee, then on to Paris to drop the bikes off with loads of time to spare. We also had a couple of hours between the bikes leaving on there journey and our train departing so took in a lovely bar next to The Seine. I'm going to book it next year but go west and do Millau and the Gorges du Tarn in a long weekend. Perfect.

Sounds quite civilised
 


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