Travelling in France

At 05:30 yesterday morning I was checking our rail tickets as I explained to my mother in law when our connections were at Waterloo and Lille. That was when I realised that something was wrong. Two of the three tickets for Lille to Montpellier had incorrect times. Booked on the 08:39 from Waterloo, we couldn’t possibly be on a TGV departing at the same time.

I decided to try and change the tickets at Waterloo. No such luck. “SNCF” was the reply. Now, if I am to change a ticket, I’m supposed to do so before the train leaves and I had just failed. I could only hope that the SNCF staff at were more accommodating.

Immediately we arrived at Lille, I tried again.

“Sorry,” we were told, “The train is full.”

Try as we might, she would not budge. The tickets were wrong and it was our fault. I tried explaining that I had requested the correct tickets only to be told that I should have checked them properly. Well, yes, that much I had already figured out for myself. Fault wasn’t the issue; I merely wanted help with a resolution. A resolution, nor even an attempt at one was not on offer. The rules were quoted at us; job done.

Much as I love France, when it comes to dealing with their bureaucracy, the French official would try the patience of a saint. Having cornered the market in jobsworthery, they fold their arms, sit back and leave you to your fate. I almost detect a hint of barely subdued pleasure… almost.

We made a decision. We decided to board the train anyway and take our chances. For a full train, it seemed to me that the empty seats suggested anything but. Indeed, it didn’t start getting busy until we reached Lyon. Even then, we had seating in the foldaway seats in the corridor. When checking our tickets, the ticket inspector didn’t question the wrong times at all. So, it all came down to much the same as if it had happened on the UK network, we lost our seat reservations, that was all. Now, if only the girl on the information and ticket desk could have said that rather than turning “customer service” into an oxymoron.