Jon Worth

Just showed my Standard Multi (Liège-Visé) and regular ticket (Visé-Maastricht) to SNCB train manager. All fine.

Doing that - two tickets for different parts of a trip on one train - is not allowed in France. Although I just got a ticking off when I have done it in France, not a fine…

Apr 29, 2024 at 10:23amWeb
Show threadhalas 🇵🇸🇺🇦🇪🇺Apr 29, 2024
@jon why is it not allowed? I mean what is the reasoning behind it?
Show threadJon WorthApr 29, 2024
@halas I assume it’s to stop people doing ticket splits. It’s in SNCF’s terms. But given in France there are regional reduction cards… and some trains cross from region to region… well what do they assume I should do? Pay more because their ticketing systems are a mess? I told the train manager I’d get off and on again at the split station if I had to!
Show threadhalas 🇵🇸🇺🇦🇪🇺Apr 29, 2024
@jon yes, very weird and not passenger friendly :)
Show threadJon WorthApr 29, 2024
@halas typical French rail then! I was really astounded when I got told off, but then I checked and yes it’s there in SNCF’s terms.
Show threadZehkaApr 29, 2024
@jon @halas Hm, but would leaving the train for a second at the split station and then reentering count? And how do they prove if you did that?
Show threadJon WorthApr 29, 2024
@cryptkiddie Well indeed. I assume they could check CCTV? But it would be unenforceable in practice i think. @halas
Show threadJon WorthApr 29, 2024
@cryptkiddie @halas it might be more to prevent ticket selling platforms selling split tickets actually.
Show threadDanApr 29, 2024

@cryptkiddie @jon @halas because you would have to compotse the second stage ticket at the splitting station.

So get off, stick ticket in the yellow box on the platform the get back on

Show threadJon WorthApr 29, 2024
@Dasy2k1 @cryptkiddie @halas no composter isn’t needed now. Machines being removed.
Show threadMarc SchulderApr 29, 2024
@jon @Dasy2k1 @cryptkiddie @halas as I recall, a similar rule exists in Germany. Back when, Saarbrücken students got warned that they could not cross Bundesland borders with their student ticket and getting a connecting ticket from the last allowed stop was not allowed. Meanwhile, students from Rheinland-Pfalz could go all the way to Saarbrücken on theirs. Which is why my brother visited me lots more than I him.
Show threadhalas 🇵🇸🇺🇦🇪🇺Apr 29, 2024
@MarcSchulder @jon @Dasy2k1 @cryptkiddie absolutely ridiculous.
Show threadJon WorthApr 29, 2024
@halas @MarcSchulder @Dasy2k1 @cryptkiddie in March I overheard a chat between a train manager and a passenger between Görlitz and Berlin about how the train manager could sell the passenger 2 tickets (to the station between two zones) and save the passenger money. So Germany can do pragmatic solutions too. At least sometimes!
Show threadMarc SchulderApr 29, 2024
@jon @halas @Dasy2k1 @cryptkiddie they might well have changed their policy, too. My information is a decade old.
Show threadJon WorthApr 29, 2024
@MarcSchulder @halas @Dasy2k1 @cryptkiddie I’m sure there’ll be cases of it still. But *generally* DB staff are less sticklers for rules than their French counterparts in my experience!
Show threadDanMay 15, 2024
@jon @MarcSchulder @halas @cryptkiddie although the one rule that French officials always seem to completely ignore is the "defence de fumer" signs on the platforms
Show threadTAFKA Phil RoycemanApr 29, 2024

@jon @halas

Germany's Deutschlandticket made me aware how much hassle one has with tariffs....I gladly pay the monthly €49 just to enter any bus or underground in all of Germany without having to worry about local tariff rules. The same experience comes with the BahnCard100 that also covers ICE trains, though that is far more expensive.

Show threadJon WorthApr 29, 2024
@philroyceman @halas Totally. It’s such a relief. Get on and go. That’s worth a few Euro a month itself!
Show threadRichard GadsdenApr 29, 2024
@jon There used to be a UK rule that it was OK if the train stopped at the station where they changed over (because you could theoretically get out and in again). I can't remember if that still applies.
Show threadJon WorthApr 29, 2024
@po8crg Sure. That’s what I was doing. Train was Lyon - Nuits-sous-Ravières. Train stops in Tournus. My tickets were Lyon-Tournus and Tournus-Nuits.