car train ? and changing at Lille rather than Paris ?

rhys · Post by **rhys** » Sat 18 Feb 2012 13:01

I believe there used to be a train / car service whereby one could drive on to the train in England and drive off it in Avignon [ or ? Perpignan ? ] .

Does anyone know whether such a service will be made available in 2012 ?

ALSO......... forgetting the car complication - what is the date after which one can change Eurostar/TGV trains at Lille rather than Paris ? [ Or is that all year round now ? ]

John & Elaine · Post by **John & Elaine** » Sat 18 Feb 2012 15:00

I believe you could get as far as Narbonne with the car and I think you'll find the Lille thing is all year round. On the plus side the connection goes from the next platform so it just a quick walk across!

Cheers

John

Karrie · Post by **Karrie** » Sat 18 Feb 2012 16:23

I would check the bit about the lille connection being all year round as when my brother went back by train last month he had to change at Paris which is a pain as you have to cross Paris on the metro.

John & Elaine · Post by **John & Elaine** » Sat 18 Feb 2012 17:58

Karrie - our neighbour went back on the TGV last Tuesday and his only option was via Lille and platform hopping as I described earlier
Ciao
John

tubs · Post by **tubs** » Sat 18 Feb 2012 20:03

Changing at Paris or Lille depends on what time train you want to catch from Perpignan and what time you want to arrive in London. You can change at Lille all year round.

The "car on train" route used to be called Motorail but it has now disbanded. We used it once from Calais to Narbonne. You left your car and keys with a man and your car was put on a trailer which was towed by the train. It was an overnight trip and the cabins were basic, to say the least, BUT it did save hours of driving and you even got a free breakfast at Narbonne! It was quite expensive I seem to recall, which is probably why it went out of business!

rhys · Post by **rhys** » Sun 19 Feb 2012 10:32

It's useful to at least know that the Motorail ( name rings a bell ) option no longer exists - so it's down to the comparative inconveniences / expense of plane to Perpignan and train from London to Argel`es.

Is there a single website on which one can ascertain train timings / changes / prices ? Essentially I would like to know how late one can depart in the a.m. from St Pancras ( because I would have to get there from at least Oxford ) and still arrive in Argel`es before nightfall.

rhys · Post by **rhys** » Sun 19 Feb 2012 10:34

PS : and be able to change at Lille - not Paris - too stressful.

rhys · Post by **rhys** » Sun 19 Feb 2012 14:58

http://www.seat61.com/France.htm#How to book - online

From googling the above website seems to cover all aspects of booking from London through to anywhere in France [ to answer my own question ].

tubs · Post by **tubs** » Sun 19 Feb 2012 15:35

We use the train more and more these days. We have used the Eurostar website for our next rip in March AND we live in near Oxford.
We are changing in Paris but did have the option of changing in Lille but it means leaving home much earlier. We have also used TGV Europe to book i the past.

Btw if you have Eusrostar tickets you can book a cheaper rail ticket from your local station to St Pancras, not a lot of people know that.

Whichever way you look at it, it's a long day by train from Oxford to Argeles but a much more relaxing one than flying!

mammadee · Post by **mammadee** » Sun 19 Feb 2012 18:27

We have tired to do the Perpignan - London via Lille recently. It seems that the Eurostar timetable has change so that there is no longer a conection with the Lille - Perpignan train. It looks to be fairly easy to cross Paris though. We are doing it this weekend so Ill let you know!

rogb · Post by **rogb** » Mon 20 Feb 2012 21:48

Crossing Paris isn't too bad. We usually take the RER line from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon. You can buy a single ticket or a carnet with cash or card from a bank of machines at the entry to the RER/metro, no need to queue up for hours at a ticket office or change trains.

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