Tickets bought through SNCF connect

Dooveackemb77

Hello, I have bought tickets for SBB trains via the French SNCF connect app. The tickets had to be retrieved from a machine at the station in Paris. Unfortunately when I reached Gare de Lyon station to leave for my trip the ticket distributors were down and the guichet (service point) was closed. As a result I couldn’t retrieve my tickets for Switzerland. Unfortunately as I arrived to Lausanne there was no way to get my ticket for the next leg of the trip as I had bought everything on sncf connect and not SBB. I had to buy a new ticket at Lausanne station. Now, I will submit a claim for my lost journey. But I have other journeys coming up that face the same issue. The ticket can only be retrieved physically in France and I am no longer in France. My question is the following, can I ask somebody to retrieve my tickets in France for me and send me pictures ? Will the purchase confirmation and a photo of the real ticket be a valid proof for the Swiss train controllers ? Otherwise I have to cancel everything and honestly it would be very inconvenient. Thanks in advance, Alex

Danhiel

Dooveackemb77 Hello Alex

If you are in Geneva, you could go to Annemasse station in France or if you are in Basel to Saint-Louis station.

Such “old fashion” tickets are printed on security paper and have no QR code who can be read in Switzerland. A picture is therefore invalid.

I think that it is better to cancel everything.

RolandP

Hello Dooveackemb77

That’s annoying. None of the SBB ticket inspectors understands why SNCF is selling e-tickets which have to be picked-up at the station.

In Switzerland, you cannot retrieve these tickets, and they cannot be used as e-tickets. They are called e-tickets because you can order it online, but from a ticket check perspective, these are paper tickets and not e-tickets.

If you can, proceed as @Danhiel said, or cancel the tickets. If you travel with the PNR code in Switzerland, you risk a fine as you are seen as a passenger without a valid ticket.

Best regards,
Roland

Krist

SNCF actually for some reason is unable to sell e-tickets for SBB trains. That is one reason why you should buy tickets for Swiss trains from the Swiss Railways, not the French.

So what they let you do is order conventional paper tickets on line, that they will post to you, or that you pick up at a French station. And yes, lots of people fall in that trap.

As the tickets have not been issued you should be able to just cancel them. And then just buy tickets for Swiss trains here.

Limeuhu12

Hi Krist,

I appologise but it seems that SNCF has informed to exchange
vouchers for Switzerland to valid tickets for travelling with SBB at ATM-SNCF or SNCF Travel Center. Unfortunatly at Geneve or Basel we can’t find an ATM SNCF. Travelers should exchange eTickets before arriving at Geneva.

Kind regards

Christoph

Krist

Its not eTickets you bought from SNCF. Its normal tickets. Its like you order a book on line from a bookstore, and that store says: Unfortunately we only have this book as a physical book, not as an eBook, so you will have to come and pick it up.

Had you picked them up you would have gotten old fashioned paper ticket. eTickets would just have been emailed to you.

This is just SNCF showing again how little interest they actually have in international train travel.

Limeuhu12

Hi Krist Krist

I appologise, but information from SNCF is correct:

Danhiel

Krist To be honest, SBB no longer sells tickets for countries where the exchange of electronic tickets in PDF format and/or with QR codes is not possible.

And the DB (Deutsche Bahn) also sends some international tickets by post, charging the postage!

It is not only the SNCF which has little interest in international traffic carried out by other carriers.

Krist

Limeuhu12 what SNCF is saying is that of the tickets you bought some are e-tickets, and some are tickets you need to pick up at a ticket vending machine. I have seen that before.

That is what the “Le mode de retrait n’est pas le meme sur une ou plusieurs partie du voyage” means. So you got en e-ticket for some trains, and that you received by email. That was probably the ticket to Lausanne. The other tickets you needed to pick up because they were not e-tickets.

Krist

Danhiel SBB will sell you electronic tickets to any station in a neighbouring country. And even beyond. You can buy a ticket from Brussel to Brugge on SBB if you want.
SNCF could if they wanted link to the Swiss system and sell tickets to destinations in Switzerland. Just like DB, NMBS, NS, ÖBB, and now even Trenitalia do. Only SNCF chooses not to.

Danhiel

Krist I agree for neighboring countries and some exceptions. What I meant is that you could once buy tickets for all Europe, I have a Flåm–Myrdal SBB ticket in my collection. This is no longer possible now.

Danhiel

A new information:

It is no more possible to buy such tickets on SNCF connect. I think that they want also abandon the tickets in IATA format and switch to electronic tickets on normal paper with QR code.

What your receive is only a copy, the electronic ticket itself is a collection of data in a database and has only a virtual existence.

Krist

It is currently still the case that when you book a ticket for France - Switzerland on www.sncf-connect.com that you get a warning that you cannot get an electronic ticket for the part abroad. So nothing has changed there.

For tourists that is confusing, as they assume that what you see on the SNCF site is also operated by SNCF, and that thus SNCF has stations in Switzerland…

Danhiel

Krist I saw an information of the SNCF, but I cannot retrieve it on my smartphone. I will try again later at home.

Danhiel

This is valid if you buy a ticket in August:

https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-en/help/international-trip