Train advice from the Man in Seat 61...

The Man in Seat 61

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How to use SNCF's website

Www.sncf-connect.com.

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Train travel in europe..., train travel in asia..., train travel in africa..., train travel in america..., train travel in australasia, advice for using www.sncf-connect.com.

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What is www.sncf-connect.com & what can it sell?

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SNCF's website used to be www.voyages-sncf.com , this was changed to oui.sncf in December 2017 to reflect its new Oui branding, then changed yet again to sncf-connect.com in January 2022.

Alternatives:  www.raileurope.com & www.thetrainline.com

voyage sncf english

Click here for a table assessing the pros & cons of each site capable of booking French train tickets .

Tips for using www.sncf-connect.com

When does booking open?   Booking opens up to 4 months ahead.  They often open further ahead than this over the summer.  However, the 4 months can shrink significantly for dates immediately beyond the timetable changes on the 2nd Sunday in December.  Bookings for dates after the December timetable change typically open in mid-October.

If it prompts you with a choice of stations , it's usually best to select the one with the 2-letter code for the country in question after the place name, for example 'Milan (IT)' for Milan, 'Vienna (AT)' for Vienna, 'Berne (CH)' for Bern and so on.  If it's in Germany, pick the one which includes 'Hbf' (=Hauptbahnhof or main station), for example 'Cologne Hbf (DE)'.  For Paris, select 'Paris - all stations (TGV-FR)'.

Season Ticket & Loyalty program :   Unless you have a French Railways loyalty card or season ticket, leave these boxes alone!

Booking Eurostar :  It can be better to book a Eurostar ticket between London & Paris as a separate journey at www.eurostar.com .  Use the recommended Eurostar times shown on the relevant pages of this website as a guide, but feel free to choose an earlier Eurostar from London, or a later Eurostar returning from Paris, if these have cheaper seats available than the recommended Eurostar connection, or if you want to stop off.  Don't forget that on your return journey, your departure date from Paris to London will be the day after your departure date from Italy to Paris!

"There are no places available" when you click Choose my place to select seating?  This simply means that this particular train doesn't offer seat reservations, perhaps because it's only a local train, so you can sit where you like, you cannot reserve a seat.  It does NOT mean the train is full.  Funny how this badly-word phrase panics people, though.

Don't worry if your seat numbers aren't consecutive!   The system does normally book all of the passengers on one booking in seats next to each other!  For example, seats 62 & 68 in a 2nd class car on a Eurostar Italia Frecciarossa are in fact side by side. And in a 2-bed sleeper, berths 21 & 25 are in the same compartment, with 22 & 26 in the compartment next door.  For seat numbering plans for European trains, see the train seating plans page .

Names on e-tickets:   Remember when entering you name that the first box marked 'name' = your surname, the second box marked 'forename' = your first name.  Although it's not the end of the world if you get first name and surname the wrong way round, SNCF isn't an airline!

Credit card rejected?   See below for advice .

You'll need the original credit card to collect the tickets.   If you're booking a journey that starts in France, you can choose to collect tickets at any main French station (you cannot collect from stations outside France, so bear that in mind).  You need to show the same credit card that you used to make the booking.  With a print-at-home e-ticket, you don't need to have the original card, although the name on your ticket and in your passport should match.  How to collect tickets from the self-service machines .

Is a chip & PIN credit card necessary to collect at station?  No.   www.sncf-connect.com says that only cards with Chip & PIN are accepted for collecting tickets from the self-service machines, which is true, but you can still select this option without a chip & PIN card and simply collect your tickets from the staffed ticket counter instead, quoting your booking reference and showing the original (non-chip & PIN) credit card used to make the booking.  The confirmation email you will get after booking actually says this, even if the website doesn't!

Need a train seat numbering plan?   See the train seating plan page .

Credit card rejection ?  The solution

How to collect tickets from the self-service machines.

These self-service machines are installed at all main SNCF stations, but not at stations outside France other than Luxembourg.

If you bought your tickets online at www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com , all you need is the booking reference and lead passenger name, you don't need the credit card you used.

However, if you bought online at www.sncf-connect.com you'll need to insert the original credit card, which will need to be chip n PIN for the machine to work.  If your credit card isn't chip n PIN and you bought from sncf-connect.com you'll need to collect from the staffed counter, rather than from the machines.

Step 1, walk up to a self-service machine & touch the UK flag for English.

Step 2, now touch the catchily-named File & Electronic Ticket collection button.

Screen on SNCF self-service ticiet machine

Step 3 if you bought from www.sncf-connect.com :  Touch the equally catchily-titled Prepaid file collection with a debit or credit card (Telephone or online purchases) button.  You now insert the original card used to make the booking and your tickets print. 

Step 3 if you bought online from www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com :  Choose the bottom button, Collection with a file reference number .  You simply enter your name and booking reference, you won't need the credit card.

Collecting tickets bought online from an SNCF self-service ticket machine

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SNCF Connect: Trains & trips

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Voyages-sncf.com

Book your train travel from the UK to Paris through Voyages-sncf.com (External link) . Whether you plan to stay in the capital or extend your trip and travel onwards to another French destination , they will look after all your ticket bookings and ensure your holiday planning is hassle-free. Rail travel to France is increasingly being recognised as a viable and attractive alternative to flying , with shorter check-in times and more frequent departures, fewer luggage restrictions and great views on the way. Travel with your family, pet(s) or bike(s) with ease – and what’s more, children under four travel free on most trains.

Voyages-sncf.com offers a dedicated English-language website and a customer call centre staffed by fully trained agents. It looks after rail and bus services operating in France, together with international cross-border rail operators (including Eurostar) and other European domestic operators, delivering a comprehensive range of rail travel options. Voyages-sncf.com (External link) is a subsidiary of the French National Railway Company SNCF.

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Moscow Metro

  • Komsomolskaya
  • Belorusskaya
  • Mayakovskaya
  • Dostoyevskaya

The most beautiful stations of Moscow's Metro

The scale of the "Palace for the People" underground is colossal. Only the very best architects, engineers and painters were consulted in the construction and design of the stations. No expense was spared in the building materials.  The cladding and panels for example, are made from approximately a hundred different types of marble. Sumptuous materials and precious stones were imported from all over the world.

Many of the station walls are adorned with panels of Florentine mosaic. This technique, originating from the Italian Renaissance, was introduced to Russia where it was allowed to flourish due to the abundance of precious and semi- precious stones which Russia is famous for. The Florentine mosaics consist of natural stone instead of colored glass.  Even the mosaic panels made out of Smalt (deep blue paint made from silica, potash and cobalt oxide), display incredible artistry and can be seen in the Mayakovskaya and Komsomolskaya stations.  With the help of the Metro plan, four of the stations chosen in this website are easily accessible and are situated directly on the circle lines.

You only need to buy one ticket for the whole journey.  You can buy these directly from the counter at the entrance of any station for around 30 Rubles (april 2013).  You just have to ask for, “Odnu pojezdku, poshaluista!” (A single ticket please).  You then receive a ticket which enables you to travel to as many stations as you wish as long as you remain underground. There is no ticket control on the train or at the exits. 

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First refuelling for Russia’s Akademik Lomonosov floating NPP

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voyage sncf english

The FNPP includes two KLT-40S reactor units. In such reactors, nuclear fuel is not replaced in the same way as in standard NPPs – partial replacement of fuel once every 12-18 months. Instead, once every few years the entire reactor core is replaced with and a full load of fresh fuel.

The KLT-40S reactor cores have a number of advantages compared with standard NPPs. For the first time, a cassette core was used, which made it possible to increase the fuel cycle to 3-3.5 years before refuelling, and also reduce by one and a half times the fuel component in the cost of the electricity produced. The operating experience of the FNPP provided the basis for the design of the new series of nuclear icebreaker reactors (series 22220). Currently, three such icebreakers have been launched.

The Akademik Lomonosov was connected to the power grid in December 2019, and put into commercial operation in May 2020.

Electricity generation from the FNPP at the end of 2023 amounted to 194 GWh. The population of Pevek is just over 4,000 people. However, the plant can potentially provide electricity to a city with a population of up to 100,000. The FNPP solved two problems. Firstly, it replaced the retiring capacities of the Bilibino Nuclear Power Plant, which has been operating since 1974, as well as the Chaunskaya Thermal Power Plant, which is more than 70 years old. It also supplies power to the main mining enterprises located in western Chukotka. In September, a 490 km 110 kilovolt power transmission line was put into operation connecting Pevek and Bilibino.

Image courtesy of TVEL

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