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France train strikes

Ray Deb

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
22/05/2018
Hi everyone.
I am planning on starting my first Camino on the 20th May. I am arriving in Paris on the 18th and I have booked the train to Bayonne on the 19th. Planned on staying 1 night at SJPD. I have just read that the train I booked is cancelled due to the rolling strikes. Can anyone advise of an alternate way of getting to Bayonne. Not real keen on delaying my start as I have booked accommodation at both SJPD and Roncesvalles. In saying this I will do what needs to be done.

Thanks again
 
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Fly into Biarritz, then reserve a shuttle ride with Express Bouricott into SJPdP.
 
That’s exactly what I did when I read about the rolling train strikes. I booked a flight out of CDG to Biarriitz. Express Burricot will pick you up at Biarritz and in one hour have you at SJPDP. The price declines the more people ride in the van, 84 euro for the van divided by number of riders... By the way, there are a couple of seats remaining on the afternoon van from Biarritz Friday, May 11!
 
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We travelled from Paris to Bayonne by high speed TPG train in late March 2016 having booked tickets (fast TPG Paris to Bayonne and then a connecting regular train Bayonne to SJPDP) prior to leaving Australia a couple of months earlier. Unfortunately when we got off the TPG in Bayonne we were advised without any prior warning that there was a train strike (which seemed to be a regular occurrence!) and we would have to catch a bus from Bayonne to SJPDP. We then had to pay for the bus fare after having already paid for the train fare a couple of months earlier. It took a little bit of exploring to find the bus station (not far from the train station) as the train porters etc were of no help. In the end we arrived in SJPDP at the same time as the bus left earlier than the train would have and we were privileged to take in some of the beautiful french countryside and villages we missed earlier travelling on the high speed TPG.

Good luck and Buen Camino
 
Thank you for good and practical help. My wife and I will be at CDG Paris airport on May 17 and fly to Biarritz air port. We already reserved and paid for a train from here to SJPP which is under strike. So we reserved a bus ride in Express Bouricott. Any one want to van share for less cost? please leave message. How can I refund the train fare ?
 
My guess is no refund because the train which is replaced by bus service from Bayonne to SJPdP has not been affected by the strike yet.
 
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You don't need to worry about getting others to share the ride. Express Bouricott is popular, and will have the seats filled as it is by reservation only and does not take walk ups. You will have a full shuttle.
 
Thank you so much for Quick help. How about from the train from Biarritz to Bayonne? davebugg said "......the train which is replaced by bus service from Bayonne to SJPdP has not been affected by the strike yet."
 
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Train between Bayonne and Biarritz is a different line running between Bordeaux and Hendaye.
 
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joeandmiki said:
Thank you so much for Quick help. How about from the train from Biarritz to Bayonne? davebugg said "......the train which is replaced by bus service from Bayonne to SJPdP has not been affected by the strike yet."
Click to expand...

That wasn't me who posted that.
 
Hello. We start the same day and i reserved Express Bourricot awhile ago for 12:45 pm on the 19th from the Biarritz airport to SJPD. Staying in the Paris airport the 18th and at the time it was a cheap flight ($100) from CDG airport to Biarritz on the 19th. Easy Jet I believe.
Best of luck with your other options and you might look into the above. Probably bump into each other either way. Buen Camino!
 
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biarritzdon said:
Train between Bayonne and Biarritz is a different line running between Bordeaux and Hendaye.
Click to expand...
Wow! Sound like good news. Do you mean that my trains (from Biarritz to Bayonne & from Bayonne to SJPP) do and will have No Strike and we take the reserved trains ? I want to catch up with you. Please let me make sure that it goes well.
 
joeandmiki said:
Thank you so much for Quick help. How about from the train from Biarritz to Bayonne? davebugg said "......the train which is replaced by bus service from Bayonne to SJPdP has not been affected by the strike yet."
Click to expand...

Yes it has, first two days of the strike there was no service at all.
 
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joeandmiki said:
Wow! Sound like good news. Do you mean that my trains (from Biarritz to Bayonne & from Bayonne to SJPP) do and will have No Strike and we take the reserved trains ? I want to catch up with you. Please let me make sure that it goes well.
Click to expand...
NO, no, if you are watching JabbaPapa's posts he is trying to get daily up dates out on the Forum. The train from Bayonne to SJPdP is special single car commuter train which has been replaced with a bus due to a track outage. The bus is operated by SNCF and according to his post above the bus drivers are supporting the train strike. The train from Bayonne to Biarritz is an entirely different line, it is a part of the track from Paris to Hendaye and it will also be affected by the strike.
 
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oh no
 

Thank you so much for specific details. it would be helpful for us and forthcoming co-walkers. I will keep in touch for updates as well as JabbaPapa..
 
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I already paid for the trains travels. How can I get its refund?
 
Thanks everyone. Think I will fly to Biarritz as suggested.
 
We will fly at Biarritz on May 17, already booked by train which is said to be under strike. We will train Biarritz to Bayonne and then to SJPP. Exactly one week later we will be there. How about current French train strike? it is almost reached to agree or not???
 
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As of tonight 10 May the current situation is more of the same. During the next few days further talks will be held within and between the various concerned unions to glean their ideas.
 
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If the strike is keeping on, what would be alternative way such as bus or van or sharing program, except Express Bourrricot ? I already contacted Express Bourricot which asked 84 euros. it seems too expensive.
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
joeandmiki said:
If the strike is keeping on, what would be alternative way such as bus or van or sharing program, except Express Bourrricot ? I already contacted Express Bourricot which asked 84 euros. it seems too expensive.
Click to expand...

That price is if you are the only person to ride in the shuttle. The shuttle will likely be filled, which means that your share would be around 20 Euro. You do need to get your reservation as soon as possible, as the longer you wait, the more likely the shuttle will already be full.
 
I did it, following you. Thank you!
 
Looks like we'll be on the same flight. See you then
 
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Just as an information from a french pilgrim
The strike is expected in May on the 13/14th, then on the 18/19th, then on the 23/24th, and so on... The strike begins the previous day at 7:00 PM so if your train in Biarritz is on the 17th before 7:00 PM, it should be OK !
Buen camino
 

I thought the SNCF bus from Bayonne was running despite the strike. I am scheduled to arrive in Bayonne from Bilbao by Flixbus on a strike day (6/3), and thought I'd be fine. What other option is there from Bayonne other than going to Biarritz to use Express Bourricot? Also, when does the SNCF notify you that your train/ bus has been cancelled? That day?
 
Don’t know the answers but I think EB can/will pick up passengers with reservation in Bayonne. Currently on a very crowded Norte, yuck
.
 
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How do we know the expected train strike schedule? website or news?
 
joeandmiki said:
How do we know the expected train strike schedule? website or news?
Click to expand...

And you can generate daily personalised train timetables at this website :

https://www.oui.sncf/services-train/fiches-horaires

simply choose your departure and destination, day of travel, and (I'd advise during the strike) select a start time of 00h and an end time of 24h.

It's NOT a perfect system -- many intermediary trains that you could take on a trip say from Paris to SJPP simply will not appear, but instead it will show only what it thinks (often quite rightly) to be the most convenient ones, but if you're unfamiliar with how the French trains work, it's a great system.

Remember though -- during the strike, strike day timetables are only made available at 5PM local time the previous evening.

OTOH the SNCF has now reinstated train reservations for trains running on strike days, with the odd individual exception if they cannot guarantee that a train will actually be running.

I'll post similar info on the other thread.
 
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Hi I was travelling by train from Paris on the 19th. That particular train was affected so now I am flying. Applied for a refund and received an email 10 minutes later stating refund has been approved. Money was in account 48 hrs later
 
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