Train from Ales to Chaumont

I am trying to buy a train ticket for my 15 year old son from Ales to Chaumont. Is there just one rail system - rail Europe - or should I be checking other sites? He will be traveling in July. The train I came up with was lengthy -5-6hrs and cost a lot 130-150 US dollars depending on whether I want the possibility to exchange.

I think this is the price of one of the 3-day French rail passes for youths. Are these train passes used on any train?

I would not be so nervous except I will not be in France to help him!

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Firstly, Chaumont is a common location name in France. When I hear Chaumont, the first place I think of is Chaumont-sur-Loire in the Loire Valley. You will need to clarify the destination if we are to assist as I find 7 French communities using Chaumont in their name.

Secondly, rail passes are generally no longer the cheapest want to travel by train. There are supplements on TGVs and other trains requiring reservations (Téoz and Lunéa for example) and seating offered to pass holders can be limited.

Thirdly, I should avoid rail Europe. Perhaps the best website choice is www.tgv-europe.com. Select UK as your country. If you can find PREM tickets for travel, they cay be printed at home. Otherwise the tickets you purchase can be picket up at any train station or SNCF boutique but you must have in hand to present to the agent, the same credit card used to execute the on line transaction.

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Thanks so much! I will look into that tgv website.

He will be making 3 train trips over 5 weeks - one from marseille to ales then the long one is from ales to chaumont in Champagne (Haute Marne I think), and finally from Chaumont to Paris. For the long one at least he will have someone take him to the station who could possibly help.

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The difficulty with these routes is Alès to Chaumont which will require two connections. The first at Nimes should be straight forward but may require a change of quai or platform within the station.

The second connection will be more complex. He will arrive in Paris at Gare de Lyon but will next need to reach Gare Est for his train to Chaumont. Either he takes a taxi or the Métro which will itself require a connection to reach Gare Est. Either way the fare is indeed $140 to $175 at current exchange rates. (1.40€ to $1) and take up to 8 hours.

If you do purchase some type of pass, you will still need to reserve the Nimes to Paris leg for which there is an additional fee.

Hope this helps

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That definitely explains it all. Thanks so much! I am really glad I know in advance about the Paris change as I would not have known it from the website.