Punching train tickets in France???

Here you buy a ticket, get on the train, the ticket inspector checks that it is valid for your journey, lets assume it's an standard open single so can be used on any train, once you are on the train you are making the journey so are deemed to have used the ticket, so the inspector punches your ticket and from that point on it's dead, after you journey put it in the bin, you can't use it again on any other train.

I'm going to Lille by Eurostar on Saturday and then onwards from Lille by TER. My wife tells me "don't forget to stamp your ticket in the machine before you get on the train", what ?? If I buy a ticket at the ticket desk and immediately proceed to the machine to stamp it myself before I get on the train, how the hell does the conductor know how many trains I've been on using that ticket? It's like stamping your own stamps before you put the letter in the letterbox, you could use the same stamp 100 times.

My wife can't explain to me why, but can only tell me that I have to stamp the ticket. There must be some logic I'm missing here, can anybody fill me in? Does it stamp a date and time then invalidate if you haven't caught a train within the next hour or something?

borrowed from http://bonjourlafrance.net/france-tr...ns-answers.htm

Here's the concept behind the use of train tickets. Please keep in mind that the ticket for [COLOR=green ! important][COLOR=green ! important]travel[/COLOR][/COLOR] and the reservation for occupying a specific seat in the train are two separate and distinct issues.
For our discussion there a "two main types of trains" :

2. Where NO reservation is necessary. These are trains where you can sit in any seat. (Corail, Ter)
3. Where a reservation is OBLIGATORY. These are the TGV, Eurostar, Thalys (Paris to Amsterdam) and certain intercity trains (Corail Téoz)

Also keep in mind that just prior to boarding a train you "stamp" your ticket ("composter" in French, there are little automates all around mainline stations to do this, you just insert your ticket and the date and time are printed on the ticket), to indicate the beginning of travel. ("Composteurs" as in the image to the right can have different shapes and colours).

2. NO reservation trains. Once stamped, your ticket is valid until the following day at midnight. So, if you stamp it, let's say, Monday morning it is valid until Tuesday at midnight. With this type of ticket you can get on and off a "NO reservation" train as often as you like, for as long as you like... with no problem.
   
   You must however keep traveling in the direction toward the destination indicated on the ticket and finish your trip before the end of the ticket's validity.
3. OBLIGATORY reservation trains. When you purchase this ticket, the purchase of a reservation is necessary. Here your ticket is ONLY valid for the travel AND time indicated on the ticket. So, you understand, you can NOT get on and off at leisure. You must have a different ticket AND reservation for EACH section of your travel.

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

Here you buy a ticket, get on the train, the ticket inspector checks that it is valid for your journey, lets assume it's an standard open single so can be used on any train, once you are on the train you are making the journey so are deemed to have used the ticket, so the inspector punches your ticket and from that point on it's dead, after you journey put it in the bin, you can't use it again on any other train.

I'm going to Lille by Eurostar on Saturday and then onwards from Lille by TER. My wife tells me "don't forget to stamp your ticket in the machine before you get on the train", what ?? If I buy a ticket at the ticket desk and immediately proceed to the machine to stamp it myself before I get on the train, how the hell does the conductor know how many trains I've been on using that ticket? It's like stamping your own stamps before you put the letter in the letterbox, you could use the same stamp 100 times.

My wife can't explain to me why, but can only tell me that I have to stamp the ticket. There must be some logic I'm missing here, can anybody fill me in? Does it stamp a date and time then invalidate if you haven't caught a train within the next hour or something?

The stamp on the platform validates it for use - not sure but I would expect a time period of use to begin from the moment you stamp it on the platform. It also get's checked and maybe even re-stamped on the train by a conductor. It's been a while since I was on a train in France!

I think the theory is it allows you to buy tickets in advance without needing to specify which day you want to travel (as you do that when you stamp it, just before you get on the train)

Originally Posted by 7755Matt

Once stamped, your ticket is valid until the following day at midnight. So, if you stamp it, let's say, Monday morning it is valid until Tuesday at midnight. With this type of ticket you can get on and off a "NO reservation" train as often as you like, for as long as you like... with no problem.

Result, so if you were working in town on a Saturday morning, you could buy a single ticket to get there and a single ticket to get back, then when you wanted to go back into town on the Saturday night, you could use the same two tickets without stamping them. Because stamping the ticket validates it, rather than invalidates it as it does here, they have no way of knowing how many journeys you've done, so long as you do them all in the same day. Always knew the French were a bit thick.

[DavieSV]

When in Holland, the conductor on a tram, watched us punching our tickets (four kids, the wife & myself) we were obviously confused, then as soon as we had sat down he approached us, passed everyone else, looked at our tickets, told us we had done them wrong and evicted us off the tram

I take it this means the powers that be couldn't solve their issues and you are now going alone on the train?? Just remember to keep all your receipts, transport, food, drinnk, magazines, everything. enjoy.

slightly off topic but can i mention it is now an offence to board a train without a ticket here in the uk

Originally Posted by Kilted Ginger

I take it this means the powers that be couldn't solve their issues and you are now going alone on the train?? Just remember to keep all your receipts, transport, food, drinnk, magazines, everything. enjoy.

Yep, going on Sunday, I was only going on Saturday 'cos it would usually save me two hours between here and London, but the high speed train doesn't seem to be running at all over the bank holiday weekend, so Sunday means less time spent away from home and less time spent with the psychotic 'rents-in-law.

Originally Posted by Geoffrey

slightly off topic but can i mention it is now an offence to board a train without a ticket here in the uk

Ticket inspectors, platform barriers, I don't think that many folk would try it here nowadays.

Just re-read (read it properly ) the stuff above. The ticket is vaild until the next day at midnight, so you could use the ticket on Saturday morning, Saturday night, again if you wanted on Sunday! Commuting in France is dirt cheap!

I'm assuming then that every French person who commutes by train every day, and goes shopping on Saturday, would only buy 3 tickets per week? Trust me French people wouldn't buy a ticket every day because they wanted to be honest!

[Gazza77]

Originally Posted by Geoffrey

slightly off topic but can i mention it is now an offence to board a train without a ticket here in the uk

Except if boarding at an unmanned station, which is the majority of stations round here...

[punyXpress]

Get your drift, Ralph, but if you don't stamp your ticket it hasn't been validated & presumably you will be frog-marched off at the next stop ( or even earlier if really unlucky.)