1

Have a look at this page from the Maninseat61.

As he says, just to the train station (Gare de Lyon in your case) beforehand -- even a day or two before if possible and buy the reservation. No way it should cost the kind of prices you are quoting. A few euros, I believe although I couldn't find the cost on the French rail site.

2

Last time I buy a reservation it was 9 Euro (Paris to Nice with TGV). La

3

Sorry
Last time means beginning 2011

4

hi gsj, welcome to thorntree,

that railplus page seems a slight tad odd to me. they're certainly legit, but I'd bet their prices include some hefty booking fees - so do as bjd suggests.

Eurail homepage says seat reservation for 1st class starts from 21 Euro/pp - I understand that nowadays quite often the surcharge varies according to demand, i.e. on popular routes there are less seats available for passholders and less at a normal reservation fee etc. - a nice extra for the rail company.

in case fair priced relations have already sold out, consider selecting an earlier/later train or maybe one with a connection, e.g. there are a couple of relations via Lyon that add merely an extra hour of travel time (plus the inconvenience of switching trains).

if that's not an option, maybe you can get tickets incl. reservation cheaper at www.voyages-sncf.com...

unfortunately, passes have ceased to be the most economic way of getting around!

regards

5

SNCF (French National Rail) limits the number of seats it allocates to passholders. If you wat until you get to Paris to buy seat reservations, they may be gone even though full fare tickets are still available.

Buy your seat reservations now at raileurope.com. The price for a 1st class seat reservation on a direct Paris-Geneva TGV is $79.00 US.

6

That is way to expensive, I just checked and if I want to take the TGV tomorrow it would cost me 89,-- €, so paying almost that ammount for a resevation is just nuts in my eyes, if I go on the 17th of Dec.
the ticket is only 69,-- €.

7

While the reservation fee on the Rail Europe site is less than on the site the OP listed, it's still horrendous. (And I'm the one who listed it!)

Here's another idea. Phone the Deutsche Bahn booking center. Phone number: +49 1805 996 633 (open 24/7). When you call, you'll hear a German menu. Select extension "9" for an English menu, then "1" for train information and bookings. This call center does not charge a booking fee. Delivery costs are €3.50 to every country. DB should charge you the "in Europe" fee which starts at €21.00 for 1st class. (See the reference in #4's note.)

8

I suspect you are being charged the full ticket price. When you contact Railplus to book this ticket you need to let them know that you have an Eurail Pass. You will then be quoted the reservation cost plus an administration fee. If this doesn't work, just contact Railplus by phone or email.

9

Germander, you can indicate you're holding a pass on that page, still you'll get charges of up to 192 AUD displayed...

it would be easier if gsj dropped by and told us about the exact date and whether they require a specific train or whether they've some leeway.

another idea: just book seats in 2nd - bit of a waste considering your pass is good for 1st, but that's a valid option which should enable you to travel at a date and time you wish at lesser cost. 2nd is fine for most travellers anyway.