ParisByTrain.com

[bthubron]

I am planning a trip from London to Toulon and I am a bit worried about whether I have enough time to transfer from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon. The Eurostar arrives at Gare du Nord at 15.17 hrs and the TGV departs from Gare de Lyon at 16.16 hrs. This is on Sunday October 5 th. I have been to both stations before but years ago.
Is 59 minutes enough, assuming I study your website and familiarise myself with where to go and what to do etc.
Thanks in advance
Brian Thubron

[ben]

Hi Brian,

My first thought was: "59 minutes between Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon is tons of time". I just did that trip yesterday, albeit at rush hour, with a bit of shopping in between. I arrived via Eurostar at 17:25, took Metro Line 4 till Les Halles, exited the station, realized I should have stopped at Chatelet, walked 8 minutes to my favourite chocolate shop for a box, walked back to Les Halles station, took Metro Line 14 to Gare de Lyon and I arrived at 18:10. In other words, if you did all the tomfoolery I did yesterday, you'd still have time leftover to make your connection.

I'm just about to update the Gare du Nord photo tour with a few more photos that might help you remember the layout. Once you exit the Eurostar train there will be a set of stairs diagonally to the left. Down that flight of stairs are two new green Billeterie Ile-de-France ticket machines where you could purchase your Metro/RER Ticket t+ (given that you have 1,60€ in change or a smart chip credit card). These machines are usually quiet as they're not in the most obvious spot.

The RER D train goes directly from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon. Check out my article on using the Paris Metro route planner which could give you some idea of timing.

Best regards,

Ben

[bthubron]

Ben, That's great news I am just about to book my tickets. I have travelled a lot in Paris and I thought 2 stops on the RER was no problem but the website "Seat61" gave me pause for thought.
Anyway thanks again
Brian

[bthubron]

Ben, I wondered if you've got a minute to tell me your take on how the tunnel is recovering after the fire. I am now nervous about making my connection bearing in mind we are both getting on and running for trains is a bit beyond us.
Thanks again for your interesting website - I can now walk from the Eurostar to the RER D without thinking and can get from the RER to the TGV platforms at Gare de Lyon in double quick time but........
Regards Brian

[ben]

Hi Brian,

For the weeks following the fire, traffic in the tunnel is at slightly less than half normal capacity, about 120-140 trains per week as opposed to 300-400 which is average. I suppose there are chunks of time during evening where there is no traffic through the tunnel and cleanup crews work on whatever needs fixing or checking.

This was a pretty serious incident, but, they had the tunnel open to traffic again 3 days after the incident.

I don't think there's any cause for concern of whether future Eurostar trains should be delayed lest another freak accident happens to take place.

Best regards,

Ben

[bthubron]

Hi Ben, Thanks for the reply. I only noticed you were away after I sent the post. The latest from this end is that Eurostar are about 93% of their normal service. Unfortunately my rescheduled train on Sunday gets in too late for my transfer and since the RER D seems to be not running or has a restricted service (thanks to your links) I'm trying to negotiate an earlier train. If I can get a really early train I'll walk to Gare de Lyon and renew my love of the city.
I couldn't understand why I couldn't find a time table for RER D until I discovered it was operated by SNCF not RATP
Regards Brian

[ben]

Hi Brian,

With your rescheduled Eurostar I'm not sure how much time you have to make your connection, but the other possibilities (which you may have already checked into) could be:

• Metro line 5 direction Place d'Italie until Bastille and transferring to Metro Line 1 direction Ch. Vincennes till Gare de Lyon
• RER B direction Antony until Chatelet Les Halles and transferring to Metro Line 14 direction Bibliotheque (14 is nice and fast with few stops, zero stops between Chatelet Les Halles and Gare de Lyon).
• RER B direction Antony until Chatelet Les Halles and transferring to RER A direction Marne La Vallée. Next station would be Gare de Lyon. This nice thing about this transfer is that the two trains are on the same platform, just on either side. The transfer requires literally 20 paces.

Let me know how you make out with rescheduling.

Best regards,

Ben

[bthubron]

Hi Ben, Thanks for the prompt reply. The info on Chatelet was welcome, I have a dim memory of that place being a nightmare (probably when I was the worse for wear) but the RER transfer sounds easy. I have also looked into the 65 bus to Gare de Lyon as my wife is not happy about "underground" If I can get there really early I will use the bus so I can see a bit of Paris. We are off tomorrow so I will update you when I come back.
Regards Brian