GR65 - Part One - getting there.

Part One - getting there.

The saga of our annual trek along the GR65 - the Grande Randonnee across
France from Geneva to the Spanish border near Biarritz. The section this
year would take us from the Isere to the Auvergne, over 200 kilometers.

We needed to get back to the last point we reached on our GR65 trek the
previous year, which was in a rather uninteresting village called Le
Grand-Lemps. The only distinguishing features, apart from being on the
route, are that there is a railway station, and an extremely good gite
just outside.
We flew into Lyon St. Exupery airport. The only trains that run at the
airport are TGVs, so we took the tram (Rhone Express) into Lyon. At the
Lyon - Part Dieu station we had an unsuccessful struggle with the ticket
dispensers for train tickets - we got as far each time as payment, but
regardless which credit card we put in, the machine either rejected them
or asked for PINs for cards which did not have PINs. After wasting
around 15 minutes trying to buy tickets, we decided to just get on the
train and pay the conductor - which works, it just costs more.
The train was 10 minutes late, which caused a problem - we needed to
change at Voiron, just before Grenoble, and we just missed the
connection by seconds. After checking the timetables we found the next
train would be over two hours later, so we asked the station master if
there was a bus. He said to wait a moment while he made some phone
calls. He came back and told us to get on the next train, get out at
Rives and a taxi would be waiting for us. By this time we had been
joined by another passenger in the same plight, and sure enough, the
station master in Rives approached us and directed us towards a taxi
driver standing there with a big grin.
We all piled into his Renault Espace and shot off at high speed down
the narrow winding lanes of rural France, passing every truck and
tractor on the way. After dropping off the other passenger, we arrived
at Grand Lemps and were told that the ride would cost - nothing. All
part of the service of SNCF and TER.

On 10/3/2011 8:11 AM, Tom P wrote:

The train was 10 minutes late, which caused a problem - we needed to
change at Voiron, just before Grenoble, and we just missed the
connection by seconds. After checking the timetables we found the next
train would be over two hours later, so we asked the station master if
there was a bus. He said to wait a moment while he made some phone
calls. He came back and told us to get on the next train, get out at
Rives and a taxi would be waiting for us. By this time we had been
joined by another passenger in the same plight, and sure enough, the
station master in Rives approached us and directed us towards a taxi
driver standing there with a big grin.
We all piled into his Renault Espace and shot off at high speed down the
narrow winding lanes of rural France, passing every truck and tractor on
the way. After dropping off the other passenger, we arrived at Grand
Lemps and were told that the ride would cost - nothing. All part of the
service of SNCF and TER.


Pleasant surprise!
I had a similar experience some years ago in Scotland - the train I was
to take from Inverness hadn't arrived, no other stock was available, and
the connection to my final destination ran only once a day. I would
certainly miss it, but there was no accommodation available in that
town, as it was the day of their big lamb sale...The Inverness station
manager arranged for a taxi, the driver drove _very_ quickly, and I made
my connection. No charge at all!

On 10/03/2011 02:55 PM, S Viemeister wrote:
On 10/3/2011 8:11 AM, Tom P wrote:

The train was 10 minutes late, which caused a problem - we needed to
change at Voiron, just before Grenoble, and we just missed the
connection by seconds. After checking the timetables we found the next
train would be over two hours later, so we asked the station master if
there was a bus. He said to wait a moment while he made some phone
calls. He came back and told us to get on the next train, get out at
Rives and a taxi would be waiting for us. By this time we had been
joined by another passenger in the same plight, and sure enough, the
station master in Rives approached us and directed us towards a taxi
driver standing there with a big grin.
We all piled into his Renault Espace and shot off at high speed down the
narrow winding lanes of rural France, passing every truck and tractor on
the way. After dropping off the other passenger, we arrived at Grand
Lemps and were told that the ride would cost - nothing. All part of the
service of SNCF and TER.


Pleasant surprise!
I had a similar experience some years ago in Scotland - the train I was
to take from Inverness hadn't arrived, no other stock was available, and
the connection to my final destination ran only once a day. I would
certainly miss it, but there was no accommodation available in that
town, as it was the day of their big lamb sale...The Inverness station
manager arranged for a taxi, the driver drove _very_ quickly, and I made
my connection. No charge at all!

Try getting the Deutsche Bahn to organize a free taxi ride for you.
They will only pay for a taxi if you get stuck after midnight, and then
you have to prove that it was their fault.