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In Strasbourg they are sometimes controling the tickets and sometimes not.
→France
== [[France]] ==
Freeriding trains in France works quite well. There are mostly two kinds of trains: TGV and TER. TGV are high speed long distance trains. TER are normal trains that have usually more stops.
'''TER''' can be quite long trains with many carriages but it can also be very small with just 2 carriages or so. On TER you can often be lucky and they don't control at all. Other times when they control they usually control only once or twice during the journey so you can keep your eyes open and try to avoid the control. Usually they don't check in the begining of journey but at some later point which makes it bit harder to predict. Tickets are not being checked in advance so you can just enter TER with no problem.
'''TGV''' are the high speed long distance trains. TGV drives sometimes over 300km/h which makes it to be an extremely fast mean of transport. You can be lucky and make even few hours journey without control but usually if you go far they will control. On a longer ride they might control second time. They don't do very often the kind of control when they'd ask for new passengers as in other countries. So usually they either control everyone or they don't control.
To avoid the control one can do all the typical tricks as hiding on a toilet or dancing around the conductor. It is not too dificult to cross whole France from one end to the other in one day without getting caught.
The problem with TGV is that in some stations they control tickets before boarding the train. If they do so there is usually few conductors standing at the gates so you can't really sneak in. In some stations(usually in smaller towns) they don't have the gates so you can just get in the train without any issue. To get out is no problem as the gates are always open for those who are exiting. In the end of this article there is a list of stations that are known to have or not have gates...
'''Getting caught'''
If you get caught they will ask you either to pay or to show your ID so they can write you a fine. IF you don't provide ID they might just ask you to get out or call the cops.
IF you give ID they will issue a fine which functions as a valid ticket so you can continue your journey and if they control you again you just show the fine.
If you are foreigner (not a french citizen nor residant) you might also just give your ID and hope that the fine will never arrive. Usually it works. Many people use it. They just sit in a train and when they are controled they give ID. It is very easy and comfortable way of traveling. Conductors are usually polite and without making any stres they just issue you fine and you continue your journey. The fines usually never arrive. Also you can show a passport instead of an ID as usually there is no adress in passport which makes it even harder for them to deliver you the fines. Unfortunately there were cases when people got the fines delivered to their home countries and in at least one case SNCF (the french train company) passed the fines to a debt collector in the home country ( in this particular case it was Belgium) of the blackriding person.
So to summarize: You can have a great time just getting fines and not giving a shit but there is a little chance that they will chase debt collectors after you even in other country. If you don't have property and don't plan to ever have any than it shall be no problem.
''' Here is the old article with more detail experiences and tips:'''
Ticket checks are only occasionally performed on TER trains, and even the conductors on TGV trains do not always check tickets. When they do, it may only happen later in the journey, unlike in most countries where all tickets all checked at the beginning of the route.
Nimes (checked in 2021)
Dijon (checked in 20212023)
Morlaix (checked in 2022)
Mulhouse (checked in 20212023)
Laval (checked in 2023)
Redon (checked in 2023)
Rennes
Strasbourg
Le mans
Nice- In Nice there are gates for entering the platforms but you can just buy the cheapest ticket for short train, you pass the gates and then you can go to the fast train you like.
== [[Germany]] ==
